For her wedding day, slow living advocate Danielle Copperman naturally wanted a dress that was aligned with her eco-minded values. “From the beginning, I really wanted it to be as conscious and sustainably made as possible because obviously it’s something most people only wear once,” she tells Vogue. “I did some research and found some sustainable brands, but nothing that felt like me.”
Happily, bridal designer Savannah Miller agreed to work with Danielle to create a custom off-the-shoulder wedding gown, using deadstock fabric. “I told her my vision, and we were really aligned in keeping it as sustainable as possible,” she explains. “She talked me through all the fabric options and the one we went with was this pearl ivory duchess satin, which was the last 16 metres of the fabric in existence, because the [supplier] had had it for such a long time.”
For the civil ceremony, the bride opted to have a more pared-back, halterneck dress made by Grace Lane and PS Bridal’s Zoe Jervoise Graham, which she can wear again beyond her big day. “It was also made from deadstock and a second-hand wedding dress we bought off eBay,” Danielle continues. “The circular element of fashion is what I love.” Meanwhile, her veil, made from vintage French silk, was sourced from Ann-Marie Faulkner, while her jewellery was a mixture of vintage and recycled pieces.
It wasn’t just her bridal looks that had an eco-friendly focus; Danielle also wanted the wedding itself to be as conscious as possible. The bride and her now husband Hedi Sersoub decided to host an outdoor wedding near Lyon, France, where they currently live. “We moved here at the start of the pandemic because Hedi’s French, so we decided to do it at his parents’ house,” she says. “We wanted it to have an intimate garden party vibe.”
Many of the flowers used for the centrepieces were sourced from the garden itself, while the vases were made by Danielle’s sister, who’s a ceramicist. “I wanted to use wild flowers that were just growing naturally in season and in the garden already,” the bride explains. “We also bought eucalyptus plants instead of buying cut flowers, and gave them to guests to take home.”
