Artist Rose Electra Harris Wore A Red Tulle Dress And Pink Heels For Her Colour-Filled Country Wedding
For many modern brides and grooms, their wedding day is less about ticking off traditions and more about incorporating everything that they love into one giant party. That was definitely the case for the artist Rose Electra Harris and her now husband, the literary agent Ben Lyttleton, whose quirky countryside extravaganza nodded to their shared passion for Star Wars, Italian kitsch and Beyoncé.
The couple met over a decade ago through Rose’s older sister, Honor, and got together over a New Year’s Eve snog during a loved-up few days at a friend’s parents’ house in the country. Ben came up with a quintessentially “him” way to propose: via a tattoo on his bum. “I got home from my studio one Tuesday and he was pacing around in his boxer shorts,” remembers Rose. “He asked me to come upstairs to check on something for him, and then he showed me the tattoo, which said ‘Marry Me Corrie’ (his nickname for me). There was no question mark, it was just a statement, and it was written in his handwriting. I’ve got one that says ‘Yes’ to match now, too.”
After enjoying their engagement for a few months, the couple started planning their wedding, settling on splitting it over two separate days. “Two weddings meant two dresses,” jokes Rose, who, as an artist whose work is known for being colourful, knew she didn’t want to wear traditional white – especially as she wanted to be able to wear her gowns again.
For the first wedding in April, Rose opted for a pale pink dress by one of her favourite designers, Simone Rocha, which featured green bows, crystal embellishment on the bust and a giant red bow at the waist. “It was the first one I tried on,” she explains. “And it was the last in my size – it was meant to be!” Rose’s friend, the costume designer Joanna Johnston, made her accessories: hair clips, fingerless gloves and a bolero with a pink feather trim. “It was girly but punky at the same time,” she shares. Her shoes were low mules with a crystal red heart by Giuseppe Zanotti – the last pair, and technically a size too small, but they somehow still fit perfectly.
The April wedding venue was Clissold House in Clissold Park, where the couple enjoy daily walks with their Labrador, Jabba. Miraculously, it was a beautiful day, which meant that guests could mingle outside after the ceremony. “We ended up having BYOB drinks outside, with Jabba running around with my bouquet in his mouth,” shares Rose. “Afterwards we went to the Baring pub for lunch, before moving on to another pub, where my brother-in-law led a singalong around the piano with the Friday night punters.” The day ended with karaoke – including a “first dance” to Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” – in Dalston, with more friends joining them as the day went on.
In July, Rose’s parents hosted the couple’s second, larger wedding party at their Wiltshire home. For this, Rose chose a dress by another of her favourite designers, Molly Goddard, whose annual sample sales she queues to get into. “I tried on so many dresses in her store, it was the best day of my life,” she jokes. She settled on a bright red dress with pink tulle underneath, with a huge skirt and a more simple bodice. “It made the April dress look quite traditional in comparison,” she laughs. She wore pink metallic Louboutin heels until they sank into the grass, at which point she switched them for chunky Simone Rocha flats. This time the bride kept her accessories simple, wearing just a red ruby necklace of her mothers. Her make-up artist India Excell created a pared-back, natural look that felt like her – albeit with the addition of a bright pink lip – and her friend Tom Greenhouse was on hair duty.
Ben, meanwhile, wore “what he thought Han Solo would have worn on his wedding day”, which included a Simone Rocha collarless shirt with pearl detail, and a holster to keep his disposable camera in. The bridesmaids wore green dresses from Molly Goddard, which Rose had bought in the sale in January, and were each given a piece of jewellery from Rejina Pyo as a thank you gift. Rose’s nephews, aged three and six, wore what they wanted: a Spider-Man and a Stormtrooper outfit, respectively. “The dress code for guests – apart from avoiding red – was “it should cost a billion to look this good”, one of a few nods we made to Beyoncé,” says Rose.
The couple entrusted their siblings – Rose’s sister, plus Ben’s brother and sister – with organising the entire ceremony. “The ceremony was our favourite part of the day, which was surprising as we had no part in it,” remembers Rose. There were readings, such as What I Learned About Love, I Learned From My Dog, while a book by Leonard Cohen, one of the couple’s favourite musicians, which featured illustrations by Matisse, was passed around and written in by guests throughout the day. The siblings even wrote the couple’s vows, including digs about snoring, cooking and hoarding.
After the ceremony, the couple invited guests to an Italian trattoria-style lunch, which was served in a stretch tent in the garden. “We wanted it to be really kitsch,” says the bride. “We had Gildas, fritto misto, panelle and crisps on paper plates, and spaghetti and meatballs followed by tiramisu, made by caterers George and Neil at Aréte.”
What with Rose being an artist herself, and coming from a creative family, it was unsurprisingly all hands on deck when it came to decoration. The flowers – mostly the bride’s favourite sweetpeas – were gathered from her mum’s garden and displayed in tinned tomato pots she had collected from a local pizzeria. Napkins were made from red checked fabric from Goldhawk Road, in a nod to Lady and the Tramp, while the sign for the “restaurant”, dubbed Osteria Nanni Di Potta (one of their dog Jabba’s many nicknames) was hand-painted by one of the bridesmaids, Lydia. “We also hand-painted the platters that the food was served on, with guests able to take them home the next day as a memento,” Rose says.
Rose’s only regret from the day is that the couple forgot to do their first dance. “Ben had organised a line dancing lesson after the meal, to encourage people to get dancing, which was one of my favourite parts of the day,” explains Rose. “We were having so much fun, we completely forgot to stop for the first dance!” Afterwards, guests moved to the dance floor, with a playlist curated by Ben, who had dressed two mannequins as Jar Jar Binks and Darth Vader and installed them behind the DJ booth. “Before we knew it, it had gotten to midnight and I realised we’d forgotten the first dance… but we thought it would be weird to do it then!”
Luke Fullalove1/49Ben hiding his eyes as I arrived at Clissold House (also looks like he’s having second thoughts, haha!)
Luke Fullalove2/49Smiles and beautiful flowers by Mora Floral.
Luke Fullalove3/49Us getting married!
Luke Fullalove4/49My sister Honor with her boys, Arlo and Dashi.
Luke Fullalove5/49We're married!
Luke Fullalove6/49Jabba carrying my bouquet. He was very proud.
Luke Fullalove7/49My Simone Rocha dress and red heart heels.
Luke Fullalove8/49Posing outside Clissold House.
