And the Bride Wore Alaïa…

Written by Noura Al-Swaiti

There are certain high-end luxury brands that brides in our region usually gravitate to for their big day, Alaïa is not a typical choice for them, so it was very refreshing for us to see that our bride chose to go for fashion's favorite maverick, Alaïa, for her wedding day.

3oud.com team had the pleasure to meet to the beautiful bride Hessa Al Subaie and talked about the experience of custom-making a bridal gown with the iconic brand Alaïa, her wedding journey, and how she managed to celebrate her big day during the pandemic.

AZZEDINE ALAÏA HAUTE COUTURE

“I knew I wanted Alaïa from day one,” Hessa remembers. “All my looks throughout the seasons have always been Alaia. I’m a big fan of the brand and how it sculpts its designs in a feminine yet modern form. It truly does represent my style.”

Hessa reached out to the brand by e-mailing the team in Paris at the start of the corona outbreak in 2020, “I did not get an immediate response obviously due to the lockdown, so I reached out to one of their sale associates, Liam, who’s based in London and who also happens to be a good friend of mine, and I asked him if he could help me in connecting with the brand’s atelier, to custom make my bridal gown,” she says. “He was a bit skeptical knowing how difficult it is for the production team to work on such a request during these uncertain times. Let me tell you, Liam did not disappoint, he immediately put me in touch with the Paris team, and that’s how the journey started.”

AZZEDINE ALAÏA HAUTE COUTURE

The journey started in a very WFH manner, via zoom. “We had to do the fittings virtually due to the travel ban, I honestly thought it would be a nerve-wrecking experience, but it wasn’t at all, the team was amazing, they exactly understood what I wanted and exceeded my expectations,” Hessa explains. “I think the fact that we had a similar mindset and share the same esthetics, that made the whole process run so smoothly. I specifically asked for a simple no-fuss feminine lace gown, no embroidery, a timeless royal design but not in an old-fashioned way. At the beginning I met with the team online twice a month for consultations, but closer to the delivery date, our virtual meetings became more regular, so we were meeting every two days. It also helped that they mailed me sample swatches of the lace to make my selection, and they sent me a base dress to mark my exact measurements on it with the help of a local seamstress.”

AZZEDINE ALAÏA HAUTE COUTURE

It’s no surprise that Hessa’s hunt for “the one” started and ended in Paris. “I did meet the team once in Dubai, as Paris had travel restrictions against Kuwaitis, and the team couldn’t travel to Kuwait because they would have to quarantine for 14 days. So Alaïa boutique in Dubai Mall was our meeting point,” Hessa said. “It was funny because the tail of my gown was too long and they had to move the merchandise in-store to allow for some space for my gown, and the mall’s passersby were intrigued so we had quite an audience looking through the window display. The team had to actually sew the dress on me during that fitting, because that was our only physical fitting, and I had to stand for two hours straight! It was really unforgettable, a bit tiring, but honestly, I enjoyed it so much. I just wish I was physically in their Paris atelier during the fittings to make the experience more fund and memorable.”

Hessa’s wedding look was inspired by Hailey Baldwin’s wedding gown, when she wore a stunning feminine creation by Virgil Abloh, creative director of Off-White. “I did not like her veil though; it was too extra for my taste.”

AZZEDINE ALAÏA HAUTE COUTURE

As for the hair and make-up, Hessa swears by Monera Al Faraj for my make-up and Radhiya for her hair, after all, they complement each other and as Hessa described them “they are truly the perfect glam team.” Hessa completed her wedding look with a pair of plain and simple python skin heels by Jimmy Choo.

For her wedding celebration, Hessa assigned Faberge to work on the theme and set up of the wedding. “I must say that they are very professional and their reputation exceeds them.” says Hessa. “I wanted the ambiance to look like a luxurious sleek and modern lounge rather than a typical wedding set-up. I opted for lots of palm trees and greenery, soft cove lighting, no colorful flowers, actually all the flowers used were white.”

AZZEDINE ALAÏA HAUTE COUTURE

As for the kosha, where the bride and groom sit during the ceremony, Hessa wanted to incorporate Alaïa’s visual identity to the theme, so they have used Alaïa’s signature perforated designs as an inspiration for the kosha, and it was executed by Faberge in a beautiful subtle way. “I also fell in love with the powder room. Hashem of Faberge suggested to go all abstract in the design of the powder room, he transformed it into a magical place, a bit similar to Ralph’s in Paris but dominated by my favorite color, navy,” Hessa remembers. “As for the music, I chose to not play traditional wedding lobby music the first 40 minutes of my wedding, and instead played my favorite playlist of soft house music. It really felt like we were vacationing outside of Kuwait or dinning in a cool place like Zuma.”

Hessa admits that planning a small wedding during the pandemic was really stressful and challenging, they had to squeeze the guest list, make sure that all safety measures were taken, they took into consideration social distancing with the set up, they even urged everyone to wear a mask, and used disposable cups, not to mention constantly sanitizing the surfaces.

As for her most memorable moment of the wedding, Hessa says “Every part of the wedding was very dear and memorable to me, and I was lucky enough to celebrate it with the people I love, and because it was a very small wedding, it really felt that everyone was genuinely happy, such a blessing. My husband had a song written and sung by Rashed Al Majed that was specially made for our wedding, which was so sweet, so that’s obviously will be our song.”

When asked if she could have done one thing differently at your wedding, “I probably would have liked to have my wedding pre or post the pandemic, just because it would have made everything easier, and I would have loved to have my extended family members and friends from Saudi to attend the wedding. Nevertheless, I’m still grateful that my wedding turned out the way it did.”

As soon as the pandemic is over, the newlyweds would love to spend their honeymoon in St. Barts, Turks & Caicos, Miami, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum. They actually got in touch with a company called The Luxury Travel Agency to plan for their honeymoon, and they did the booking and paid for it, however, the agent alerted the newlyweds that they would have to do 12 PCR tests in total during their trip, initially they were willing to go for it, but then they had to cancel as many of the places which they planned on visiting were on lockdown.

And finally when we asked Hessa for her number one tip for future brides, “Enjoy every moment of your wedding, it’s not worth it to stress over trivial things.” And we couldn’t agree more.