For her son’s Italian wedding, Lisa Williams seized the chance to wear something bold, bright and bespoke – and found it in a one-of-a-kind hat made close to home
Photography | Qualcosa di Blu Wedding Photography
Lisa attended her son Robbie and his partner Nicole's wedding at Tuscan venue Borgo Casabianca on 25th May 2024, wearing a bespoke percher creation by Glasgow milliner Stephanie Gallen.
Now she shares a first-hand account of the hat design experience and doesn't leave out any details...
Choosing a mother of the groom outfit for an Italian vineyard wedding
"When your son – the first of your four children to get married – tells you he is having his wedding in a beautiful old Tuscan vineyard in the hills south of Siena, you know two things: one, it’s going to be an incredibly special day; and two, your outfit needs to rise to the occasion.
"My son Robbie had proposed to his half-Italian partner Nicole during a holiday to Lake Como, so marrying in Italy just felt right for them.
"They had a wonderful planner who found the exclusive-use venue, Borgo Casabianca, and on 25th May last year, they wed there in the sunshine surrounded by friends and family."
The search for a bright and bold mother of the groom dress
"Right from the start I knew I wanted to wear something bright and fairly bold – nothing that was too traditionally ‘mother of the bride/groom’ because that’s really not me.
"Nicole and I are very close (I even went shopping for her wedding dress with her), and even though both she and Robbie were very relaxed about my outfit, I made sure to run some ideas by her and check she was happy with my choices. I also checked in with Nicole’s mum, and found out what the bridesmaids were wearing too.
"The first thing I bought were my shoes – a chunky-heeled pair of gold sandals that were comfortable enough to wear all day, even across the vineyard’s slightly uneven terrain.
"From there, I kept coming back to a dress I’d seen online by New York designer Cynthia Rowley. You couldn’t buy it in the UK, so I ended up ordering it from America. The moment it arrived and I put it on, it immediately became the one."
Finding the perfect bespoke hat in Scotland
"I knew early on that I wanted to take advantage of the rare opportunity to wear a hat – it’s a lovely statement to make on a special occasion. Nicole’s mother was planning to wear one, and I felt it would look more balanced in the photos if I had one on too.
"But I didn’t want just any old hat – I wanted something bespoke that would match the dress perfectly and feel like me"
"After some googling, I came across Stephanie Gallen Millinery and was so impressed by the variety of styles she’d created. Amazingly, she is based just outside Glasgow, only 15 minutes away from me."
Find more mother of the bride/groom suppliers on our online directory
Collaborating with a milliner for a custom wedding hat
"I went into our first meeting with a really open mind. Stephanie was brilliant – she guided me without ever pushing, helping me try on lots of different styles to figure out what suited me best.
"She talked me through really practical considerations I hadn’t thought of, like how long I’d be wearing it, whether it would be functional for hugging people, and how it would sit with my hair – which I was planning to wear down in a bob.
"In the end, we settled on a bespoke percher style, which sat at an angle with a fine band hidden under my hair.
"Once we had the shape sorted, I brought along my dress, shoes and bag so she could colour-match everything. Stephanie talked about layering materials to get the shade just right, and showed me samples in natural daylight so we could be confident it was a perfect match.
"For the embellishment, Stephanie had a genius idea. My dress had delicate little fabric flower shapes on it, and she found a jewel-like material that echoed that detail for the hat.
"She added floral feather elements in the same colour, along with gold-dyed quills and soft feathers to pick up the gold in my shoes and bag. It all came together beautifully.
"Stephanie Gallen sent me photos at every stage and always checked in with me about decisions – it felt like a true collaboration"
"It’s so evident she loves what she does and loves the idea of making this hat for you. The whole experience was a real pleasure."
How to travel with a wedding hat for a destination wedding
"I flew to Italy with the hat carefully wrapped in protective material in a box on top of my carry-on – no way was I risking checking it in!
"I ended up wearing it from the ceremony at 2pm all the way through to dancing in the evening. I just felt a million dollars.
"Now that the wedding is over, I’ve thought about selling it, but just can’t bring myself to part with it. Surely I can find an excuse to wear it again – a day at the races, perhaps!"
Sorting your carry-on is one thing – planning how to legally get married abroad is another. Read our guide to some of the most popular destination wedding locations outside of the UK and how to marry there
Behind the scenes: Stephanie Gallen talks bespoke millinery design
“I love working with customers on bespoke creations as it usually means they’re looking for something a little different from what’s widely available,” Stephanie Gallen tells us.
“For Lisa, we explored a few different options – ranging from a wider brim to broderie flowers – ultimately ending up with a custom-dyed, orange sinamay percher, with hand-dyed feather flowers, honeycomb veiling, and gold peacock herl and ostrich quills.
"Simple things like different types of veiling can make such a difference to the final look; we started with the traditional Merry Widow diamond shape, but the honeycomb style caught Lisa’s eye, and this worked really well given the bright colour of her outfit.”
