Red Carpet Wedding

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Lady Amelia Spencer married her longtime love, Greg Mallett, on 21 March 2023 at Quoin Rock Manor House in Stellenbosch, South Africa. For Amelia, daughter of Earl Spencer and niece of Diana, Princess of Wales, the setting had particular meaning: South Africa was where she grew up, where she met Greg, and where their relationship began more than a decade earlier.

The couple first met while studying at the University of Cape Town and had been together for around 14 years by the time they married. Greg proposed in Franschhoek in July 2020, turning the eventual wedding into something less like a destination event and more like a return to the place where much of their shared life had unfolded.

Fashion was central to the celebration, and Amelia chose Atelier Versace for her bridal gown. The custom dress was made from silk rebrodé lace and embellished with Swarovski crystals, with a hand-embroidered neckline, structured shoulders and a dramatic two-and-a-half-metre train. A five-metre silk tulle veil completed the look. Rather than leaning into the softer, minimal bridal aesthetic popular at the time, the gown was unapologetically couture: fitted, highly worked and architectural.

Greg also wore custom Atelier Versace, choosing a black wool-and-mohair suit. The fashion connection continued throughout the bridal party: Amelia’s twin sister and maid of honour, Lady Eliza Spencer, wore pink Atelier Versace, while older sister Lady Kitty Spencer attended in Dolce & Gabbana.

The ceremony took place in the late afternoon against panoramic views of the Stellenbosch wine country and Table Mountain. Amelia’s younger brother Samuel Aitken escorted her down the aisle, while Greg’s father, Dave Mallett, officiated. The couple wrote their own vows and were surrounded by 122 guests, making the ceremony relatively intimate despite the grandeur of the setting.

The wedding celebrations extended beyond the ceremony itself. Guests had already gathered for pre-wedding events in Cape Town and Franschhoek, turning the occasion into a full South African wedding weekend rather than a single formal event.

Visually, what makes this wedding particularly successful is the contrast between high-fashion formality and landscape. The Versace gown could easily have belonged to a palazzo or European ballroom, yet against the warm South African scenery it felt less rigid and considerably more modern.

And unlike many society weddings that rely heavily on aristocratic references, Amelia and Greg’s celebration felt rooted in their own history. South Africa was not simply an impressive backdrop selected for photographs. It was home, the place where they met, and an integral part of the story.

That makes the wedding considerably more interesting than another beautiful dress in another beautiful venue: the couture provided the spectacle, but the location supplied the meaning.

Lady Kitty Spencer married businessman Michael Lewis on 24 July 2021 in one of the most lavish society weddings of the decade. The setting could hardly have been more dramatic: Villa Aldobrandini in Frascati, overlooking Rome, provided the sort of monumental Italian backdrop that made the entire celebration feel halfway between an aristocratic wedding and an Alta Moda campaign.

For Spencer, the location was more than decorative. She has spoken about her longstanding affection for Italy, and the wedding became an unapologetic celebration of that connection. Villa Aldobrandini—with its formal gardens, historic architecture and views across the Roman countryside—was an ideal setting for a bride whose style has always sat somewhere between English society and Italian high fashion.

The centrepiece, of course, was the bridal wardrobe created by Dolce & Gabbana Alta Moda. Spencer wore several bespoke looks across the three-day celebration, but the ceremony gown was the undisputed star: an ivory lace dress with a high Victorian-inspired neckline, long sleeves, sculpted shoulders and a buttoned front, finished with an extraordinarily long veil. Rather than following the bare-shouldered, minimal bridal trend that dominated much of the period, the gown deliberately embraced formality and historical reference.

There was also a subtle family echo in the silhouette. The high neck, sleeves and romantic proportions recalled elements of the wedding dress worn by Kitty’s mother, Victoria Lockwood, when she married Charles Spencer in 1989. The resemblance was not literal, but it gave the otherwise highly theatrical Dolce & Gabbana design a sense of continuity.

And one gown was never going to be enough. Over the wedding weekend Spencer moved through an entire Dolce & Gabbana wardrobe, including pale blue embroidered tulle, a floral evening look, shimmering gold and silver embellishment and a floral Mikado silk dress. The effect was less “bride changes dress for the reception” and more a carefully constructed fashion narrative running through the celebrations.

The guest list reflected the same mix of aristocracy, fashion and celebrity. Among those attending were Lady Kitty’s sisters Lady Amelia and Lady Eliza Spencer, the Marchioness of Bath, Sabrina Elba, Jade Holland Cooper and Pixie Lott. Kitty walked down the aisle accompanied by her brothers Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Samuel Aitken.

What makes the wedding particularly memorable years later is that it never tried to look understated. This was not quiet luxury, stripped-back minimalism or an attempt to make a palatial Roman wedding appear “effortless.” It embraced scale: historic villa, couture wardrobe, lace, embroidery, dramatic sleeves, multiple celebrations and an entire weekend built around Italian glamour.

And for once, the extravagance suited the setting. At Villa Aldobrandini, anything too simple might actually have looked underdressed.