How Cecilie Bahnsen accidentally became one of Scandinavia’s go-to bridal designers

Cecilie Bahnsen didn’t set out to create wedding dresses, yet many of her creations are undeniably bridal. There are the sweet pouf sleeves and babydoll silhouettes, the bows both big and small, the couture-like craftsmanship and delicate details. Oh, and one more thing. “There’s always so much white in my collections,” says Bahnsen when I reach her at her sun-drenched Copenhagen studio. “We have roughly six-to-ten looks every collection that is fully white. So it’s just a natural thing for the brand.”

Though it started by happenstance, with brides plucking billowing Bahnsen dresses off the rack for their big day, these days the designer also welcomes bridal appointments at her atelier, from which she creates bespoke one-of-a-kind dresses and veils. Now, the Danish designer leans into bridal even further, launching a Bridal Edit just in time for wedding season. Shot in Bahnsen’s atelier and styled by the designer herself in her signature no-fuss manner, the edit features a curated selection of bridal looks, hand-picked across several collections. Many of the pieces are available made-to-order, fashioned from decadent archival fabrics.

Related: The 12 most exciting Scandinavian bridal designers to look out for now

“What I really like about bridal is the timelessness,” says Bahnsen. “It might be a top from one season mixed with the skirt from another.” For her, it’s the mashup of fabric and tactile textures – organza and cotton, maquis jacquard and Glacier Matelasse – that brings a Cecilie Bahnsen bridal moment to life. Take, for instance, the liquid organza shift gown with delicate floral embroidery or the effortless cotton Clementine dress, with smocked details to create a relaxed corset.

The first time Bahnsen knew her brand could translate to bridal was when Danish It girl Caroline Bille Brahe (also a dear friend of the designer) wore a bespoke Cecilie Bahnsen dress for her wedding to celebrity chef Frederik Bille Brahe. In fact, all of the bridesmaids wore custom frocks by the designer as well. “It was so special,” says Bahnsen. “And that community of bridesmaids wearing the dresses in different ways and making it their own.”

Bahnsen has noticed over the years that it’s a particular sort of bride who gravitates towards her brand. “We have a lot of people from the creative community connecting with it,” says Bahnsen. Take, for instance, photographer and model Nuria Val who opted for the light-as-air Snow dress for her 2023 wedding. Bahnsen, a friend of the bride’s, also designed the dress for Val’s young daughter. “It was a true mother-daughter moment,” says Bahnsen. “Seeing it come to life in her universe was so beautiful.” Another friend of Bahnsen’s, a florist, requested that particular attention be paid to the scalloped floral detailing at the trim of her wedding dress.

Related: The best bridesmaid dresses of 2025: Shop the frocks your bridal party will actually wear again

But it isn’t just the Danes who yearn to be a Bahnsen bride; the designer has recently seen an influx of bridal clients from South Korea and Japan. “I think there’s something with the proportions of what we create and the volumes that really speaks to them,” says Bahnsen. “It’s an amazing experience – people come with their mothers or sisters or best friends. You really get this community.” To heighten the experience for the bride, made-to-order pieces come with polaroid images documenting the process so the wearer understands, as Bahnsen puts it, “the hands that have touched the dress”. “It’s these things that make it personal, but also allows us to tell the story of the craft and love that goes into creating it,” says Bahnsen.

For Bahnsen and her team, bridal appointments are an opportunity to welcome a customer into the world of the brand on an intimate level. "From the moment a guest enters our showroom, we want her to feel like she is stepping into our universe where she feels considered and listened to. We want to take the time to understand who she is, how she wants to feel and what her vision is for the day,” says Belinda Cortzen. The brand’s community and loyalty manager, Corzen oversees the bridal appointments and has seen many brides come through the atelier doors, each with their own point of view. “It’s not just about dressing for a day, it’s about expressing identity, love and a sense of creativity,” says Cortzen of the brides who choose Bahnsen. “Likewise it’s also very inspiring for us to see how each garment is being represented and styled differently, some even requesting to wear it for other occasions than just the wedding day.” The red thread through all of their clients, she notes, is an “emotional connection to the world we create”.

Though there is, indeed, a couture-level craft that goes into making a Bahnsen dress – bridal or not – there is still that sense of effortlessness when it comes to actually wearing one. In fact, the frock that has inadvertently turned into a bridal best-seller is the Beth dress, a bandeau frock with exploding volume that’s been in Bahnsen’s repertoire since day one. “She’s been in the collection since the first season and she wasn’t designed as a bridal dress,” says Bahnsen. “But she just works perfectly.” In fact, you’re just as likely to find the dress coming down the aisle as you are to see it on some local cool girl, zipping around on a bicycle, wearing a pair of sneakers (perhaps that cool girl is Bahnsen herself, who owns the dress in several versions). “Many are drawn to our signature details – delicate bows, floral appliqués, expressive silhouettes and textures – all elements that feel soft yet strong, romantic yet modern,” adds Cortzen. “There is a clear shift toward personal storytelling – brides want their gown to reflect their own sense of self, whether that's playful, poetic or quietly powerful.”

And while a bride may not wear sneakers, the Bahnsen bride will likely wear flats, hair loose and easy. Minimal makeup. “We’re very lucky that the way people wear the dresses is so true to brand,” says Bahnsen. “There’s a real effortlessness and a femininity.”