This Copenhagen bride spent 50 hours hand-sewing feathers onto her sheer wedding dress

Pernille August Rosenkilde married Jeppe August Soerensen Rosenkilde wearing an undulating feathered top and a dramatic sheer skirt that represented her personality in a dress. The Danish designer and influencer, who runs colourful and quirky brand Per and the Zoo, did not perhaps foresee the amount of work it would take to realise her own image in plumes. The bride spent some 50 hours dyeing each quill in tea to formulate the perfect cloud-like shade, before cutting and tying them into small bouquets and hand-sewing them onto the bodice, inspired by a favourite blue top.

The fabric for the skirt, meanwhile, involved scouring suppliers in both France and the UK to source the right silk organza that wouldn’t look too thin, see-through or cheap. She enlisted the help of tailor Rikke Hubert to ensure the look toed the line between chic and cheeky, and added Bottega Veneta accessories to bring the look bang up-to-date. “It was worth it,” says the newlywed now. “The dress turned out to be everything I dreamed of, and Jeppe thought it was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.”

The couple, who met 13 years ago as twenty-somethings at a chance encounter at a Copenhagen Business School social, married in front of 88 friends and family at Grundtvig’s Church, where their daughter Lizzi was baptised, on the first day of summer. As Pernille waited for the wedding bells to ring and the doors to the most beautiful chapel in Copenhagen to open, her two “gays of honour” took a selfie and declared, “This is like the Met Gala!” The “main character energy” dress code had caused some mild confusion among the guests – “Can it be all movie characters? Does it include animé movies?” – but Pernille lent a handful of guests looks from her own richly populated wardrobe, and the bridal party borrowed from Cecilie Bahnsen. “We expected a Pikachu or Hulk, but it seems everyone got it in the end.”

After almost shouting “I do” with excitement, the couple greeted guests with champagne and McDonald’s cheeseburgers outside the church, before setting off in their heavily adorned vintage blue car to Food Studio in Refshaleøen. Flowers from Pernille’s mother’s garden showered the pair as they entered the party, soundtracked by Don Carlos’s jazz band – a cheery all-male octogenarian ensemble – with Pernille even winning a game of table tennis before dinner. A family-style supper of grilled lobsters, fresh Danish vegetables and rhubarb ice was served under a giant disco ball that cast a shine on all the guests – exactly as Pernille had dreamed.

After dancing the wedding waltz, the pair handed the playlist over to their friends who are DJs (“or like to be at parties”) for a mash-up of Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em” and Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything”, which Lizzi dances to every morning at home. After midnight, Pernille changed into a beaded Ganni minidress embroidered with white hearts that she had kept in her wardrobe for six years, knowing it would be perfect for her wedding one day.

The celebrations felt especially moving after Pernille and Jeppe’s special day had been postponed due to Covid and then because of fertility treatment. (“I wanted to drink a lot of champagne at my wedding,” shares the bride.) The proposal came on New Year’s Day in 2020 on a blustery walk in the countryside. “I turned around to lean into the wind, and when I turned back, he was on his knees with the most beautiful ring I’d ever seen,” recalls Pernille. “Jeppe had designed it with my favourite jewellery designer, Nadia Shelbaya, and when I saw it, I thought, ‘This is me in a ring.’” Shelbaya went on to make the couple’s wedding rings for an immensely personal occasion that was well worth the wait.

The night before the wedding, Pernille slept at the 25Hours Hotel with her maid-of-honour. In the morning, two of her dear friends came to join them to get ready while listening to ’00s R‘n’B.

Josephine Mai – Pernille’s bridesmaid and, happily, a well-known hair and make-up artist – perfected a “down-to-earth” look for the bride. “I rarely wear a lot of make-up, and I didn’t want to look different than I normally do – just the prettiest version of myself, and that’s exactly what she did.”

Pernille, now 34, met Jeppe when she was 21 at a social hosted at Copenhagen Business School. “As a design school student, I was sure there wouldn’t be anyone there of interest to me. But then I saw him, and we’ve never looked back.”

“Everything I wore was an extension of who I am, just with fewer colours.”

One of the bride’s favourite photographs from the day.

The feathered top was the result of 50 hours of handiwork, which Pernille enlisted her mother and sister to help with.

“I love wearing feathers and see-through fabrics, but I also wanted the dress to be elegant, classy and a bit sexy.”

A close-up of the bespoke Nadia Shelbaya rings and the bride’s manicure – the only nod to her usual penchant for colour.

Custom wedding dress maker Rikke Hubert helped Pernille realise her dream wedding dress, but the feather work was a total labour of love from the bride’s family.

“I wanted the dress to be the main focus, so I kept the accessories subtle. The sheer skirt of the dress shouldn’t compete with crazy shoes, so the silver mesh Bottega Veneta heels were perfect – classy and beautiful, yet subtle.”

“For jewellery, it was important that it was beautiful, but not overpowering. I mixed my own with borrowed pieces from Nadia Shelbaya and Sara Jin Mi, including a J stud, and a cross I wore from my communion.”

Before walking down the aisle and seeing how each loved one had interpreted the “main character energy” dress code.

The couple chose to wed during the last weekend in June as it felt like the first day of summer. Lizzi was born on the first day of winter and so it was her “half birthday” on her parents’ celebration.

“We wanted it to be in Copenhagen because we love our beautiful city.”

Pernille, a self-professed daddy’s girl, with her father, her sister and her daughter.

Nadia Shelbaya, who made Pernille’s engagement ring, also made the couple’s delicate wedding bands.

“When I arrived with my soon-to-be husband, I could see his eyes were wet, and we couldn’t stop smiling.”

“I’m usually very colourful, but I wanted the wedding bouquet to be classic. My mum reminded me of the beauty of lily of the valley flowers, and I went with that vision, thanks to Holly Flower Studio.”

The day was more than the bride and groom ever expected. The next day, they took Lizzi for a walk to the botanical garden and ate hot dogs.

Lizzi wore a custom blue dress from Cecilie Bahnsen. “She loved it so much that she went around showing it to guests during the ceremony – that moment was one of the best of the day.”

A moment of pause captured by friend Tine Bek during the ceremony.

“We were both sore from smiling so much and cried many happy tears.”

“I dressed a lot of the guests with pieces from my wardrobe – I loved that my friends and family wanted to wear my clothes.”

Jeppe’s suit was from Filippa K and chosen for its Richard Gere in American Gigolo vibe. The groom bought his shoes from Lemaire and his silk pocket square was fashioned from the same silk as the bride’s top. The pin securing it was an earring from Sophie Bille Brahe. He later changed into a Per and the Zoo suit made from vintage fabrics and velvet Gucci loafers.

Cecilie Bahnsen – Pernille’s favourite Danish designer – lent her signature whimsical dresses to the bride’s closest friends.

A moment for the bride’s chic version of the “naked dress”.

Sweet Lizzi caught up in the moment.

Post ceremony and riding on a high – with Bottega accessories to boot.

Pernille’s mother decorated the couple’s vintage car for the photos.

The newlyweds dedicated the first dancefloor hits – Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ’Em” and Pitbull’s “Give Me Everything” – to their daughter Lizzi, who dances to both tunes every morning.

The “gays of honour”, who declared that the wedding was somewhere in the realm of the Met Gala, wearing The Frankie Shop and Margiela Tabis.

McDonald’s provided post-ceremony cheeseburgers.

The silk organza for the bride’s dress had to be perfect – expensive looking and just the right amount of see-through.

Pernille and Jeppe chose Food Studio because of its great menu, which focuses on grilled meats and seasonal local vegetables.

“We wanted a cake that was beautiful, but most importantly tasted like summer. Nothing says summer like a classic almond sponge cake with vanilla cream and fresh berries.” Majka of Spolsky Studio was behind the grand confection.

Wine was sourced from The Hidden Sea, which is on a mission to remove plastic from the ocean with each bottle sold. Plus, says the pair, “it tastes great, so it was a win-win.”

The beaded Ganni mini that Pernille had in her closet for years in the hope that she would one day wear it to her wedding party.

Pernille and Jeppe had photographs taken in their favourite Copenhagen gardens before heading to the Food Studio.

Another one for luck.