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Judy Murray's designer defends her wedding outfit: 'it was cream, not white'

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It was dubbed Scotland's "royal wedding of the year" so naturally, the guests and bridal party at Andy Murray and Kim Sears' nuptials were dressed to impress. All eyes were on the beautiful bride, but the spotlight also fell on Andy's mother Judy.

The Scottish tennis coach was the epitome of chic, swapping her tennis whites for a cream wool coat and a mink-coloured dress. Judy, 55, had asked one of her favourite designers Joyce Young OBE to take the reins and produce an outfit with the wow factor.

Chatting exclusively to HELLO! Online, Joyce reveals what it was like working with the former Strictly Come Dancing star, and addresses those reports on the mother-of-the-groom wearing "white".

judy murray1 © Photo: Getty Images

Judy Murray looked radiant in a cream coat and mink-coloured dress created by Joyce Young OBE

When Judy made her glamorous appearance at Dunblane Cathedral, wedding-watchers were quick to note how radiant Andy's mum looked. Some also commented that Judy was, perhaps inappropriately, defying tradition and wearing "white".

"People don't seem to know the difference between white, ivory and cream," said Joyce. "Anything pale is termed white. She was wearing cream."

Judy's coat was called the OBE, given that it was the same style that Joyce wore at her OBE investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace last year. The designer, who was awarded for her service to textiles, wore a cobalt blue version but Judy opted for the one in cream.

judy murray2 © Photo: Getty Images

"Judy knew that Kim's mum was wearing navy, so she wanted to wear mink or light coffee," said the designer 

"She tried on the cream wool coat and she fell in love with it," said Joyce. "She tried it in other colours but the cream with the mink dress looked the most stunning."

The bespoke dress in question was a mink and sand-coloured number that featured a cream bodice covered in guipure lace, with see-through three-quarter length sleeves.

"Judy knew that she wanted to wear mink or light coffee on the day, a dress with maybe a three-quarter length jacket – something understated and elegant," said Joyce. "She knew that Kim's mum was wearing navy so that wasn't a possible choice."

kim sears full © Photo: Getty Images

"Kim was beautiful and very natural," said Joyce. "She looked very feminine on her big day"

Joyce, who admitted that it was a "privilege" to dress Judy, was approached by her famous customer just a month and a half before the big day. "For Andy's wedding, Judy arranged her first appointment with me six weeks before the date," said the designer. "I did all her fittings and got to know her quite well.

"She is lovely and I thoroughly enjoyed the fittings. It was all very hush hush and we put her name in the diary as Judy Smith, so not even our production team knew who they were making the outfit for."

kim sears petals © Photo: Getty Images

Andy Murray and Kim Sears tied the knot at Dunblane Cathedral on Saturday

Joyce worked with Judy long before the wedding. The Glasgow School of Art graduate designed the outfit that Judy wore to her son Andy's investiture at Buckingham Palace in 2013, when he received his OBE.

"Judy walked into the shop in Glasgow one day and needed it for the following week," said Joyce. "She was drawn straight away to the silk dress and embroidered coat and then realised they were Wimbledon colours. Purple and emerald. She is an incredibly busy lady so we made it and sent it to London for her, there was no time for the usual three fittings."

The designer, who established her business 21 years ago, also shared her advice for mothers of the groom and bride.

investiture © Photo: Getty Images

Judy wore a purple and green coat also designed by Joyce Young OBE at her son Andy's investiture

Speaking about the rules on what mums can and can't wear, Joyce said: "Mothers come in saying they don't want to wear lace because the bride is wearing lace or they have heard as the mother-of-the-groom you can only wear beige.

"I think all these prejudices and rules are utter nonsense. There is only one bride and I don't think anyone is going to mistake mum for the bride. Similarly flying in the face of convention, I wouldn't rule out any colours.

"The only time where ivory may be inappropriate is where the bride is older or getting married for the second time and may not be wearing a long dress in preference for a suit or short dress. I think at these weddings a bit of caution may be required."

joyce prince charles

Joyce Young receives her OBE from Prince Charles in 2014

Joyce also gave some valuable pieces of advice for mothers-of-the-bride and groom. "Start thinking about your outfit early," she said. "Most mums are trying to lose weight and don't want to start trying on until they have dropped a size or two. We make to measure so are totally flexible with design fabric and colour. However production space is limited so we advise coming in early so that fabric can be ordered and a production space booked."

"Don't bring too many people," she added. "Too many opinions just confuse but if you are a mother-of-the-bride (MOB) bring the bride. Etiquette says MOBs choose first followed by the mother-of-the-groom (MOG) so if you're all on good terms find out what colour or style the MOB has chosen so as not to clash or duplicate."

Joyce also pointed out that MOBs and MOGs shouldn't be dictated by the bridesmaids' dress colour, because very few pictures are taken of absolutely everyone together.

"The most important thing is that your outfit suits you for style and colour. Go for chic and elegant not fussy and patterned," she said. "I think it's far worse to see a loud patterned outfit in the line-up than a mother wearing discreet cream."

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