It was undoubtedly a society wedding to remember as the Earl and Countess of Derby celebrated their only daughter’s nuptials this weekend.
Lady Henrietta Stanley, 29, known to her friends as Hetty, married Alexander ‘Sasha’ Reviakin at Knowsley Hall, her family’s Merseyside ancestral seat, on July 4.
It was the ‘first family wedding to be held’ at the stately home in 160 years, the Countess shared on Instagram, while sharing the first photos of the bride and groom.
Hetty was radiant in an embroidered, strapless white gown from celebrated British bridal designer Suzanne Neville, a diamond necklace and the glittering Derby Tiara dating back to 1890.
‘A momentous occasion yesterday to see our daughter Hetty marry Sasha – 4th of July 2026 – the first family wedding to be held [at Knowsley Hall] for 160 years,’ the mother of the bride gushed.
‘It was truly a wonderful day surrounded by friends and family,’ the countess continued, as she included pictures of Hetty and Sasha at their grand wedding reception.
Another image showed the countess adjusting Hetty’s necklace before the ceremony, as she fussed over her daughter.
She was beaming as she held up Hetty’s train in a third snap, with the countess opting to wear a blush pink floral dress, matching heels and a Philip Tracy hat for the special day.
Lady Henrietta Stanley, 29, known to her friends as Hetty, married Alexander ‘Sasha’ Reviakin at Knowsley Hall, her family’s Merseyside ancestral seat, on July 4
The bride and groom, pictured in a snap shared by the Countess of Derby on Instagram
Hetty’s husband Sasha, also 29, is a descendant of newspaper magnate William Berry, the 1st Viscount Camrose.
He is the only son of Russian art collector Sergei Reviakin and artist Rosanna Gardner, with Sasha and Hetty first crossing paths at the National Portrait Gallery in London in 2024.
Announcing his daughter’s engagement last year, the earl told the Daily Mail’s Diary Editor Richard Eden: ‘We are absolutely thrilled that Sasha has proposed to our beautiful Hetty.’
‘She has looked radiant since the day they started going out last year,’ Lord Derby added. ‘It will be very exciting to be hosting a family wedding at Knowsley Hall, which we suspect has not happened for over a century.’
It was certainly the ‘wedding of a lifetime’ for bridal makeup artist Josh McVeigh, who shared behind-the-scenes images of Hetty getting ready on his own Instagram account last night.
Josh, who also did the countess’s makeup, gushed: ‘The wedding of a lifetime, Hetty & Sasha.
‘Being asked to do the glam for a wedding of this level was honestly a career highlight.’
One of the photos posted by Josh showed Hetty touching up her pink lip liner, with the bride later thanking her makeup artist for doing a ‘fab job’ in the comments section of his post.
Lady Derby also reposted a sweet video of Sasha and Hetty hitting the dance floor after their vows, as it appeared the bride had changed outfits.
The clip showed Sasha twirling Hetty in his arms before guests joined them in partying the night away.
And it appears wedding bells will be heard through Knowsley Hall soon enough again.
In May, the Earl and Countess announced the engagement of their elder son, Lord Edward Stanley, with an aristocratic TikTok star.
Eton-educated Ed, 28, has become engaged to Victoria Jooris, 26, a Belgian noblewoman who has some 15,000 followers on the social media platform, where she poses in stylish outfits and shares insights into her glamorous lifestyle.
‘We could not be more thrilled by Ed and Victoria’s engagement,’ the earl, Edward Stanley, told the Daily Mail’s Richard Eden.
Ed, whose godfather is the disgraced former Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, stands to inherit Knowsley Hall, the 17-bedroom family seat near Liverpool.
Speaking of his prospective daughter-in-law, the earl added: ‘Victoria is fabulous and we have loved getting to know her over the last four years since we first met her at Aintree.’
Victoria, who lives in west London, is an associate at investment giant Bridgepoint. She’s the daughter of a Belgian baron and used to go out with Prince Alexandre D’Arenberg, an heir to one of the most prominent dynasties in the Low Countries.
Ed, who works in private equity, was a page of honour to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
He and Victoria, who studied at Oxford University at different times, will exchange vows next year at Knowsley Hall.
