About me - felicitY Westmacott
Photo by Paola de Paola Photography
Biography of a bespoke wedding dress maker
I have been sewing professionally for more than 20 years, specialising in bespoke wedding dresses since 2006. In 2004 I graduated from Wimbledon College of Art with a BA(Hons) in Costume design.
My family observes that I'm never seen without a needle. For my work I make beautiful and individual bespoke wedding dresses and on holiday I do cross stitch!
I live with my spouse and three lovely children, working from my studio-shop on Dorking High street.
To see more of my work visit my portfolio of real brides.
Art and Painting
I love painting; with still life of flowers and reflective surfaces being favourite subjects I return to again and again. I actually really dislike figurative work, though faces and portraits interest me. So you’ll notice my dress designs for bespoke wedding dresses are very simple, with no body parts involved!
Board games and computer games
If you’re ‘in’ to board games you will recognise and appreciate my taste for ‘proper games’. I loved Monopoly, Hero Quest and Risk as a child but I’m so glad better games were invented that don’t rely on dice rolling! My favourites include Dominion, Smallworld, Wingspan and Samurai.
I also loved computer games growing up. I played all the way through the ‘Commander Keen’ series and later enjoyed many many games of Civilisation, Theme Hospital and Theme Park on the PC. When I gained a husband and a playstation other games became available to me including Super Monkey Ball and Katamari Damacy.
the other interests of a bespoke wedding dress maker
Language and more
I’m very much a book worm and much prefer the printed page to reading online articles. I have a very high reading speed and devour the written word, both novels and non-fiction.
My mind is a bottomless well for acquiring new and interesting facts. I love connecting with people who can expand my knowledge more into my areas of interest. Or show me new avenues to explore. Linguistics and anthropology are some subjects that interest me particularly. I’ve had passing flirtations with economics and psychology too.
Garden and nature
I love my little garden though I rarely get as much time out there as I would like. My work, making bespoke wedding dresses is very seasonal. So my busiest time crosses over with when the garden needs me most.
My vegetable patch has ebbed and waned with each new baby usurping any spare time I might gain. But I love growing herbs and things to eat as well as flowers. I grow red-currants and make my own jelly.
May is a good time of year in my garden: my happy place.
If you feel a connection with me and my interests enquire today about starting the design process for your bespoke wedding dress.
Aerial Hoop
I started attending aerial hoop classes at a local studio, My Body Rocks in Reigate in 2022. I love gaining strength and flexibility and sometimes learning graceful moves as well!
Below I perform one of the simplest positions, the very first people learn at a beginner class, but with my friend Lauren Croucher on the hoop as well it looks spectacular. It is called a Delilah.
Advancing to moves on the top of the hoop and in the 'strop' shows the progress I have made in three years practice. Below is a 'chest stand' and I am wearing a custom unitard by Shelley of Cirquewear by Shelley
Bright Apple photography
After just nine months at the studio I took part in my first photoshoot with Bright Apple Photography . It's a really good idea to document even the start of your journey as then you can later really see the gains you are making. Below two pictures from the first photoshoot, showing a 'double leg cradle' and a 'clothes-line' poses.
The image cella
The other pictures are from my most recent hoop shoot in July 2024 with the Image Cella. This shoot wasn't the first time I've posed for Simon as he started in wedding photography and has not only taken pictures of some of my client's weddings but also collaborated with me on wedding dress photoshoots.
The Path to making Bespoke Wedding Dresses
Sewing and fashion are threads that run deep into my life history.
My first memory of sewing is at just over four years old, on the floor of my mother's sewing room, making a doll's dress (which I still have). I sewed at home for fun, at Brownies for badges, at school for GSCE and A-level, fashion shows and for my friends' Leavers' Ball dresses.
2004 at the Henley Royal Regatta in a dress and hat I made myself
At the age of fifteen I joined the National Youth Theatre's costume department and sewed through six summer holidays in dusty theatre wardrobes and back stage. While I was at art college my mother and I ran a small shop on Reigate High Street called ‘Lothlorien’. We sold clothes and jewellery we made ourselves and craft items from other local artisans.
above: 'Lothlorien' in Reigate, Surrey 2000-2001
In my early twenties I designed and sewed hundreds of costumes for a Yorkshire based Youth theatre 'Livewire'. At university (Wimbledon School of Art) I purposefully took the design, not sewing, course to push my research and design skills. I felt I could already sew!
While at university I got the bug for bridal wear by working part time for a wedding dress shop in Reigate as their alterations lady. After graduating I worked briefly in film and television before concentrating on making bespoke wedding dresses.
above: on my last day at 'Amante' wedding dress shop in Reigate 2008, with Liz the owner who has been so supportive and encouraging during my career and is still a dear friend.
Moving into new premises
I have been working from home for most of my working life, but in 2021 we decided as a family we needed more space. With three children and my business (as well as ourselves) our three bedroom home was beginning to feel quite tight! We considered moving house but with the children settled at school it seemed a better idea to look to move my business to a new space.
Fittings in my previous space took place in our living room, with a lovely big mirror.
My sewing room was quite small, and difficult to keep tidy when I was busy.
Photography by @thealtweddingco and @rachelmillsphotography
I got the keys to my new shop premises on Dorking High Street in April 2022 and moved in six months later after extensive renovations.
I gained so much space. Not only a workshop area four times the size of my old workroom at home, but also a retail area with seating for consultations, two fitting rooms and a huge basement area where I keep my pride and joy, a 4m long cutting out table!
The same big mirror from my home is now in pride of place in my main fitting room. The mirror used to belong to my grandmother. She as a professional dancer and used it for dance practice at home.
Below: my new sewing room where I create all your beautiful dresses.
home, work and family life
I live in Surrey with my wonderful and supportive spouse who is a computer programmer. We have three delightful children who were trained young to bring me the pins they find all around the house. They are all very patient with my work making bespoke wedding dresses. With many fittings at weekends and in the evening it’s tricky sometimes to balance work and family life.
My splendid family. A portrait taken in 2018 with baby just 2 months old!
Photo by Kevin Day
costume history
My fascination with costume history began when colouring in photocopied pages from my mother’s costume history books. Books she’d enjoyed herself as a child. My mother made many historical costumes for her large collection of Barbie dolls, which my sister and I gained access to when we successively turned eight. My mother’s miniature Elizabethan and Tudor creations were truly exquisite. And the 1950’s and 60’s commercial doll’s clothes that came to us were so much more beautiful and well made than those sold in the shops at the time.
Historical barbie costumes made by my mother when she was a child. They are Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth I
above: 18th century costume designs for 'Our Country's Good', a university project.
The award winning and well known costume designer, Jenny Beavan is a family friend. I was lucky enough to live with her for 4 summers in my teenage years, while I worked at the National Youth theatre. I watched her work on designs for the films ‘Ever After’ and ‘Possession’ while I lived at her house in London. She kindly tempered my youthful arrogance with wise words of advice. Jenny helped me to think about my possible career in costume optimistically but with realism. And she has been supportive ever since!
theatre
My love of theatre extends far beyond the costumes. I love to watch plays and feel very lucky to live so close to the culture epicentre that is London. I am a member of a small but very prolific local amateur theatre in the nearby town of Horley. The Archway Theatre, built under the arches of Horley station’s railway bridge, produces 10+ productions a year on two stages. I have designed and made costumes on occasion but mostly participate on stage.
My favourite roles with Archway, and at other theatres, have included Elaine in ‘The Graduate’, ‘Lotty’ in ‘Enchanted April’ and Sybil in ‘Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime’. I also regularly appear in Shakespeare plays with The Polesden Lacy Shakespeare Company. Until 2019 they produced outdoor, traditional but groundbreaking productions of well loved Shakespeare plays.
Below you can see me in
Home I'm Darling -as Judy 2024 Archway Theatre
Sunset at Villa Thalia -as Charlotte 2022 Archway Theatre
Love's Labour's Lost -as Moth 2019 Polesden Lacy Shakespeare
Enchanted April -as Lottie 2017 - Archway Theatre
The Winter's Tale -as Paulina 2012 Archway Theatre
The Taming of the Shrew -as Biana 2010 Polesden Lacy Shakespeare
Passing out Parade -as Jenkins 2009 Archway Theatre
A Midsummer's Night's Dream' -as a fairy. 2009 Polesden Lacy Shakespeare
Lord Arthur Saville's crime -as Sybil 2008 KADDS, Kingswood
Saucy Jack and the space vixens
In 2023 I directed 'Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens' at the Archway Theatre. This is a musical I saw in one of it's original productions at tne Edinburgh festival in the late 1990's. I fell in love with it's sexiness and vibrant score. It was a wonderful fulfilment to bring my own version to life and to have such a wonderful cast and crew help me do so.
Photos below by Mark Dobson
Costume design
Though I actively prefer treading the boards myself as my main hobby, I am occasionally persuaded to help design and make costumes for shows I am involved with. Below are a few creations worn by wonderful characters from shows across the years. These include, Dracula, Hamlet (In Japan), Much Ado ABout Nothing, The Importance of Being Ernest, Private Lives, King Arthur, Pride and Prejudice and Twelfth Night.
teaching
In 2016 I taught a summer course at London School of Fashion. The project was run by ‘The Muslin Trust’ a charity seeking to raise the profile of traditionally woven cotton muslin fabrics called ‘Jamdani’ from Bangladesh. The course ran for 10 weeks with young people aged 15-21 learning about the history of Regency fashion, historical construction techniques and the continuing production of the muslin fabrics. The students designed and produced, entirely by hand, two Regency dresses using Jamdani fabrics. The dresses were showcased and exhibited around the world.
In 2017 I started running small sewing classes with colleagues Sarah Fenn and Beth Moody. Under the name ‘Reigate School of Sewing’ we run 6-8 week dressmaking courses for beginners and improvers. We also run stand alone ‘Learn to use a Sewing Machine’ classes for total newbies and for those needing to gain confidence again after some time away from sewing.
If you're new to dressmaking and looking to buy a suitable sewing machine check out my blog post on 'Sewing Machines for Beginners'
From these two small forays into teaching I find I have a real love of, and some skill at, imparting my own knowledge to others. I hope one day to take on an apprentice and be able to pass on my knowledge of making bespoke wedding dresses.
teaching
In 2016 I taught a summer course at London School of Fashion. The project was run by ‘The Muslin Trust’ a charity seeking to raise the profile of traditionally woven cotton muslin fabrics called ‘Jamdani’ from Bangladesh. The course ran for 10 weeks with young people aged 15-21 learning about the history of Regency fashion, historical construction techniques and the continuing production of the muslin fabrics. The students designed and produced, entirely by hand, two Regency dresses using Jamdani fabrics. The dresses were showcased and exhibited around the world.
In 2017 I started running small sewing classes with colleagues Sarah Fenn and Beth Moody. Under the name ‘Reigate School of Sewing’ we run 6-8 week dressmaking courses for beginners and improvers. We also run stand alone ‘Learn to use a Sewing Machine’ classes for total newbies and for those needing to gain confidence again after some time away from sewing.
If you're new to dressmaking and looking to buy a suitable sewing machine check out my blog post on 'Sewing Machines for Beginners'
From these two small forays into teaching I find I have a real love of, and some skill at, imparting my own knowledge to others. I hope one day to take on an apprentice and be able to pass on my knowledge of making bespoke wedding dresses.
Early connections with the Wedding Industry
I grew up with parents who changed jobs and moved house every 3-5 years throughout my childhood. Though we were always living in and around the Reigate/ Horley/ Gatwick area. My father loves setting up new businesses and making plans, but not so much the everyday slog of running them. So there was always a new project on the horizon and another reason to move on!
The Parks Young family in 1991, I am bottom right.
One of their enterprises was running a country house hotel, just outside Charlwood, in Surrey. The 16 bedroom house was owned by my grandfather, and had been built by his grandfather, truly a family mansion. My parents started out running the house as a bed and breakfast but quickly progressed to hoteling. They found weddings were the best way to make the house financially viable.
Stanhill Court in the snow 1987. My bedroom was the third upstairs window from the right which was always traditionally the nursery.
Unfortunately this discovery could not prevent the 1991 financial crash from pulling the rug from under their feet. As a result the business collapsed and the house was sold out of the family.
above: Inside Stanhill Court when I lived there, view from above the stairs to the minstrels gallery
But the years I spent from age four to nine in a big, beautiful house, surrounded by English woodland and handing round cake at weekend weddings, were very formative. You can still visit my family house, Stanhill Court (Hotel) in Charlwood. It is still a hotel and wedding venue, though now much changed and modernised by the current owners. Very occasionally I make a bespoke wedding dress for someone who is going to be married there and that always brings me much happiness.
If you feel a connection with me and my interests enquire today about starting the design process for your bespoke wedding dress.
Christopher Nolan`s The Odyssey is everywhere you look right now, including all the discourse around the costumes. It brought to my mind one of my own bridal creations, inspired by history but also undeniably modern.
Just like the costume design in The Odyssey, I wasn`t going for historical accuracy here. I took inspiration from the pleating of ancient Grecian clothing, and the golden adornments of the Egyptians. But the under bust corset and the asymmetry of this wedding dress means you certainly wouldn`t have found it in either of those ancient civilisations.
Can you imagine a wedding dress like this on the big screen?
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Suppliers
Photographer - Jamie Edward - @jamieedwardphotography
Venue - RSA House - @rsaweddings
Concept, Design & Shoot Coordinator - With Akilah & Co - @weddings_akilahandco
Videographer - Alfie`s Visuals - @clique_visuals
Content Creator - The Wedding Storyteller - @weddingstorytellerco
Florist - Fleur De La Couture - @fleurdelacouture
Delivery & Logistics Team - Middlemen Logistics - @middlemenlogistics
Hair Stylist - Hair By Duboux - @hair_by_duboux
Makeup Artist - Melinda Bridal - @melindabridal
Jewellery - Catherine Marche - @catherinemarche
Cake - Peboryon - @bluepumpkincalligraphy
Linen, Napkins & Furniture - Hallmark Hire - @hallmarkcateringandequipmenthire
Models - @dom_dht & @yanapenrose
Celebrant - Dave The Celebrant - dave_the_celebrant
Bespoke Dress Maker - Felicity Westmacott - @felicitywestmacott
Bride Accessories - Saint Beth Official - @saintbeth2
Confetti - Confetti Club London - @confetticlublondon
Newspapers - Photo Press - @photopressuk
Caroline is an equestrian vet for the military, and as such, had the honour of getting married at Sandhurst.
She needed a wedding dress that would befit the splendour of such a historic institution. Not only that, but she wanted her dress to pay homage to her career.
The result was this deep purple silk dress coat, full of details that are completely unique to Caroline.
The style of the dress coat is reminiscent of a Victorian riding habit. The buttons on the front of the dress are from her regiment - usually they`re gold, and much larger. But when Caroline went to the military tailors, they offered her smaller silver ones used for hats. The perfect finishing touch.
I was also lucky enough to attend Caroline`s wedding and wore one of my own creations as well. My colours and Caroline`s colours looked so good together (scroll to the end to see).
Throughout the day I got so many compliments for my work, which was such a lovely feeling, on top of the already gorgeous day I got to share with the happy couple.
If you want to see the dress she wore underneath this dress coat, check out my last post. It`s quite unexpected! Let me know what you think.
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Photography - Phil Carr - @phil_carr_photography
Hair - Kelly Dingle
Sumptuous sky-blue silk.
A figure-hugging silhouette.
Corseted with lilac ribbon.
And sparkling lace accents.
This is the kind of bridal outfit that makes me excited to get into my workshop every day. Colourful, confident and completely Caroline.
Originally Caroline wanted a cocktail-style dress, but eventually changed her mind to a bodice and skirt ensemble. That’s part of the joy of having your wedding dress made specifically for you – you can explore options and try different things out. It’s all part of the bespoke process. When a bride tells me she’s not sure about something, that helps me to get her one step closer to her dream dress. And that’s what we both want!
This is only half of what I made for Caroline – I can’t wait to show you the other half properly (you may have already glimpsed it in the video). I’ll be posting about that next, and trust me, it’s worth the wait.
Photography - Phil Carr - @phil_carr_photography
Hair - Kelly Dingle
“Felicity listened to what I wanted, gave a clear quote and completed the alterations so nobody could see them. Clear booking system as well. Would recommend.”
Sometimes it takes a little adjustment here and there to make a wedding dress feel like it was made for you, and sometimes a dress needs a more dramatic transformation. Either way, I`m here to help.
If you`re interested in getting your dress altered for this year, I`m currently booked up until the beginning of October. So if your wedding is November onwards and your dress doesn`t feel quite right yet, drop me a message. But don`t wait too long - spaces are filling up fast.
You can always book in a no-obligation consultation with me, to see if I would be the right fit for you and your dress - link in bio.
Photography - Birdseye Photography
Isabelle thought she had found the dress she wanted for her wedding day. But her mum wanted to gift her something a bit more special for such a special day.
When I met Isabelle, she showed me the dress. It was pretty, but it was made from cheaper fabrics, and there were parts of the dress she wasn`t as keen on.
We worked together to identify what about her inspiration dress she liked, and I made sure to include all those elements in her design. And, on top of that, we also changed the parts of the inspiration dress that she didn’t like that much.
She knew she wanted colour (whereas the original dress was white), she knew she wanted shorter sleeves, and a straight neckline, instead of the sweetheart neckline the other dress had.
We came up with a pale blue silk cocktail dress, with Chantilly lace layered over top and Guipure lace trim on the waistline.
It goes to show the difference between a cheaper dress and the bespoke experience. You can love both versions of the dress, and want to wear both, but with bespoke you get to make every element tailored to your preferences.
Photography - @mirandavphoto
Throughout my years as a bespoke wedding dress maker, lace is a fabric I have worked with time and time again. And it never gets boring.
Why?
Because there are just so many different kinds, in different colours, finishes and patterns. I have books and books of lace samples from my suppliers (shout out @bridalfabrics) you could easily lose a few hours admiring.
This is just a glimpse into what can be done with lace when it comes to alternative wedding dresses. If there`s a kind of lace in this post you want to know more about, ask away in the comments and I`ll make sure to reply.
And make sure you scroll to the end to see the fabric that always gets mistaken for lace, even though it isn`t.
Which of these lace looks is your favourite?
Photographers:
1. @jessicajillphoto
2. @dinawardphotography
3. barryholder.co.uk
4. @jessicajillphoto
5. @altweddingco
6. @snappedbycatx
7. @emilyhudson.photography
8. @carolinehorne.s.photography
9. @emilyhudson.photography
