Bespoke Wedding Dress Photoshoot in Hampshire

Bespoke Wedding Dress Photoshoot in Hampshire Winchester english country garden

For this bespoke wedding dress photoshoot in Hampshire, we wanted to evoke the feeling of a fairy tale. Of a princess being whisked away by her prince, of magic, whimsy and romance. The colours we wanted to focus on were blush pink, various shades of green and deep burgundy. All inspired by the colours found in and around our stunning venue, Lainston House, including the beautiful ruins in the woods.

“This styled shoot is a celebration of the romantic and whimsical, where the ethereal meets the earthly in a harmonious dance of enchantment. Witness the union of love and nature in a setting that feels straight out of a fairytale, where burgundy and blush come together to create a visual masterpiece of late summer splendour.”

So step into our story, and prepare to be charmed…

Look #1 – The Slyphide Dress

Antique silver lace wedding dress

The Slyphide dress actually comprises of two elements; a base dress, and a lace overdress. For this bespoke wedding dress photoshoot in Hampshire, I made a new base dress, replacing its usual ivory shift with a blush pink silk dupion one instead. You can see what the dress looks like with the other colour underneath here.

I made this dress to be figure hugging, and then flaring out at the knees to make an elegant fishtail mermaid skirt. I used lots of layers of beautiful tulle to give a waterfall effect, like this bride is walking on water, splashing in the waves. The vintage style antique silver lace is beautifully beaded and edged at the neckline with pretty scallop trim. I love the flutter sleeves, made in the same floaty ivory silk chiffon as the lower skirt.

I think this look strikes the perfect balance between ethereal and sexy – like a siren, luring sailors from their ships.

Look #2 – Flora Overdress over Hand-painted Princess Dress

Blush tulle overdress with balloon sleeves

hand painted flowers bridal skirt english garden wedding bride groom

The Flora overdress is a blush pink balloon-sleeved overdress. For this shoot, we layered it on top of a dress leant to me by a previous bride. The dress underneath is ivory silk organza with hand painted flowers around the skirt and train, fading upwards. I had flowers leftover from making the original dress, which I sprinkled across the waist and shoulders of the overdress. By adding the same design element to the two pieces, it blended them nicely together.

Adding an overdress to your wedding outfit gives you lots of fun extras without the full commitment. You can add volume and drama, but because it’s removable, you don’t have to worry about getting your sleeves in the soup!

If you’re curious what the wedding dress underneath looks like, you can see it, in all its splendour, here.

Look #3 – Sugar Rose Dress

Historically-inspired bridal separates

tulle sleeve corset bodice dress rococo romantic fairy tale wedding dress
18th fairytale century historical inspired wedding dress corset visible boning channels

The Sugar Rose is a three-piece ensemble, made up of a corset, a skirt and an overskirt. I love taking inspiration from all sorts of eras, so this outfit is a bit of an historical blend. I made the flat-fronted lace up corset in an 18th century Rococo style. Layering tulle in lots of pretty, pastel colours, I used ivory, cream, peach and pink, then appliqued statement lace lilies on top. I included sweet little tulle sleeves (detachable) and visible boning channels.

The overskirt, with its lovely fluffy waterfall bustle is inspired by the Victorian era, and the tea-length wiggle skirt underneath is undeniably from the 1950s. And of course, there is only one era where all these elements would be drawn together, and that’s now!

I love to recycle and repurpose, so I found it very satisfying to be able to use a floral corsage from a vintage wedding dress to finish off the back of the corset. This particular corsage came from an Ian Stuart design, who is one of my favourite wedding dress designers. It felt nice to pay him homage.

Suppliers

Stationary – Created by Magic
Photographer – NK Photography
Bespoke wedding dress – Felicity Westmacott
Embroidered dress and veil – Adorn Bridal by Ashley
Stylist – Niche Events
Florist – Leafy Couture Southampton
HMUA via Gemma Sutton – Chantelle Brennan MUA
Hair accessories and jewellery – Clare Lloyd Accessories
Models – Dan and Paige
Live illustrator – Stacey Greenshield Art
Wedding cake – Little House of Cake
Celebrant – Celebrate with Verity
Venue – Lainston House
Shoes – Becci Boo’s Shoes

This shoot was featured on Whimsical Wonderland Weddings blog. Give it a visit if you want to see more photos of the work of our brilliant suppliers.

Looking for more fairy tale inspiration? This Marie Antoinette wedding shoot has three more gorgeous wedding dresses around a similar theme. And you can see the Slyphide dress, in a different setting, for a Tuscany wedding shoot. The Slyphide dress is available ready to ship in a size 10, or as a custom order made to your exact measurements and preferences. And the Flora overdress is available here.

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Felicity Westmacott

I write about all aspects of weddings, dressmaking, fashion history, and the human relation to clothing. I welcome comments and debate.

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As a seamstress there are certain things that give me the ick. Usually they're pretty specific and unless you're also a dressmaker it might be something you're completely unaware of.

I've always had a ‘thing’ about language generally. I find it really interesting. I've noticed how strong a reaction I can have to people using language differently to what I’m used to. And when I notice that I often go on a bit of a deep dive to understand where that difference stems from. I think coming from a historical costuming background also means I love to know the history of things (and despite my instinctive language-conservative leanings, I do actively work on being accepting and open minded, trying celebrate the differences).

That said, please don’t say your dress has a trail!

Snails have trails - dresses have trains! 🐌
I found this sheet music in my house, and I was so surprised by what it was 🎹🎵

There’s a music stand in my childhood home, and when I was having a look, I found this: “Three Songs composed by Ethel M. Lightfoot”. And my curiosity was peaked. So I sat down at the piano.

When it comes to reading music, I can play piano and sing a little. Nothing outstanding but enough that I could put the music in front of me and have a go at playing it. And I was surprised to discover that I found it was really easy to sightread and sing. Ethel liked the same key signatures, melodies and intervals as me. The things I wrote in my teens (usually quite a bit more angsty) were really similar in terms of structure. Her themes were different, of course, like “Cradle Song”, where a mother sings to her child about their father being away at war.

Ethel, as it turns out, is my great grandmother. Ethel was a musician, and it was so wonderful to find some of her published work, play it and somehow feel connected to her through our similarities. Somewhere in my blood is Ethel’s love for music, and it was so special to find her sheet music flowing so easily from my fingertips.

I love learning about history generally, but there’s something extra special about learning about your own personal history 💜

Is there something from your family history that you’re particularly proud of?
With leaves starting to change to colour, my thoughts have turned to autumn. So I'm sharing my process for this autumn inspired dip dye wedding outfit;
🍁 deciding I wanted to layer a dip dye overskirt on top of the bridal playsuit
🍁choosing lots of warm, rich colours that make me think of autumn leaves carpeting a forest floor
🍁 cutting the tulle of the skirt to the right length 
🍁 gradually blending each layer of colour, using an ombre of yellow, orange, brown and just a little bit of gold at the end
…and then the finished product!

Doesn't this bridal outfit look right at some in the woods?

If you love the idea of an overskirt for your wedding dress, drop me a DM and let’s talk colour palettes!

~
Photographer: @charlymaephotography
emailme@felicitywestmacott.co.ukTEL 07762 543230TOUCHGet in
from design to completionbespoke wedding dressesFelicity Westmacott
Dorking, RH4 1RT241 High Street• Visit the Studio •
Dorking, RH4 1RT241 High Street• Visit the Studio •
emailme@felicitywestmacott.co.ukTEL 07762 543230TOUCHGet in