This was the first styled shoot I ever organised – but certainly not the last. I live on the border between Sussex and Surrey and as a wedding dress designer, it only made sense that I gathered together some local wedding suppliers, chose a stunning location, made some dresses and had some fun! Hence this bespoke wedding dress photoshoot in Sussex!
The name of this shoot is ‘Enchantment’. I wanted to evoke the ideas of story books and fairy tales. Something beautiful and elegant, but also wild and mysterious.
I made two wedding dresses for this shoot; the Wisteria dress and the Snowflake dress. So step into this English country wonderland and feast your eyes on these delights…
The Snowflake Wedding Dress
The first look I created for our bespoke wedding dress photoshoot in Sussex, was this beauty. Pale ivory silk dupion, with fine tulle layered on top. I vertically ruched and gathered the tulle all over the bodice, into the natural waist line, then cascading down over the skirt. The ruching helps with adding depth, texture and interest to a dress.
I added sheer tulle straps onto the bodice, along the sweetheart neckline. I’m a fan of making versatile dresses, so the straps can be worn over-the-shoulder or off-the-shoulder. They can also be more gathered, or spread out to look like a a cap sleeve. The back of the dress was lace up, with ribbon lacing and eyelets, decorated with pretty lace.
For the bottom of the skirt, I made a wide, tulle flounce with scalloped lace. The waistline was trimmed with same scalloped lace, as was the neckline. The join between the upper skirt and the lower skirt was trimmed with ivory corded lace and decorated with silk flowers, including roses, peonies and little dangling Japanese cherry blossom. Of course, for a skirt to have proper drama, it needs something to add volume. So underneath the main skirt is lots of netting!
This dress makes me think of something Keira Knightley would wear in period drama with sizzling romance and a lot of heathland. Or, I get the feeling the Phantom of the Opera might put Christine in a gown like this, don’t you think?
After this shoot, the snowflake dress went on to have another life, as a different dress. The bottom of the skirt became water damaged after a leak in a shop where it was on loan. But I’m never one to throw something away because it’s imperfect – on the contrary, what a fun challenge, to see how I solve the issue creatively! I transformed it into my Phoenix dress – turning the dress into something even more beautiful, from the ashes of itself.
If you’re interested to see how it turned out, and want to know more about the dip dying process, you can read about it here.
The Wisteria Wedding Dress
Now let’s talk about this pastel dream. The Wisteria dress was made from three-toned shot taffeta; with the three colours being pink, pale blue and silver. These colours give an overall lilac effect, but the fabric changes colour in the light. It’s beautiful to watch! If you look closely at the photos, you can start to make out the different shades.
I chose to make the dress from taffeta for specific reasons. Taffeta is a sort of papery, stiff material, that’s perfect for ruching and pleating because of its slightly crinkly texture. And as a bonus, it’s very swishy. It makes a very satisfying rustling sound when you move around in it.
In terms of the design, I chose strapless, with a straight across neckline. The bodice has a dropped waistline, ruched to the side and pleated at the hip. It’s really interesting to see how different ruching can look, depending on what fabric you’re working with. Then I added metallic silver Chantilly lace, hand appliqued, to the neckline and on hip. The skirt was full, layered over netting for more volume.
I also made a matching a sweet silver lace bolero with short sleeves and a little collar the back. With the English weather the way that it is, you might be grateful for the extra layer!
For me this dress, along with the gorgeous model (Lucy Claire Brennan), gives Lord of the Rings elf meets retro Y2K style. There’s something really ethereal about that iridescent fabric, but there’s also something wild with the lace creeping in. I just love the story that it’s telling!
Fairytale Details
For this bespoke wedding dress photoshoot in Sussex, we went with a pastel colour palette, with silver accents. We wanted an eccentric and sweet tone, like you might’ve stumbled across a princess having a tea party on her wedding day.
Rusty Mayfair did a brilliant job with the mismatched but complimentary crockery, giving us a little hint of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland. And as always, florist extraordinaire Muscari Whites delivered on the bouquets and arrangements. She chose lemon sorbet yellow roses, big cream peonies and baby pink orchids, along with deeper reds and purples to compliment and play with the pastels. I absolutely love how nature seems to be spilling out and overtaking this shoot! There’s definitely some magic in the air…
Behind the Scenes of a Bespoke Wedding Dress Photoshoot in Sussex
We had the pleasure of shooting our Enchantment photoshoot in the most enchanting Ghyll Manor. It’s currently closed, although Brakspear purchased it in 2021 for redevelopment.
Here you can see some of our brilliant suppliers, from our photography team from The Image Cella to our hair and make up team doing touch ups throughout the day.
Returning to the Real World
If you’ve fallen in love with the Wisteria dress, then you’re in luck! It’s currently up for sale and you can buy it on my Etsy shop here.
The Snowflake dress is also available to order in its new Phoenix form, which features a beautiful fiery dip dye on the skirt. If you would prefer it without the ombre, then drop me a message.
Suppliers
Models – Lucy Claire Brennan & Ella Gale
Photography – The Image Cella
Dresses – Felicity Westmacott
Crockery – Rusty Mayfair
Florist – Muscari Whites
Cake – Let It Be Cake
Venue – Ghyll Manor
Makeup & Hair – Lily Cowan & Poppy Kentist
Stylist – Kerry Kent
Art Direction & Production – Kent & Kentist
