Relaxed Pale Blush Wedding Dress for a Vegan Wedding

bespoke wedding dress summer garden

Janna’s relaxed wedding dress was made to compliment her (mostly) vegan celebration that took place in a Devon on a perfect summer day. I made her a dress in layered pale pink tulle, delicate chantilly lace and vintage silk satin jacquard. The design was as relaxed and summery as the day Janna had planned.

Wedding Dress Design for a vegan bride

I made Janna’s dress with a lightly boned bodice and full circle skirt. I layered soft tulle in delicate shades of ‘shell pink’, ‘honey’ and ‘pale ivory’ to create a subtle warmth without overt saturation. The neckline was a softly rounded square with straps extending up and crossing over at the back. Janna knew she wanted a low and open back from the outset. We were both excited by my suggestion of extending the shoulder straps so they would ‘become the lace-up ribbons that fastened her dress. A lace up back with eyelets and no modesty panel made a pretty design feature.

cross over strap lace up back wedding dress

Another unusual design idea must be credited entirely to Janna herself. I would normally carefully cut and sew lace layered over a fitted bodice to hide the joins. But this time I did not cut away the extra fabric, instead I spread the extra evenly around her waist and fixed it into tiny waves for texture. I softened the join of skirt and bodice using the pretty scalloped edge of the lace for a couture finish.

pin tuck chantilly lace and scalloped edge bodice detail wedding dress

Detail of the delicate lace bodice, layered over tulle and silk with tucks and scallop edge.

bespoke bridal gown on steps with bridesmaids

Vintage Jacquard Silk

Joseph-Marie Jacquard invented the jacquard loom technology in 1804. Jacquard fabric features a pattern woven into the surface instead of being printed or embroidered on top of finished fabric. The pattern often shows in reverse on the back of the fabric. In this case we had pretty floral motifs, shiny on a matt background on one side and the other way round underneath. We used it shiny side out under the tulle and lace which meant the sheen of the fabric glinted through the layers as Janna moved. The neckline and straps were all bound in the matt side of the vintage satin-jacquard.

Designing a dress for a friend

I was so excited to have Janna ask me to make her dress. I often make friends with my clients over the course of the making process but making a dress for a family member or friend is even more special. Janna was engaged to my husband’s cousin, Seb, so her marriage elevated our relationship from friendship to family. Seb and Janna are both architects, morally motivated (mostly) vegans and lovely people.

Like many of my clients Janna had a clear vision of how she wanted her dress to look. I am really good at making dreams into real dresses, be they vague or clear ideas.

Janna’s training as an architect meant she was more than usually interested in, and able to understand the technical aspects of making her dress. Some clients are more able to visualise than others and with Janna I knew that the construction of a 3D piece of ‘soft engineering’ would be easy to share and explain. It was a pleasure to be able to share more of my technical knowledge with a bride than usual, as part of her collaborative design process.

traditional wedding dress bride and bow tie groom outside church wedding

The story of a vegan wedding dress

Brides planning a wedding dress for a vegan wedding may arrive at their design consultation with a variety of concerns. For some, animal welfare is the main motivator, so avoiding silk (which kills silkworms) is a must. Silk farms produce vegan Peace-silk without killing any silk moths but it is much more expensive. And the choice of colour and weave in peace-silk is much more limited. For other brides, considering the environmental impact of man-made fibres that don’t break down is more important.

Knowing about Janna’s environmental outlook meant I was able to make suggestions and propose design ideas inline with her concerns. Janna and I discussed the possibilities of using second hand fabrics for her dress. Using older materials keeps more waste out of landfill and the sea as well as not fuelling the production of new materials.

Vintage satin-jacquard

Janna was given some incredibly beautiful satin-jacquard. Janna’s Grandfather had brought the fabric back from the far east in the 1980’s. He had bought it as a present for his daughter, Janna’s mother. His plan was that she would use it to make her wedding dress. But in his absence Janna’s young mother had already found her dress so the beautiful fabric sat unused for 35 years. I knew it was very special to be able to include this fabric in our design. And it perfectly fitted with Janna’s desire to avoid buying new fabrics.

I also found a large off-cut piece of intricate Chantilly lace in my stash. When I showed it to Janna at her design consultation she loved both the lace itself and it’s off-cut source. Though both the satin and lace were technically still new and unused, they were not bought new for Janna’s dress. So incorporating them in her vegan wedding dress design was a good compromise between her ideals and practicality.

Janna’s (mostly) Vegan Wedding Celebration

Janna’s wedding day was a celebration not just of her marriage to Seb but also of their joyful outlook on life. They used a local florist and English gown flowers, avoiding the airmiles usually associated with imported blooms. The mostly vegan wedding feast was all cooked and brought to the wedding by the guests. Janna was considerate to many of her non-vegan guests, by providing some vegetarian dishes including cheese and eggs.

Other DIY details included home made bunting and colour coded napkins for each guest sewn by the bride’s mother. The wedding party arrived in style on pedal powered transport. The grooms mother was responsible for her son’s snazzy floral waistcoat and the vegan cake decorated with fresh flowers.

happy vegan bride and groom in summer garden wedding

Page Boy and Flower Girl

It was also an honour to have my two elder children be invited to be flowergirl and page boy for Janna. I made blue tulle skirts for the two little flower girls. The page boys wore matching bespoke sashes with button fastening.

Official Photographer: Lasting Impressions by Lucy
Venue: Cadhay House
Flowers: Natural Branscombe

Making Janna’s Dress

Pictures from Janna’s fittings

If you would like to discuss ideas for your own wedding dress please do get in touch

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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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With spring finally appearing, it was time to update my bridal shop display window.
(If you're curious what it was last month, you can look at my previous post...if you're a fan of dip dye, I think you'll really like it)

I wanted to create something that was full of verdant texture. I feel really strongly about single use plastics, so I always try to either re-use elements from previous window displays, or gather things from nature. This time I used a floral garland by @muscariwhites and added dried flowers from the hydrangea bush in my garden, as well as ivy, and anything else I found that I thought would look pretty.

For this display, I featured two dresses. Usually it's three, but when one of them takes up so much space, I had to make sacrifices! I chose the sumptuous pink Evil Queen dress, as well as the lilac dip dye Bridgeton dress. Both of them are historically inspired (the former by Elizabethan fashion and the latter by Regency), but also have fantasy elements to them. Completely my style as a wedding dress designer.

Which dress in this display is your favourite?
Last month's window display before I change it to something new.

For the display I featured three red wedding dresses:

First is the Elodie dress, made in stunning red silk with a sequin top. I love the bow at the back that extends into a train, as well as the hand-beaded back necklace.

For the middle wedding dress, I took inspiration from Romani gypsy styles, using ivory silk chiffon, accentuated with red floral lace and trimmed with matching coloured ribbons.

And finally, on the right, is the Aurora dress, made in layers of soft blush pink tulle, with gorgeous, floaty balloon sleeves. I think this dip dye combination of deep burgundy, crimson and red is really beautiful.

Do you have a favourite dress out of these three?

All three of these dresses are available, so drop me a DM, or check out my Etsy to find the wedding dress of your dreams 💜

#weddingdress #bridalboutique #colourfulweddingdress #ukweddingdress #dorking #dorkinghighstreet #surrey #sussex #bespokeweddingdress
As a wedding dressmaker, one of my favourite things to do is add colour to my designs. Whether making the dress from scratch, or dying an already bought dress, the colours a bride chooses tell me a lot about who they are as a person. 

The most common colours I get for dip dye overskirts and wedding dresses are blues. Followed by purples and pinks. I love getting green commissions, although they happen a lot less often.

Tell me if you think your colour choice is true to you?

~
#weddingdress #colourfulweddingdress #dopaminedressing #uniqueweddingdress #uniquebride #altbride #alternativebride #alternativeweddingdress #ukweddingdress #surrey #dorking #bespokeweddingdress #customweddingdress
One final little sneak peek before I show the fabulous photos from this fabulous day!

1 sewing machine
2 bride outfits
3 bridesmaid dresses
21 talented wedding suppliers
and lots of stage smoke!

Make sure you're following me to see what I'm so excited to share. Photos coming this weekend!

~
Dresses @felicitywestmacott
Photography @jessicajillphoto
Video/content @weddingstorytellerco
Venues @theoldtimberstore_se1 @malt.maltby
Florals @jemimainthewoods
Event Equipment Hire @cohire
Bride Models @michele_and_graziella
Bridesmaid models @Lisaeggy3 @Boobzylou @oleksanacoaching
Choreography @oleksanacoaching
Hair and Make-up lead @melindabridal @melinda_grant
Hair and Make-up @beccibrushes

Celebrant dave_the_celebrant
Guitar @shanetheojoseph
Stationery @theinkmoth
Jewellery @CatherineMarche
Cake @gwynethjohnsoncakedesign
Neon Sign @thisisasignuk
Headdress @Creationsbylivfree
Millinery @beverleyedmondsonmillinery
Shoes @shoesbylarisa
Confetti @proper.confetti

#bespokeweddingdress #weddingshoot #weddingdress #ukwedding #ukbride #ukweddingsupplier #londonwedding
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