Emma brought me her beautiful Pronovias wedding dress to be altered to fit as well as have the zip removed and replaced with buttons. We used fabric taken from the hem, to cover the buttons and make the loops to match perfectly.
Felicity Westmacott
I write about all aspects of weddings, dressmaking, fashion history, and the human relation to clothing. I welcome comments and debate.
Recent Portfolio entries
I`ve been nominated for the 2026 Wedding Industry Awards 🥳
Recently I was looking through my emails, as you do, when I see one that looks a little bit more exciting than the usual spam. It was from the Wedding Industry Awards letting me know that one of my clients has put me forward for the "Independent Dressmaker/Designer" category. It was such a lovely surprise!
I previously entered these awards in 2016 and 2018. Both times I made it to the regional finals, but I never came away having won. So I thought this year I`d give it another try, spurred on by the kindness of a client 🥰
Which leads me to asking you all for a favour. If you used my services between Oct 1st 2024 up until now (all that way until Sept 29th 2025) then you are eligible to vote for me. Unfortunately, anyone I`ve made a wedding outfit for before this can`t vote.
Winning an award voted for by the people I work for is such a gorgeous feeling, so if you have a few minutes to spare, you can find the voting link in my bio 💜
If you do vote for me, let me know so I can give you a big virtual hug!
The second shoot I`m featuring for this week`s Pride celebrations includes a real queer couple and a dress with a rainbow on it - you can`t get more Pride than that!
Our two brides are looking absolutely gorgeous and absolutely in love in this slightly more subtly rainbow themed shoot. What else can I say? They just look so perfect together.
If you`re looking for a friendly, welcoming and open-minded seamstress for your dress, then look no further. I want to celebrate everything that you are on your big day - including making you the perfect outfit. Just drop me a DM, I`d love to hear from you 💜
Venue - @skitbyhouse
Photographer - @lucyalexandra_photography
Dresses - @felicitywestmacott
Hair & Makeup - @Clairealexandrahairandmakeup
Celebrant & Organiser - @ribeiroceremonies
Hair accessories - @nujewellery_byemma
Butterflies - @flutter2me
Jackets - @niamhdesigns
Florals - @fioredoratoflowers
Ribbons - @_lkdesigns
Model - @missjenaroo
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#lesbianwedding #queerlove #queerwedding #wlw #dipdyeweddingdress #sapphicwedding #rainbowwedding #leatherjacket #bridaljacket #romanticwedding #londonbridaldesigner #surreybridaldesigner #surreydressmaker #londondressmaker
This Pride month I`m featuring real LGBTQ+ couples I`ve had the pleasure of working with over the years 🌈
Nathalie commissioned me to dip dye her wedding dress with this fiery colour scheme and I love how it matches her hair.
This couple, armed with their swords, look like real life battle maidens. Or fantasy book characters...enemies to lovers, anyone?
Plus their cake topper also featured a tiny version of the dip dye dress 😍
Tempted by a dip-dye wedding dress but would rather not have your actual dress coloured? I can create a custom overskirt for you, with up to 5 colours - check out my Etsy page (link in my bio) for more info.
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Photographer: @bubblydeer.studio
The Inspiration vs. The Wedding Dress
The first image is what Barbara brought to her design consultation as a basis for her Edwardian lace wedding dress. And the next images are how it turned out.
Being an older bride doesn`t mean you have to conform to anyone’s idea of how a ‘mature lady’ should dress and I love that Barbara lived her dream! It`s also very exciting to me when a bride wants a historically-inspired look, and the Edwardian period is one of my favourites.
I made this dress using duchess satin and beaded Guipure lace, and trimmed it with gathered lace flounces and groups of pink flowers. The dress is actually made in three pieces, with the base dress, an over-bodice with long sleeves and a high collar, and a removable presentation train.
If you`ve got a specific vision for your dress, be in it period-specific, or something completely original, I`d love to hear about it. Drop me a DM and let`s chat!
For this elegant, forest green wedding dress, I spent a lot of hours working on the pièce de résistance; the beaded collar. Sometimes doing things over and over again can be strangely peaceful, and sometimes it can be utterly mind-numbing. And sometimes it`s a bit of column A and a bit of column B! 😂
The rest of the dress was kept classic and simple, so that this design element would really shine (literally)! I used an array of styles and shapes of beads in peacock colours - blood red, deep garnet, teal, vibrant purple and sparkling gold. I then played around with design ideas, taking inspiration from the art deco era, incorporating a lot of symmetry and geometry. Once I was happy with the layout, I transferred the design onto the fabric and began many many many hours of hand-beading.
It`s always a relief when I`m finally finished with a project like this, to be able to step back and see the finished dress and think "ah, that was completely worth it." 😌
If you want to see what this dress looked like on the day of the wedding, have a look at my previous post 🌿
#weddingdress #bridetobe #weddinginspiration #2025bride #2026bride
Isn`t this English country wedding so pretty? The sun shining, drinking bubbly on the lawn, surrounded by friends and family.
When talking to Janet about her wedding dress ideas, I was so excited she chose to go for this gorgeous, emerald colour for her wedding dress. Non-traditional colours don`t have to mean a non-traditional look.
Janet looks so elegant and regal in this simple, floor length wedding dress.
The layers of silk and chiffon meant this dress floated when she walked, and pooled around her in gorgeous puddles of green satin when sitting. Just stunning.
If you want to see more photos from this wedding, I recently blogged about it: https://felicitywestmacott.co.uk/forest-green-beaded-wedding-dress
