Cocktail wedding dress in pale blue and lace for Isabelle

pale blue cocktail wedding dress with layered skirt

I am a huge fan of wearing a bit of colour for your wedding, so this pale blue cocktail wedding dress hits all the right buttons! The dress has a cute, vintage, 1950’s wiggle dress vibe and suited Isabelle perfectly.

Simple and sweet bridal mini-dress with tiered ivory lace skirt. Pale blue silk satin shows through the lace with a lightly boned bodice giving support and shape. The final length for the cocktail wedding dress was mid-knee but the pale blue silk finished above the knee for a glimpse more leg. The lace over dress has a high round neckline and short sleeves. I highlighted the waist with a delicate scalloped lace trim to compliment the edge on the skirt tiers and sleeves. The wedding dress closed with a concealed zip at centre back with a keyhole opening in the lace above and single button closure.

chantilly lace bespoke wedding dress exchanging rings
short cocktail wedding dress london made to measure bride and groom
simple wedding dress with lace surrey with bouquet
laughing bride something blue bespoke wedding dress pale blue silk

I loved seeing the pictures with Isabelle’s bouquet. I remember talking to her at the fittings about flowers and colours that would compliment her pale blue wedding dress. I suggested using eucalyptus leaves as they have a lovely soft grey-green colour. I was really pleased to see her florist agreed with me, as there they are!

How we designed Isabelle’s cocktail wedding dress

Isabelle came to see me with an off-the-peg dress she had found, which she loved but it wasn’t quite right. Isabelle’s mum came to the consultation too and she was pleased at the idea Isabelle might end up wearing something a little more special than an off-the-peg dress.

inspiration dress off the peg hanging up

Isabelle knew from the start she wanted some colour . She was weighing up between a pale pink and a pale blue for the cocktail wedding dress. It was easy for us to choose the lace as by a huge coincidence my usual fabric supplier had exactly the same lace available as the inspiration dress! I have sample books with hundreds of lace fabrics (and other fabrics) to choose from.

Although I don’t make copies I do encourage brides to share any images or ideas they have found elsewhere. In this case although most of my design work was guided by the inspiration dress. Isabelle wanted enough changes from the original design for me to feel comfortable. She preferred a straight across neckline for the underdress and we reduced the sleeve length during the fitting process to just a cap sleeve.

original design sketch for cocktail wedding dress by felicity westmacott

Making Isabelle’s Wedding Dress

Working with lace always presents a few challenges. For this cocktail wedding dress I had to make sure I was lining up the cascading tiers and scallops. I also wanted to ensure a balanced placement of the motifs in the bodice area. I used a concealed zip to ensure a couture level invisible finish for the back fastening.

With thanks to Miranda Virgo who took Isabelle’s professional wedding pictures

pale blue cocktail wedding dress with scalloped lace overlay

If you’d like to talk about your own bespoke wedding dress ideas, for a cocktail wedding dress or another style just get in touch.

If the colour is what drew you in have a peek at some of my other blue wedding dresses, they are very varied!

Victorian pale blue wedding dress

Teal flamenco inspired wedding dress

Fairytale pale blue tulle and sparkle

Aqua blue ruched satin

or a another chantilly lace dress

or another short dress

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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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Destination Vegas. Rockabilly bride. Halloween vibes. 
Sounds like the perfect wedding.

Gorgeous goth Ellie got married in Las Vegas on Halloween. She wanted something alternative, retro and a little spooky. She realised she was never going to find that with an off-the-rack wedding dress. That's where I came in.

I designed and made her white and purple wedding dress with a wonderful blend of 1950’s and 90's shapes, modern styling and subtle Halloween Vixen detail. Harkening back to when Halloween was a little more stylish - perfect for this gothic bombshell. Below the boned bodice, I ruched and layered white satin over sumptuous shot black/purple taffeta and layers and layers of white net. The white satin was spangled all over with hand sewn crystals, ready to sparkle under the Vegas lights. 

My favourite detail? The hand beaded spider web made from Swarovski crystals. Spooky but subtle.
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?
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