Bespoke wedding dress Berkshire

couple by the fire formal wedding dress mature bride

I created a bespoke wedding dress Berkshire for Julia’s in a grand stately home. So her dress needed to compliment this and her figure. I designed this elegant dress made in gold silk duchess satin and rose gold lace.

Official photography by sophieduckworthphotography.com

The dress has a fitted and boned bodice with a plunge neckline fading to narrow straps. I added pleated fabric in an asymmetric design to emphasise Julia’s waist. I trimmed the rose gold lace sleeves with beaded scalloped edging. A mixed metallic lace edging is also used inside the neckline

The skirt falls from below more neat pleating over the hips. I placed a motif from the lace edging on the lower hip as the basis for a bold and beautiful hand beaded detail. The shape of the skirt I created had a little fullness at the front, but hangs straight down at the back. And then it flares with simple into a chapel length train at the back. I made sure the back neckline and pleating compliments the front and I added real button and loop fastening. I sewed more buttons all down the centre back seam, as an elegant addition to the very simple skirt. The dress comes with a wrist loops and bustle-up for dancing.

mature bride arrived in car gold wedding dress
matching bride and son's tie gold duchess silk satin
wedding ceremony mature bride vneck dress
wedding dress with lace sleeves
exchange of rings gold silk satin wedding dress

For Sale

A few years after her wedding day Julia brought her wedding dress back to my studio. She hopes it will find a new home and new wedding day to bring joy to. If you would like to consider buying her pre-loved dress you can visit my studio to try it on, or take a look at the listing in my Etsy shop.

button and loop back wedding dress made to measure
older bride coloured wedding dress
button back fastening and three quarter lace sleeves
beaded hip motif detail at hip
in the flowers summer bride gold satin
coloured wedding dress with lace detail
boned bodice and pleats and scalloped lace detail
summer wedding bridal gown made to measure
under the vines train with wrist loop

Holding the train by the wrist loop, a bustle up was also provided for dancing later in the day.

straight skirt custom wedding dress pale gold
mixed metallic lace and silk satin wedding dress
sunset wedding picture with pale gold wedding dress

Making Julia’s Bespoke wedding dress Berkshire

original design sketch by Felicity Westmacott

 Original design sketch for the bespoke wedding dress Berkshire

toile fitting picture practice run dressmaker

Pictures from the ‘toile fitting’ or practice run in cheap fabrics.

pleating and ruching on the stand

Creating the pleating on the bust and waistline, first in practice fabric, then in the gold satin.

dress fitting calico panels
pleats on the bodice and train
cover buttons being sewn on by hand

Tiny cover button detail, all down the back of her bespoke wedding dress Berkshire. These are very labour intensive and so I sewed every one on by hand.

buttons all down the back of a wedding dress progress picture
fitting picture bespoke dressmaker
beaded scalloped lace detail ivory and gold

Detail of the rose gold lace, which I used for the sleeves.

gold silk dupion tie made to measure

I also made a tie in matching fabric for Julia’s son

lace trim before beading in fitting

Here is a detail of the lace motif, before and after I added the hand beading. We used a mix of silver and gold glass seed beads, pearls and Swarovski crystals.

 lace embellishment mixed mettallics wedding dress
hand beading detail silver and gold seed beads

If you would like to see another gold wedding dress for a mature bride, Nicola’s dress is a great example.

If you might like to talk to me about having your wedding dress made to order you can get in touch or visit my bespoke FAQ page for some general information.

 

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

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

Read More
follow me on instagram@felicitywestmacott

⁠When Iram saw the ⁠custom Asian fusion wedding trousers and top that I had made for a bridal shoot, she decided she had to have them for her own London wedding – and I don’t blame her! This outfit looks perfect on her.⁠ It's the ideal look for a chic, modern, summer wedding.

The ‘Evie’ separates comprise of a beautiful wedding top and trouser set with beaded waistband for a bride who is not afraid to make a statement. And Iram was definitely not afraid! She exudes chilled, modern bride energy in this cool and comfortable combo. 

If you love this custom Asian fusion wedding trousers, you can find the Evie bridal separates on my Etsy 💜

Photography @saidigitaluk
Since 1753, when the Marriage Act first came into existence, UK marriage law has come a long way. Some things have taken much longer than they should have (I'm looking at you, 1991 and 2013, 2023). But there's still more than can be done. The association of @independentcelebrants is campaigning for the UK government to follow the recommendations of the 2022 wedding law reform report.

"At least 10,000 wedding ceremonies a year in England and Wales are led by independent celebrants. These ceremonies are perfectly legal to hold, but as it stands a celebrant cannot perform a legally binding marriage – that part must be done separately, meaning added inconvenience and cost for couples."

I'm all about supporting couples to have the wedding day of their dream, and that rarely includes having to find time and money to go to the registry office.

If you want to help with this, then you can spread awareness! Share this post, or make your own. Talk about it with friends and family. And once you've done that, you can always get in touch with your local MP. The Independent Celebrants website has a PDF guide to help you with how to go about doing that.

Is this an issue you're aware of? Is there anything I've missed out?

#ChangeWeddingLaw #SpeakUpForCelebrants #LegaliseCelebrantWeddings
I created this Regency-inspired wedding dress for a Bridgerton themed wedding shoot. I used modern fabrics like tulle, beaded lace and shantung, but with period accurate details like the empire line waist, square neckline and boned stays (corset). ⁠
⁠
I love to work with versality when it comes to my creations, so the dress was designed with multiple layers; the main dress has an embroidered tulle bodice and asymmetric beaded lace skirt. A lilac and pink dip-dyed tulle skirt can be added over the floral train of the main dress for some dreamy ombre magic. A lilac silk dupion 'spencer jacket' with hand appliqued beaded lace completes the ensemble. ⁠

 All these options make it possible to have lots of different looks throughout your wedding day. ⁠

Which Bridgerton character can you imagine wearing this outfit?

~
#regencyweddingdress #bridgerton #historicalweddingdress #periodwedding #colouredweddingdress #dipdyeweddingdress #surreydressmaker #londondressmaker #vintagebride #romanticbride #weddingveil #purpleweddingdress #bespokeweddingdress #fantasyballgown
Now and again I'll take one of the wedding dresses I've made, and break down some of the elements. So, if there's something you love about a dress, but you don't know the 'proper words' to reference them, hopefully this will help you out.⁠
⁠
This beautiful 1950’s style wedding dress with delicate cream lace over golden-orange silk has lots of really scrummy details:⁠
⁠
🧡 the opening at the back of the dress is called a keyhole (or you could call this a slit opening). This one is closed at the top with three covered buttons.⁠
⁠
🧡 the base dress is made of a beautiful russet orange silk dupion, with dark ivory lace layered on top.⁠
⁠
🧡 the base dress is essentially a halter neck, with a turn over collar at the front, with the ivory layer providing semi-sheer, full length sleeves.⁠
⁠
🧡 the edges of the ivory layer are cut along the floral pattern of the lace, making a pretty scalloped edge.⁠
⁠
🧡 this length of skirt is called 'ballet' or 'ballerina'.⁠
⁠
🧡 the front of the dress has a line of false buttons (buttons that are just there for decoration), that match the buttons at the back.⁠
⁠
Those are just some of the details of this dress. If you have any questions about anything else, just leave a comment. I could talk dress making all day!⁠
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