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.

 

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felicity westmacott wearing a hat

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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Today is my birthday, so I wanted to share something I've been grateful for almost every year of my life.

I started ballet lessons when I was four, moving on to the Lewiston School of Dance until 18 (I even won the Pointe Work cup with them once). My grandmother had been a professional dancer and my mum also took ballet lessons (and still does, at over 70!), so there has always been a lot of ballet in my family.

When I went to uni, I stopped dancing, then came back to it in the form of adult ballet lessons with my mum, and then got pregnant. After that I found aerial hoop, which replaced dancing as my active hobby. However, my ballet training has really helped my progress in hoop, and I'm very grateful for the skills I continue to draw upon for both hoop and acting.

What's a hobby you're grateful to have started, no matter what stage in life?

(and shout out to @hair_by_tel ⁠for capturing this video of me playing around during a recent bridal photoshoot)

#ballet #passion #dancing
The main inspiration for this wedding dress was this blue and white gown, worn by Emily Blunt for Vanity Fair. Claire, the bride, added photos of the infamous Mr Pearl's beautifully ornate corsets to her mood board as well.

As a bride, talking in images is one of the easiest ways for me to understand your vision and aesthetic. If someone says to me 'dreamy' or 'classic', that can mean very different things to different people. But this gorgeous reference photo of a Dior gown gave me everything I needed to know to start sketching.

What images are on your dream wedding mood board right now?

~
#weddingdress #bespokeweddingdress #blueweddingdress #hautecouturewedding #weddinginspiration
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