Illusion back wedding dress for dark skin

destination wedding confetti shot

Stunning illusion back wedding dress for dark skin in winter white duchess satin and bold guipure lace. The bodice was built on skin coloured illusion tulle netting with an open back and plunging front neckline. A simple fitted fishtail skirt with dramatic round train balanced the detail above.

Official photography by DSVisuals

Ayesha’s bodice had beaded guipure-lace hand appliquéd onto a skin colour base. A plunging front neckline is echoed at the back with a dipped skirt line to reveal as much back as possible. The lace comes round her shoulder line and arms to frame her neck and head. A stunning pearl button and loop fastening appears to float on her skin. The skirt is cut straight and slim at the front and flares into a dramatic circular train behind. The lace applique continues from the bodice onto the skirt and down Ayesha’s hips.

just married bride and groom guipure lace bodice
church door mermaid fishtail silhouette

The fishtail or mermaid silhouette of Ayesha’s figure with the dress to compliment makes for a dramatic look.

red carpet wedding dress vneck and train bespoke
low back illusion tulle wedding dress buttons and loops

Ayesha Wrote

I just wanted to thank you again for the dress. The wedding was yesterday and it was amazing. Soooooooo many compliments about my dress. So thank you for making such an incredible dress that was a huge part of my special day.

Every single person comments on how fabulous my dress is. 🙂 I love it!!

Thank you soooooo much for everything. I really love my dress. You were very patient with me and I appreciate that.

original design sketch by Felicity Westmacott wedding dress illusion back

Original design sketch – In the end Ayesha asked me to move the lace edge to the veil I made for her.

two tier winter white tulle veil custom
church wedding slim fit bridal gown and veil made to measure

I also made Ayesha’s veil. Two tiers, full length with beautiful guipure lace edging sewn to the bottom, to compliment the dress and add weight to the floaty tulle.

bride and groom tour the tables made to measure wedding dress
bride carrying her train and veil

The train came with a hook up for the evening and a wrist loop for ease of movement in the daytime. A tiny ‘something blue’ sewn next to the wrist loop is a finishing touch I add to all my dresses!

black bride with train wrist loop something blue
button back illusion net dark skin
plunge neckline with illusion tulle

A fitting picture detail of the bodice lace on the illusion back wedding dress for dark skin.

dressing the bride beaded lace wedding dress plunge neckline
bride lifting her train fishtail white satin wedding dress

Making Ayesha’s illusion back wedding dress for dark skin

guipure lace large flowers and leaves

The lace chosen for Ayesha’s dress was a large scale floral and scrolling leaf guipure lace with diamante and pearl detail. It had to be hand cut and sewn to the tulle bodice piece by piece to create the symmetrical neckline.

toile fitting bespoke wedding dress fit and flare

Pictures from the toile fitting (practice run) in cheap fabrics where we check style and fit before cutting the more costly materials.

ayesha6 making the dress fitting picture bust cups and tulle

Above: first fitting in the real fabrics while the illusion tulle bodice and skirt were still separate, so you can see below showing the difference the lace work makes to the final look.

fitting picture couture dressmaker wedding dress
fitting picture fishtail and lace wedding dress

To see more another design for a bride with a dark skin tone see Hannah’s waterfall skirt dress or Angela’s shell pink wedding suit.

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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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⁠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). ⁠
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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.⁠
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This beautiful 1950’s style wedding dress with delicate cream lace over golden-orange silk has lots of really scrummy details:⁠
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🧡 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.⁠
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🧡 the base dress is made of a beautiful russet orange silk dupion, with dark ivory lace layered on top.⁠
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🧡 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.⁠
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🧡 the edges of the ivory layer are cut along the floral pattern of the lace, making a pretty scalloped edge.⁠
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🧡 this length of skirt is called 'ballet' or 'ballerina'.⁠
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🧡 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.⁠
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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