Handmade wedding dress Surrey

vneck back wedding dress countryside wedding

Reeta commissioned a hand made wedding dress surrey wedding day. I made her a plunge back dress in buttermilk silk satin and ivory lace.

Official photographs by www.photofactorysite.com

I designed a fitted bodice, softly boned with a sweet-heart neckline. The lace extends higher to just below the collar-bone with narrow straps set wide on the shoulders. I made the back of the dress plunge in a deep v-neck of shear lace. The pretty scalloped edge from the lace has been used to edge and soften the neckline at front and all down the back. I emphasised the underbust line with a band of exquisite diamante trim, finished by hand at the sides and back to fade away to nothing. The dress was very fitted to the waist and hips before flaring very gently to the floor. The satin under-layer had only a puddle train while the lace will extended longer so there was a wide band of shear lace beyond the satin. The lace hem was also all edged with the same pretty scalloped edging as the neckline.

bride and groom on grass cream lace dress

Reeta wrote: β€œEveryone was blown away by the dress! I did not want to take it off!!! I look at her (the dress) hanging and I want to wear her again! Hope you like the pics. I tried choosing pics that would show the dress off as much as possible but the pictures sometimes don’t do her justice!β€œ

Wedding Dress by Felicity Westmacott, buttermilk silk and ivory corded lace, backless with diamante detail at underbust, design sketch

Original design sketch. The narrow underbust ribbon was later changed to the beaded trim you see in the official pictures

happy couple civil ceremony slimline lace wedding dress
round lace train spread out

I made lining of the wide, round train shorter than the lace. This allows the beautiful lace pattern to show up against the floor.

Indian bride in western wedding dress dancing

Detail of the underbust beading: We used a bought trim in Swarovski crystal diamante stones for the front. This was finished by hand at the sides and back to fade the design away to nothing.

corded lace and silk finished dress hanging up before wedding

Making Reeta’s Handmade wedding dress Surrey

Toile fitting pictures, the practice run in cheap fabrics.

Intermediate fitting pictures. Reeta’s hand made wedding dress Surrey took many fittings to get just right. I like to ensure we end up with everything smooth and sitting correctly, backless dresses are always tricky.

something blue wrist loop

Wrist loop and a hidden β€˜something blue’

Pictures from the final fitting in the finished handmade wedding dress Surrey. Above shows the back of the dress with it’s lace plunge. The train held up on the wrist loop with the little β€˜something blue’ peeking out.

The back of the dress with the train spread out and bustled up for dancing

If you’d like to talk to me about having your own wedding dress custom made you can read my FAQ here Or just get in touch to book a time to visit.

And you can find more pictures of lace wedding dresses in this blog post

My wonderful supplier, Michael’s Bridal fabrics, has a wide range of lace fabrics to choose from. I have their sample books in my studio to look through at our consultation.

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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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Spooky season has arrived!

I love Halloween, but maybe not for the reasons you might think. For me, Halloween gives people permission to be a little more wild, a little more 'out there' with their bridal choices. And as a seamstress who loves to makes bold and beautiful wedding dresses, there's nothing wrong with a little more wild!

Take these three wedding photoshoots, for example. The first one was inspired by Morticia Addams. It's a black wedding dress! You can't get less traditional than that. And it's now one of my most popular designs. Although all these dress designs are based around a fictional character, they're still the furthest thing from a costume. They're pieces of haute couture art, taking the essence of the character and then elevating it to something truly unique.

The second dress used the designs from the live action Cruella, and I love how the model nailed her character. The final dress used Jim Henson's Labyrinth as a starting point, in particular that iconic ballroom scene (*swoon*). They were all such fun projects. So if you're looking for a wedding dress maker to embrace your wild side, I might be the perfect choice.

If you could base your wedding dress on a fictional character, who would it be?

~
Photography - @lexflemingphoto⁠
Sometimes it can be difficult to be true to yourself. The world can feel really judgemental (even if it's just the voices in the back of your head saying it). But, you might be worried about being 'too much' or worried of what people might think if they saw how vibrant and colourful you really are on the inside. How big and sparkly your thoughts and feelings are!

Well, guess what? There's no such thing as 'too much'. Not in my books! As a wedding dress maker (and honestly, a fellow big, sparkly person) I'm here to encourage you to listen to what your heart is telling you. Ignore those voices telling you should be anything less than 100% yourself, especially on your wedding day.

There is nothing that makes me happier than a bride bringing me their ideas - the crazy ones they've barely voiced to anyone else. The ones they shyly mention, usually followed by "but if that's not possible, then don't worry about it". And there's nothing more exciting than seeing the face of that bride when they realise that I am absolutely on this journey with them, that we will make it happen and that I cannot wait to get started!

Anyway, I love my job πŸ˜‰

#weddingdress #fantasyweddingdress #fantasybride #historicalweddingdress #dramaticweddingdress #bespokeweddingdress
Isn't this the perfect wedding dress for a colourful festival wedding?

Bright, fun and beautiful to look at. It's the kind of dress you can't take your eyes off of. 

As a wedding dress maker who loves working on alternative and unusual wedding looks, creating unique ombre dip dye dresses is one of my favourite things to do. I'm so glad this bride had such an amazing time dancing in it πŸ₯°

#weddingdress #bride #alternativebride #alternativeweddingdress #colourfulweddingdress
emailme@felicitywestmacott.co.ukTEL 07762 543230TOUCHGet in
from design to completionbespoke wedding dressesFelicity Westmacott
Dorking, RH4 1RT241 High Streetβ€’Β Visit the StudioΒ β€’
Dorking, RH4 1RT241 High Streetβ€’Β Visit the StudioΒ β€’
emailme@felicitywestmacott.co.ukTEL 07762 543230TOUCHGet in