Classic beaded lace bespoke wedding dress

bride arriving at ceremony fit and flare skirt

I made Sarah-Louise’s classic beaded lace bespoke wedding dress in ruched silk georgette with a gentle fishtail flare. The lace over-bodice had scalloped edging and a button back.

Official photographs by Sebastian Lomas

The classic beaded lace bespoke wedding dress was made in two parts. I made a strapless underdress in ivory silk Georgette (a type of matt finish chiffon) and a removable beaded lace over-bodice. The main dress had a firm, boned bodice with a sweetheart neckline and concealed zip back fastening. Te underlayers made of duchess satin. Over the top I used silk georgette, ruched on the bodice and cascading into the flare of the skirt.

The lace over bodice had a higher neckline than the main dress. I added a wide scalloped edging, also used on the short, t-shirt type sleeves. The bottom edge of the lace finished just below Sarah-Louise’s natural waistline. And I used another, narrower but matching, scalloped lace edging to finish it. It fastened at the centre back with feature buttons and loops.

scalloped edge lace beaded bolero over bodice
church wedding train with hook up wrist loop

The thistle brooch Sarah-Louise wore had family significance, such a lovely special touch!

strapless sweetherat wedding dress ivory silk georgette
traditional custom made wedding dress fishtail skirt
 bride arriving chiffon wedding dress
short sleeve wedding dress with beaded lace and train
classic bespoke wedding dress train
traditional wedding dress made to measure

I always provide a wrist loop to make carrying the train outside easy, and pretty too!

 

Original design sketch by Felicity Westmacott simple wedding dress

Original Design Sketch

thank you letter testimonial

Thank you letter

Sarah-Louise wrote: Thank you so much for designing and making me such a beautiful dress that will be shared with generations to come. I am so pleased with the final outcome. I felt like such a beautiful bride and I would have been lost without such an eye catching dress. Thank you so much for all your time and effort spent. Words cannot express how much it means to me.
Lots of love from Sarah-Louise.

cutting the cake fine ruching on bodice and hip
dress hanging in window simple
dressing the bride lace over bodice
carefree bride ivory silk wedding dress

Bride with her dressmaker

I was lucky enough to be invited to this wedding. Here I am with my then 10 month old baby girl, Rosalind. I made the dress I am wearing too, in bright printed cotton with fuchsia pink chiffon overlay. It’s made as a breast feeding dress with the front sections unclipping from the straps to reveal a modest inner bodice with feeding access.

dancing swirling skirt chiffon ruched wedding dress


One lovely things about the georgette we used as Sarah-Louise’s main fabric was it’s lightness and flow. So the dress looked as lovely in motion or still.

Making Sarah-Louise’s classic beaded lace bespoke wedding dress

toile practice run fitting picture

Pictures from the ‘toile’ fitting or practice run of the classic beaded lace bespoke wedding dress

ruching the georgette fabric on the stand

Creating the ruching for the front panels, lots and lots of pins on the stand!

fitting picture in partly made dress ivory silk chiffon

fitting pictures in the partly made dress

beaded lace over bodice and train back fitting picture
waterhouse22 finished dress in final fitting custom

Final fitting pictures of the bespoke wedding dress

hidden something blue strapless wedding dress

A hidden something blue on the wrist loop of the train.

To see another modern classic wedding dress you could head over to my portfolio entires for Gerry’s silk dupion wedding dress. And Charlie’s classic silk crepe and lace wedding 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! 🐌
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