For this Northern lights ombre colour wedding dress, Sofz commissioned me to dip dye her dress. She wanted it to match the beautiful sunsets in Lapland, which was the main inspiration she sent me. We went for my ever-popular Phoenix colourway. The colours start from pale yellow, to bright buttercup, tangerine orange, blending into red, fuchsia, cerise and finally into purple.
I think Sofz had a stroke of genius. These vibrant colours stand out perfectly against the pristine white of the snow. This dress is perfect for a bride who loves bright colours, bold statements and something a little fantastical.
Thank you for making my dream dress a reality, your help and advice from the moment I contacted you was incredible. In the words of my now husband “absolutely stunning”.
– Bride, Sofz
Sofz and Chris’ magical Lapland wedding was also blogged about by Unconventional Wedding. Have a read to learn more about the other aspects of their day.
Photography (Lapland) – Hylsy from Mikko
Wedding Co-Ordinator – Sun and Snow Weddings
The Daytime Ceremony
Sofz and Chris got married in the other-worldly Ice Chapel. It’s like the wedding of a fantasy queen.
The Nighttime Celebrations
Sofz Northern Lights ombre colour wedding dress is the perfect flame of colour in the beautiful darkness and snow of Lapland. So magical!
Sofz and Chris also had a smaller garden wedding back in the UK. I love seeing this dress in two totally different environments. And spy that cute dog too!
Making a Northern Lights Ombre Colour Wedding dress
I use various techniques for dip dyeing wedding dresses, depending on the colours being used and the fabric being dyed. For this gown, I went with my tried-and-tested floral spray paint method.
Here you can see the dress after it was delivered to me. A lovely canvas, ready to become even more fabulous. I did some minor alterations before getting started, including bringing up the hem and adjusting the shoulder straps. Find out more about my alterations here.
Even though I’ve done this process a lot of times at this point, it’s always good to do a trial run of the colours I’ll be using. I send this sample to the bride, so they can give their approval before I get started on the dress itself.
And then comes the most time-intensive part of the process. The dyeing. I carefully cover the dress, so as to not get any dye on the wrong parts. Then each layer of the dress (and there are often several) gets the same treatment of each of the nine colours (aspen yellow, yellow, orange, holiday red, carnation red, cranberry, raspberry, violet and purple).
It takes me a long time but once it’s done, the smooth blend between all the colours is so satisfying.
I masked the lace motifs during the main spraying. Then I touched them up with a little colour at the
end so they blended in, but without disappearing.
And with that, the dress is ready for the bride to collect. In this case, to take with her to Lapland!
More Wedding Dress Inspiration
If you can’t get enough of this Northern Lights-inspired colourway, then have a look at some other wedding dresses I’ve dyed in similar colours. First we have Nicola’s beautiful mermaid wedding dress, as well as this beautiful off-shoulder gown.
If you would like a dip-dye wedding dress, like Sofz, but don’t quite feel brave enough to have your actual dress coloured, then a dip dye overskirt is the perfect solution. You can find out more about those and my other dipdye options on the dedicated page on my website.
If you’re also getting married during the chillier months then this dress might provide some ideas. Laura was another winter bride, so I designed this dress especially for the cold weather.
