Red and black corset Goth wedding dress

faye 7 sweet heart strapless corset bodice alternative wedding dress bespoke

Faye commissioned an unusual red and black Goth corset wedding dress. I made it for her in black and red duchess satin. The inspiration for the design came from a dress worn by a lady in one of her favourite music videos! I created Faye’s dress as a two piece, bodice and skirt but with several different ways the skirt and train could be worn to give different looks for the ceremony and into the evening.

Design details

Faye’s dress has a fitted and heavily boned bodice with a sweetheart neckline edged with pleated black tulle and beaded lace to soften the line. It laced shut at the back over a contrast colour modesty panel. The skirt was fitted to her upper hip and then flared in an a-line over netting to the floor. A feature water-fall ‘pick-up’ was pinned up to her bodice with a beautiful brooch, connecting the two halves of the design, and revealing the contrast red underskirt. I finished the red hip sash with long sash ends at the back that flowed down Faye’s train. You can see pictures further down for how the skirt could be changed for day/evening looks. I also made Faye’s birdcage veil and her husband’s tie.

faye 3 church wedding not white red and black duchess satin
faye 2 alternative wedding dress with long black train and bridesmaids
faye 4 Goth wedding dress laced corset train and sash with confetti
Black and red satin Goth, corset wedding dress by Felicity Westmacott: original design sketch

Original design sketches

The smaller sketches show the ideas and options for Faye’s skirt. The front would hook up even further for the evening to reveal the black tulle and netting below the red underskirt. The back of the dress could have had any number of features, in the end. Faye choose that in the largest main picture of plain sash ends.

faye 13 bird cage veil lace and swarovski crystals goth wedding

Faye’s head-dress was specially commissioned to go with her dress. I used black twisted wire and a mix of red and black Swarovski crystals to create the piece. Fixed to a comb for easy insertion in her hair style the black bird cage veil could then be arranged to suit.

faye 14 detail of birdcage french veiling fascinator tiara for black alternative vintage wedding
faye 24 custom hair grips crystal sparkle goth black swarovksi grips wedding hair

I made three mini grips, each with a tiny black Swarovski crystal. These were for Faye to use when fixing the bird-cage veil across her face and into her hair.

faye 8 made to order wedding dress with waterfall split skirt and boned bodice

faye 12 red sash and hooked up train lace up back corset dancing

Faye in her black corset Goth wedding dress dancing the night away. The train is usefully bustled out of the way.

faye 20 hand sewn beaded lace and tulle trim to sweetheart neckline and boning channels

Detail of the pleated tulle edging and beaded lace

faye 1 dressing the bride goth wedding corset lacing

Dressing the Bride

faye 5 fascinator birdcage veil black and red french veiling punk wedding
faye 10 corset boned bodice wedding dress tulle trim and birdcage veil

faye 9 vintage car non traditional wedding red and back goth punk
faye 11 punk and goth wedding custom made wedding dress and tie
faye 6 plus size goth bride with punk groom in black wedding dress church

Making Faye’s red and black corset Goth wedding dress

faye 15 toile practice run of bespoke custom wedding dress boned corset

Fitting pics from Faye’s first fitting, the shell of the skirt and the toile of the bodice, only half boned.

faye 16 fitting picture in half made dress black wedding gown

Second fitting, the outfit progresses

faye 17 train laid out and hooked up bustle for dancing alternative black satin wedding dress

Back with train out and with train bustled up for the evening

faye 21 eyelet lacing holes corset lace up boned bodice custom made to order

Detail of the lacing holes and beaded lace

faye 18 detail of finished bodice eyelets and lacing on corset red modesty panel tulle and lace trim with sweetheart neckline

Detail of the back-lacing and sweet heart neckline

faye 19 fitting picture in finished bespoke wedding gown black satin mirror sash

Faye at her final fitting

faye 25 waterfall aline wedding skirt goth alternative duchess satin

The finished skirt front of the black corset Goth wedding dress, left as for the ceremony and right, with the red layer hitched up too, for the evening

faye 23 fitting picture birdcage veil vintage tiara fascinator swarovski red and black crystal

I also made Faye’s birdcage veil fascinator with black french veiling and wired Swarovski crystal highlights.

faye 22 wrist loop bustle up for train hidden something blue and red

‘Something blue’, hidden among more red roses next to the wrist loop for lifting the train

Official Wedding pictures by Allan Breeze (now retired)

Two more black wedding dresses for gothic brides

And I was lucky enough to have one of those dresses was published on a wedding blog, see more here

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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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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?

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#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!⁠
On my birthday, 43 years ago, I was gifted a beautiful name...does it suit me?

Felicity means "happiness", from the Latin word meaning "good luck" or "fortune". Shortening to Fliss is good, but never Flick!

What about your name? Does it have a meaning?
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