Sky blue bespoke wedding dress

aqua blue coloured bespoke wedding dress

Ailsa commissioned a sky blue bespoke wedding dress in silk satin. I designed it with proportions to flatter her petite figure.

Official photographs by www.oxford-photography.co.uk

I made the dress with a fitted and boned bodice with gentle sweetheart neckline and integral straps. I added ruching over the bust which is balanced above asymmetric draping on the lower bodice. The skirt hangs straight down from the hip line, flat in front with soft pleats at each side. The dress fastens at centre back with flat lacing in loops above a flared godet train.

sweetheart neckline custom order wedding dress sky blue
country wedding coloured wedding dress
blue wedding dress silk satin bespoke made to measure
 thank you letter

Thank you letter

Ailsa wrote: I was absolutely delighted with my beautiful dress! I really appreciated the time you took to explain the different options and the effort you went to in order to make sure it looked perfect, including an extremely useful set of instructions for my bridesmaid on how to make the dress look its best on the day. Your patience, enthusiasm and skill made the whole process a pleasure!

and later: Thank you once again for producing such a beautiful dress, and the time you took to make it look exactly right (including the veil!)

Ailsa’s mum wrote: Thank you so much for all the work you put into getting the dress just right for Ailsa and the helpful advice with accessories etc. She looked lovely on the day and felt very comfortable and happy with the dress. The dress fittings became a firm part of the wedding preparations and thank you for your welcome when we visited. Ian was especially pleased that he could join us for the final fitting. With best wishes, Christine

ailsa2 long veil with blusher traditional church wedding

Ailsa’s veil was made to order, a simple two tier style in pale ivory tulle to go with her sky blue bespoke wedding dress

bride and maid of honour alternative wedding dress

Ailsa’s sister was a lovely bridesmaid and we made a long blue silk hair ribbon so she would tone-in with Ailsa’s colour scheme.

 original design sketch sweetheart bodice and straps
aqua blue wedding dress made to order
blue wedding dress with straps ruched bodice
something blue bespoke wedding dress petite

Ailsa using her wrist hook-up to hold her train off the floor while walking in her sky blue bespoke wedding dress

printed shoes with ribbons

Ailsa had matching silk ribbons made to tie up her lovely shoes. I loved her shoes so much I got myself a pair too!

walking with her groom bespoke silk tie to match the bride

Making Ailsa’s Sky blue bespoke wedding dress

toile fitting with dressmaker wedding dress

Pictures from the ‘toile fitting’ or practice run in cheap fabrics, and below at her first fitting with the real dress, here just the under layers, boned ready for the silk satin to be ruched on top.

boned bodice duchess satin fitting picture made to measure
ruched bodice on the stand custom made to order

Ruching in progress on the stand

pleated ruched bodice sweetheart sewing
dress fitting blue wedding dress silk satin
 train wrist loop with ribbon roses finished wedding dress fitting

Pictures of the finished dress at her final fitting: Detail of the wrist loop provided so Ailsa could pick up her train from the floor when walking. Usually I sew on a ‘something blue’ here but as Ailsa’s whole dress was her something blue I chose three pretty pastel coloured ribbon roses instead, to match the floral pattern on her shoes.

train spread out and hooked up for dancing

The train bustled up and spread right out. As The train was so long, and Ailsa so petite the bustle up did not get the train right off the floor, as I would usually aim for, but it did make it much smaller and manageable for later in the day.

 lace up corset back wedding dress ribbon and loops

Detail of the back fastening with flat lacing through loops above a modesty panel

finished dress in the mirror fitting room
something blue wedding dress all finished and ready to go

Here is another pale blue bespoke wedding dress, that I made for Isabelle’s wedding

If you would like to know more about commissioning your own wedding dress with me, you can head over to my FAQ page or contact me directly.

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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