Sunset Dipdye Wedding Dress

bride groom wedding on beach in cornwall uk boho dip dye wedding dress

Nicola wanted a simple and elegant dress made in pale ivory, with a dip dye skirt for her wedding by the dramatic Cornish coast. As a result, I created this fabulous sunset dipdye wedding dress for her.

Photography – Thomas Frost

dramatic coastal cliff wedding with custom dip dye wedding dress

countryside wedding bride in backless phoenix ombre wedding dress

british beach wedding bride in couture sunset ombre wedding dress

outdoor wedding full length fitted lace dip dye wedding dress
Handwritten thank you card

Nicola sent me a lovely note after her wedding:

“I cannot begin to put into words how thankful I am that I found you to make my wedding dress of my dreams. The dress was perfect in every way and the colours looked glorious in the Cornish sunshine. Everyone fell in love with the dress and I even got likened to the Porthleven mermaid! It even stood up to rambling down cliffs. You truly are a genius and I can never thank you enough.”

sunset yellow orange red purple gradient wedding dress

Elements of the Dress

The stretch fabric of the dress meant it would take it’s shape from Nicola’s body. The main bodice had a soft, sweet heart neckline at the front and a low cut away line to the waist at the back. Bust cups and light boning in the bodice provided a good shape and some support.

Lace covered the whole front bodice and extends up to a racer neckline displaying Nicola’s amazing shoulders. Straps at the back fastened with a button and loop at the top.

The skirt was fitted over Nicola’s hips and flared from the lower thigh into a gentle mermaid shape. A shaped seam dipped at the front and higher at the back. The flared part of the skirt featured layers of soft tulle over the main fabrics, which were dip dyed in sunset colours. 

The dress was fully lined and closed with a concealed zip. A wrist loop and bustle buttons for the train were also added.

body con bright coloured custom summer wedding dress

The Initial Bespoke Design

Nicola had seen my dip dye designs online and sought me out specifically. She loved the Phoenix colour way – going from buttercup yellow, to vibrant orange, to deep red, finally ending on a rich purple.

When it came to making Nicola’s sunset dipdye wedding dress, we went through two initial designs. Our main challenge was fabric choice. Nicola is a large animal vet and rock climber, so having a dress she could move in was important to her (and to show off her amazing figure). It was tricky to work out the right combination of suitable fabrics for Nicola’s more active requirements – stretch isn’t suitable for the dip dye process, so we needed to come up with the perfect design, which incorporated the different elements she wanted

The solution was creating sections for the dress all all stretch fabrics on the top half and upper skirt, and then a fish tail flare with the tulle we needed for the dip dye colour. I suggested softening the join by having the seam curved and appliquéd with more lace.

The Making Of a Sunset Dip Dye Wedding Dress

The first fitting of the toile. I make a toile as a practice run of the dress in cheap fabrics to perfect style and fit.

Constructing the bodice.

The second fitting, now using the actual fabrics.

The final fitting, and the finished sunset dipdye wedding dress on the stand.

Details above of the finished dress on the stand, with train spread out and bustled up for dancing. Chantilly lace was hand appliquéd to the bodice and the skirt on the join between the upper and lower skirt sections. Our plan at first was just the lace on the surface, softening the join between the tulle and stretch crepe above. But during the work process I suggested to Nicola that we should add more lace shapes underneath the tulle layers. These were only semi-visible through the coloured tulle creating even more of a ‘fade’ with lace as well as colour.

If you want to see more of my lace creations, you find many 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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As a wedding dressmaker, one of my favourite things to do is add colour to my designs. Whether making the dress from scratch, or dying an already bought dress, the colours a bride chooses tell me a lot about who they are as a person. 

The most common colours I get for dip dye overskirts and wedding dresses are blues. Followed by purples and pinks. I love getting green commissions, although they happen a lot less often.

Tell me if you think your colour choice is true to you?

~
#weddingdress #colourfulweddingdress #dopaminedressing #uniqueweddingdress #uniquebride #altbride #alternativebride #alternativeweddingdress #ukweddingdress #surrey #dorking #bespokeweddingdress #customweddingdress
One final little sneak peek before I show the fabulous photos from this fabulous day!

1 sewing machine
2 bride outfits
3 bridesmaid dresses
21 talented wedding suppliers
and lots of stage smoke!

Make sure you're following me to see what I'm so excited to share. Photos coming this weekend!

~
Dresses @felicitywestmacott
Photography @jessicajillphoto
Video/content @weddingstorytellerco
Venues @theoldtimberstore_se1 @malt.maltby
Florals @jemimainthewoods
Event Equipment Hire @cohire
Bride Models @michele_and_graziella
Bridesmaid models @Lisaeggy3 @Boobzylou @oleksanacoaching
Choreography @oleksanacoaching
Hair and Make-up lead @melindabridal @melinda_grant
Hair and Make-up @beccibrushes

Celebrant dave_the_celebrant
Guitar @shanetheojoseph
Stationery @theinkmoth
Jewellery @CatherineMarche
Cake @gwynethjohnsoncakedesign
Neon Sign @thisisasignuk
Headdress @Creationsbylivfree
Millinery @beverleyedmondsonmillinery
Shoes @shoesbylarisa
Confetti @proper.confetti

#bespokeweddingdress #weddingshoot #weddingdress #ukwedding #ukbride #ukweddingsupplier #londonwedding
“My detachable skirt was the best. So many people were very impressed with your work. Thank you so very much, I LOVE MY SKIRT!”⁠
⁠
For real bride Christina, I created one of my iconic dip dye overskirts. Christina went for a beautiful monochromatic ombre, going from bright sky blue, all the way down to a deep, rich navy.⁠
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Whether it's matching your bouquet, your groom's pocket square or your bridesmaids, having an overskirt really helps tie the colour palette of wedding together.⁠
⁠
If you want to add some colour to your wedding, but don't quite feel brave enough to dye directly onto your wedding dress, then a dip dye overskirt is the perfect solution. Have a look at my Etsy (link in the bio) to find out more.⁠
⁠
What colours would you pick?
Sometimes dressmaking lingo can feel a bit overwhelming, so I like to spend time breaking down various elements of a wedding dress I've made in... Anatomy of a Dress!⁠
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▫️for the fabric I used a beautiful, ivory floral lace (layered on top of silk dupion)⁠
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▫️the back of dress has a keyhole opening, secured with covered buttons at the top⁠
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▫️the corset bodice is fully boned with visible boning channels⁠
⁠
▫️the dress fastens with a lace-up back, with ribbon and eyelets, and a modesty panel behind (so no skin shows through beneath the lacing)⁠
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▫️the skirt is cut straight with a very slight flare near the hem and scalloped edging used all around, including onto the small train⁠
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Did you find this little breakdown helpful? Hopefully it means that when it comes to your bridal outfit, you have a better idea of how to talk about what you want 🥰⁠
⁠
If you want to see what this dress looked like on the day of the wedding, have a look at this week's earlier post.
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