I created a bespoke modest lace wedding dress for Ellie. In fact it was a dress created from the base of a shop-bought dress but with a major re-design. Ellie found a Pronovias dress in a high street shop with lace and detailing she loved but some elements of the style and particularly the neckline...
I made this illusion wedding dress for a black bride with a lace bodice and full silk skirt. It has a button back fastening and organza train the scalloped lace edging. Vanessa’s dress was truly a game of two halves, with a full, silk skirt to be supported from the waist and a delicate illusion...
My spouse and I booked a non-binary wedding couple photoshoot for our 14th wedding anniversary celebration. We were married in 2007 we had many happy years together as husband and wife. But in 2021 my spouse realised they were non-binary/trans. The person I had married as a man discovered their female inner self during Covid...
“I felt like an African queen. Everyone loved my dress. Thank you for making my dreams come true!” This is a beautiful gold lace hijab wedding dress, accentuated with yellow crystals and scalloped lace. I designed and made this fully bespoke look for a bride for her interfaith wedding. The bride wanted a simple and...
This wedding Dress for a military wedding was made from layers of silk satin, chiffon and delicate beaded lace. I added real button and loops to close the back. I made two ribbon sashes for Emily so she could change the colours: ‘sand’ and ‘royal purple’ to wear for different parts of her day. Official...
Lauren’s whole wedding was inspired by the choices Kate Middleton made for her wedding in 2011. I made Lauren’s Kate Middleton inspired wedding dress from matt satin and hand embellished with delicate lace patterns Wedding pictures by Bumble and Brown The dress has a very fitted, princess line bodice, lightly boned and fastening with real...
This was the first styled shoot I ever organised – but certainly not the last. I live on the border between Sussex and Surrey and as a wedding dress designer, it only made sense that I gathered together some local wedding suppliers, chose a stunning location, made some dresses and had some fun! Hence this...
Katrina came to me looking for a wedding dress fit for the English Summer. She wanted a beautiful hand painted wedding dress with flowers in a mix of colours (but not pink). We designed the perfect canvas, a bespoke wedding dress in layered white taffeta and silk organza. We started with a base of some...
Tracey wanted a Tudor inspired wedding dress with a modern twist for her wedding at the Tudor period hotel, Langshott Manor. I love designing alternative wedding dresses so this was a lovely project. The two piece ensemble made in deep red silk velvet has a firmly boned bodice cut in a ‘Tudor’ style with a...
Danielle needed my help as a wedding dress designer near London to create her a custom long sleeve bodice that would fit perfectly over her wedding dress. Danielle’s wedding dress was beautiful even just ‘off the peg’ but it needed a little something extra to create a bit of drama on her wedding day. Working...
Posts from Felicity Westmacott
The cusp between the old year and the new year is always a time for reflection. For me, at least. Looking back at the things achieved, and looking forward to what else might be in store.
One of my favourite projects this year was costuming again at the Archway Theatre. The play was Nell Gwynn, which is set during the Restoration period. Some plays allow for some artistic license when it comes to historically costuming, but for this one, my aim was to be as period (and class) accurate as possible.
My original training was in costume design for theatre, and even though it isn`t a huge part of what I do now (although I often use the same skills when creating a wedding look), I do love it when I get to stretch those muscles. A gift from the past, still making itself useful to me now.
Much of my time was spent coordinating outfits, with the use of incredible costume store of my good friend, Elizabeth Callow. Due to most garments being varying degrees of old and worn, I spent many hours altering and mending too. In total I had about thirty costumes to put together. But I also found the time to make a few pieces, including Nell`s pink raw silk gown.
I had a lovely time working with all those sumptuous, brocaded fabrics 😍 which costume is speaking to you the loudest?
Photos by @rubysienauk
Just replace fashion house with bespoke bridal boutique, and you get the idea.
(I also hate being filmed like this, but my social media elf, Elle, told me it was a good idea 😅)
These were all labours of love, with a lot of climbing up precariously placed ladders and sweeping up glitter and leaves. But so fun to do!
Which one is your favourite bridal shop window display?
1. Red for Valentine`s day
2. Purple and gold fantasy
3. Rainbows for Pride
4. Black and white for Halloween
5. Sparkles for winter
Now to start planning for 2026...
I managed to complete my window display dress just in time!
This is the 2nd time I`ve made a wedding dress specifically for my window, and I`m not going to go so far as to say it will be a yearly tradition (that`s too much pressure!) but I do enjoy it!
For this one, I wanted to use up bits and pieces I`ve had hanging around for far too long. As a creative person, I think hoarding comes with the territory, so I`ve had boxes of scrap fabric gathering in boxes. And this dress used so much of them up, which was very satisfying.
For this look I made a boned bodice and covered it in white feathers. Then I added layers and layers of tulle, sequins and lace for the skirt, creating this beautiful asymmetric waterfall effect.
A dress fit for an ice queen ❄️
The past five years have been exciting, scary, busy, joyful, difficult, creative! And I`m grateful for every single day.
From 2020 to now, I opened my bridal shop, I won a Muddy Stilettoes award and a Wedding Industry award. I made a lot of dresses, used up a lot of cans of spray paint and danced around my shop more often that you`d think 💃🏻
What springs to your mind when you think of the past five years?
Shop opening footage - @kasias_irisvisuals
TWIA footage - @mattrockprophoto
Having crunched the numbers, I`m sharing with you the top 5 wedding dresses that really resonated with you all last year.
In no particular order:
1. Even though Rebecca lives in Germany, she sought me out specifically due to seeing my particular approach to colour. She wanted a wedding dress fit for an ethereal princess, complete with this stunning hand-dyed pastel rainbow gradient 🦄✨️
2. I love cultural fusion, so getting to work on this styled shoot was such a pleasure. I loooved stretching my creative muscles to find the perfect blend of traditional Indian and British elements for this dress.
3. Nicky`s inspiration for her wedding dress was the lyrics of Touch by Soft Cell, which is such a fun starting point for a design!
4. The inspo for this photoshoot dress was ancient Egyptian and Greek fashion, but with the kind of interpretation that you might see in Game of Thrones or a fantasy film. I wanted to give a sense of majesty and opulence, without it being too clean and modern and the gold leaf was the perfect solution.
5. Kathy is a local textile artist who was having a launch party for her latest collection, and wanted something extra special for the occasion. Making this dress was such a wonderful collaboration. Kathy created a new design to be printed onto fabric, and brought me a vintage pattern she wanted to use.
What a year full of colour and creativity! Which look is your favourite?
Photography
Pastel Rainbow - @pesto_fotografie
Fusion Shoot - @puli.wedding
Nicky - @hazeldupreezphotography
Nile Queen - @jamieedwardphotography
