“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...
I love colour and making ombre wedding dresses for UK brides is one of my favourite types of commission. The first dipdye effect dress I created was for a photoshoot in 2016. Images of that dress went viral but it still took a few years before people began asking me to recreate the effect for...
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...
Lisa wanted an elegant Santorini blue dipdye wedding dress, with hints of Grecian style for her destination wedding in Greece. After a lot of trial and error, I managed to create what I think is the most perfect, vibrant sky blue. I love how this dress turned out, from the peek-a-boo shoulders, to the floaty...
For this styled wedding shoot, the aim was to create an atmosphere that was dark, dramatic and regal. We used royal purple, lavender, deep burgundy and vibrant cerise as our colour palette, with plenty of gilded gold highlights. And no white! This was the inspiration for my dark fairytale feather wedding dress. My design was...
If you’re a bride-to-be who loves vibrant colours, daring silhouettes and opulent fabrics, all whilst being inspired by nature, then I’ve got three jewel bright wedding dress ideas you’re going to love (made by me). This styled wedding shoot in Upthorpe Wood is such a feast for the eyes. Featuring so many gorgeous colours and...
This bride was looking for a UK seamstress and found me online. She then approached me, asking if I could make her an elegant couture dress with ruching, pleating and a statement bow. The end result is this opulent, bespoke, bronze gold wedding dress. We combined 1950’s and Elizabethan style details to create a modern,...
Rebecca wanted a Victorian-inspired wedding dress made in deep forest green and ivory silk dupion. We prioritised historical accuracy with this gown, from the custom-made corset underneath, to the embroidered bustle, all the way down to the layers of knife pleats around the skirt. Photography – Yuriy Nutsa Photograhy and Babb Photo Why wear that...
Catherine wanted a flamboyant and theatrical two-piece bridal ensemble in red and white, with feathers, sparkle and a lot of tulle. This red feather masquerade wedding dress is the result. The drama of this dress is so exciting to me, and as someone who’s educational background is in theatre design, this one couldn’t have been...
Hi, I’m Fliss and I’m a Surrey based seamstress, making bespoke bridal outfits for brides all over the country (and beyond). I love creating wedding looks that are a little different from the usual. And this gorgeous photoshoot, shot at Welbeck Manor, is the perfect alternative wedding dress inspiration – Surrey. Alternative Wedding Dress Inspiration...
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
