This Hearts and Diamonds wedding inspiration photoshoot features two gorgeous brides and two full wedding set ups with stunning dresses, accessories, florals and cakes to complement each bride. One being styled after the red ‘Queen of Hearts’ and the other, the white ‘Queen of Diamonds’. The shoot features striking red and white, an unconventional and...
Brianna commissioned a stunning autumn dip dye wedding dress for her Idaho wedding. It is copy of my best selling “Phoenix Dip Dye” wedding dress, with unique matcing accessories I made just for her. Brianna asked for a dip dye veil to echo the colours on the dress and gloves with lace detail. I first...
I made a bespoke ballerina length wedding dress for my lovely bride, Amy. Amy had a very specific brief for her wedding day, she wanted to feel like a Russian ballerina. So I designed a dress with ankle length layers in lightweight tulle. This style was popular in the 1950’s, it has elegant vintage style...
Emma came to me wanting a dress that would look perfect framed by the rolling hills of Tuscany, at the gorgeous Borgo Corsignano, in Italy. She was looking for an elegant, bespoke wedding dress with a long, dramatic lace train and a plunging low back. Something figure-hugging, elegant and opulent. The dress I designed for...
I created two bespoke wedding dresses in Brighton for this fun, campy, Cabaret photoshoot. The goal was to create a vibrant celebration of life and love, full of bright colours and bags of personality. There’s no better way to celebrate than with glitter, confetti and a whole lot of fun! I don’t know about...
The first step for this custom sunset ombre wedding dress was designing and making a simple, elegant wedding dress in pale ivory duchess satin and tulle. Then came the fun part; dip-dying it in a gradient of beautifully vibrant colours. I call this particular combination my ‘Phoenix’ colour-way. It’s one of the most popular choices...
This bespoke wedding dress photoshoot in Kent absolutely bursts with colour, style and fun! Inspired by the 1950s and the quirky Rockabilly style, we went big with our bold accent colours of fuchsia pink and navy blue, the whole shoot was full of retro elegance and mid-century charm. This shoot was all about 50s fun....
I designed this fairytale look for a bespoke wedding dress photoshoot in Essex. I made the dramatic Aurora gown in layers of fluffy blush organza and pale ivory tulle. Sequins shimmer under the top layer and creep onto the illusion neckline. I trimmed the bodice and waist with mixed metallic beaded lace and I created...
I made these custom mini-me christening dress for Adrienne’s twin girls. These two christening dresses were made from Mummy’s wedding dress fabrics and trims. I used the taffeta as the main fabric and then the veil tulle for the overskirt. I carefully removed the beaded lace motifs from the original dress and hand sewed them...
Danielle wanted a pretty and elegant dress with applique lace and subtle sequin sparkles on a nude base. We were aiming for something lightweight, feminine and figure-hugging. So I designed a dress that was a little soft romantic, a little boho and a little sexy, accentuating Danielle’s hourglass figure. This bespoke nude lace wedding dress...
Posts from Felicity Westmacott
Christopher Nolan`s The Odyssey is everywhere you look right now, including all the discourse around the costumes. It brought to my mind one of my own bridal creations, inspired by history but also undeniably modern.
Just like the costume design in The Odyssey, I wasn`t going for historical accuracy here. I took inspiration from the pleating of ancient Grecian clothing, and the golden adornments of the Egyptians. But the under bust corset and the asymmetry of this wedding dress means you certainly wouldn`t have found it in either of those ancient civilisations.
Can you imagine a wedding dress like this on the big screen?
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Suppliers
Photographer - Jamie Edward - @jamieedwardphotography
Venue - RSA House - @rsaweddings
Concept, Design & Shoot Coordinator - With Akilah & Co - @weddings_akilahandco
Videographer - Alfie`s Visuals - @clique_visuals
Content Creator - The Wedding Storyteller - @weddingstorytellerco
Florist - Fleur De La Couture - @fleurdelacouture
Delivery & Logistics Team - Middlemen Logistics - @middlemenlogistics
Hair Stylist - Hair By Duboux - @hair_by_duboux
Makeup Artist - Melinda Bridal - @melindabridal
Jewellery - Catherine Marche - @catherinemarche
Cake - Peboryon - @bluepumpkincalligraphy
Linen, Napkins & Furniture - Hallmark Hire - @hallmarkcateringandequipmenthire
Models - @dom_dht & @yanapenrose
Celebrant - Dave The Celebrant - dave_the_celebrant
Bespoke Dress Maker - Felicity Westmacott - @felicitywestmacott
Bride Accessories - Saint Beth Official - @saintbeth2
Confetti - Confetti Club London - @confetticlublondon
Newspapers - Photo Press - @photopressuk
Caroline is an equestrian vet for the military, and as such, had the honour of getting married at Sandhurst.
She needed a wedding dress that would befit the splendour of such a historic institution. Not only that, but she wanted her dress to pay homage to her career.
The result was this deep purple silk dress coat, full of details that are completely unique to Caroline.
The style of the dress coat is reminiscent of a Victorian riding habit. The buttons on the front of the dress are from her regiment - usually they`re gold, and much larger. But when Caroline went to the military tailors, they offered her smaller silver ones used for hats. The perfect finishing touch.
I was also lucky enough to attend Caroline`s wedding and wore one of my own creations as well. My colours and Caroline`s colours looked so good together (scroll to the end to see).
Throughout the day I got so many compliments for my work, which was such a lovely feeling, on top of the already gorgeous day I got to share with the happy couple.
If you want to see the dress she wore underneath this dress coat, check out my last post. It`s quite unexpected! Let me know what you think.
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Photography - Phil Carr - @phil_carr_photography
Hair - Kelly Dingle
Sumptuous sky-blue silk.
A figure-hugging silhouette.
Corseted with lilac ribbon.
And sparkling lace accents.
This is the kind of bridal outfit that makes me excited to get into my workshop every day. Colourful, confident and completely Caroline.
Originally Caroline wanted a cocktail-style dress, but eventually changed her mind to a bodice and skirt ensemble. That’s part of the joy of having your wedding dress made specifically for you – you can explore options and try different things out. It’s all part of the bespoke process. When a bride tells me she’s not sure about something, that helps me to get her one step closer to her dream dress. And that’s what we both want!
This is only half of what I made for Caroline – I can’t wait to show you the other half properly (you may have already glimpsed it in the video). I’ll be posting about that next, and trust me, it’s worth the wait.
Photography - Phil Carr - @phil_carr_photography
Hair - Kelly Dingle
“Felicity listened to what I wanted, gave a clear quote and completed the alterations so nobody could see them. Clear booking system as well. Would recommend.”
Sometimes it takes a little adjustment here and there to make a wedding dress feel like it was made for you, and sometimes a dress needs a more dramatic transformation. Either way, I`m here to help.
If you`re interested in getting your dress altered for this year, I`m currently booked up until the beginning of October. So if your wedding is November onwards and your dress doesn`t feel quite right yet, drop me a message. But don`t wait too long - spaces are filling up fast.
You can always book in a no-obligation consultation with me, to see if I would be the right fit for you and your dress - link in bio.
Photography - Birdseye Photography
Isabelle thought she had found the dress she wanted for her wedding day. But her mum wanted to gift her something a bit more special for such a special day.
When I met Isabelle, she showed me the dress. It was pretty, but it was made from cheaper fabrics, and there were parts of the dress she wasn`t as keen on.
We worked together to identify what about her inspiration dress she liked, and I made sure to include all those elements in her design. And, on top of that, we also changed the parts of the inspiration dress that she didn’t like that much.
She knew she wanted colour (whereas the original dress was white), she knew she wanted shorter sleeves, and a straight neckline, instead of the sweetheart neckline the other dress had.
We came up with a pale blue silk cocktail dress, with Chantilly lace layered over top and Guipure lace trim on the waistline.
It goes to show the difference between a cheaper dress and the bespoke experience. You can love both versions of the dress, and want to wear both, but with bespoke you get to make every element tailored to your preferences.
Photography - @mirandavphoto
Throughout my years as a bespoke wedding dress maker, lace is a fabric I have worked with time and time again. And it never gets boring.
Why?
Because there are just so many different kinds, in different colours, finishes and patterns. I have books and books of lace samples from my suppliers (shout out @bridalfabrics) you could easily lose a few hours admiring.
This is just a glimpse into what can be done with lace when it comes to alternative wedding dresses. If there`s a kind of lace in this post you want to know more about, ask away in the comments and I`ll make sure to reply.
And make sure you scroll to the end to see the fabric that always gets mistaken for lace, even though it isn`t.
Which of these lace looks is your favourite?
Photographers:
1. @jessicajillphoto
2. @dinawardphotography
3. barryholder.co.uk
4. @jessicajillphoto
5. @altweddingco
6. @snappedbycatx
7. @emilyhudson.photography
8. @carolinehorne.s.photography
9. @emilyhudson.photography
