Tea length brown wedding dress and bolero

Suzanne commissioned a pretty tea length brown wedding dress and bolero made up in taffeta and chiffon.

I made her knee-length dress with a fitted and boned bodice. She wanted a gentle sweet-heart shaped neckline and slim straps. We chose a beautiful shot taffeta (shot pink/green/ivory) with chocolate chiffon on top and I ‘plaited’ the chiffon down the front of the bodice and opens to reveal the taffeta beneath. I hand beaded the neckline with bronze coloured Swarovski pearls in a ‘floral lace’ pattern.

The bolero has long sleeves, gathered at the shoulder and with a button loop closure at the cuff. I applied matching hand beading all along the bolero edge and the sleeves are finished with matching pearls used as the buttons.

Suzanne wrote: Felicity, I couldn’t decide which shot was best so I’m sending you the whole album. My dress was much admired and I certainly felt wonderful in it. Thank you again so much. Hope you are well! Kind regards, Suzanne

mature bride wedding dress pink and brown taffeta and chiffon
riverboat bride in shot taffeta bolero with bubbles
 custom alternative wedding dress and bolero for older bride

Gifts for a bride

Although I made much more elaborate mother of pearl petal necklace (shown below), as ordered by Suzanne, she had never tried it with the dress. So when her work colleagues contacted me to organise a surprise wedding present I suggested they commission this simple necklace (the string of bronze pearls) as an alternative for Suzanne on her wedding day. This was just in case the petal design turned out to be too much along with the pearl beading on the dress. It seems like we got it just right as Suzanne’s photos show that she did indeed choose to wear the simple necklace her colleagues bought for her. With our clever planning the simple necklace still perfectly matched the earrings and bracelet from the petal set so all was well!

ruched front brown wedding dress with long sleeves

I was also privileged to make a wedding dress for Suzanne’s daughter who was married the same year. You can see pictures of her butterfly themed wedding dress here.

Making Suzanne’s tea length brown wedding dress Dress

original design sketch tea length wedding dress and bolero

Suzanne had seen the plait design on a dress in a perfume advertisement (she brought the torn out page with her to her first consultation). She knew she wanted something similar for her own dress but otherwise had no special preferences for other design details. So I sent her these design sketches showing various different ideas. Suzanne choose to add the dipped cutaway of the chiffon on the back of the dress. And then also the pearl beading in the ‘lace’ design with matching pearls for the bolero cuff buttons.

 fitting picture bespoke dressmaker tea length wedding dress in brown taffeta and chiffon

Pictures from Suzanne’s final fitting, showing the cut away detail on the back of the dress.

hand beading detail swarovski pearl bronze

Detail of the bolero with the beading being applied.

button cuff detail on bespoke bolero

Detail of the finished bolero showing the pearl button and loop cuffs

made to measure wedding bolero occasionwear
hand embellishment beading on custom dress back neckline swarovski pearl
 plait detail front sweetheart neckline bespoke coloured wedding dress
floating mother of pearl petal and bronze necklace

Suzanne commissioned this lovely necklace to match her dress. Made from a mix of pale pink mother-of-pearl petals, Swarovski crystals and bronze pearls the design is feminine and striking. I also made matching earrings each with one petal.

floating pearl and crystal bracelet on tigertail wire

This bracelet was made to match the necklace in the same Swarovski crystal and bronze pearls.

knee length informal wedding dress with shrug made to measure

To see lots more examples of bespoke wedding dresses I have made for mature brides you can head to their dedicated portfolio page.

If you would like to know more about having your own wedding dress made to order you can see my FAQ page or be in touch direct

Or visit my Etsy shop to buy samples of gowns I make for photoshoots

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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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Spooky season has arrived!

I love Halloween, but maybe not for the reasons you might think. For me, Halloween gives people permission to be a little more wild, a little more 'out there' with their bridal choices. And as a seamstress who loves to makes bold and beautiful wedding dresses, there's nothing wrong with a little more wild!

Take these three wedding photoshoots, for example. The first one was inspired by Morticia Addams. It's a black wedding dress! You can't get less traditional than that. And it's now one of my most popular designs. Although all these dress designs are based around a fictional character, they're still the furthest thing from a costume. They're pieces of haute couture art, taking the essence of the character and then elevating it to something truly unique.

The second dress used the designs from the live action Cruella, and I love how the model nailed her character. The final dress used Jim Henson's Labyrinth as a starting point, in particular that iconic ballroom scene (*swoon*). They were all such fun projects. So if you're looking for a wedding dress maker to embrace your wild side, I might be the perfect choice.

If you could base your wedding dress on a fictional character, who would it be?

~
Photography - @lexflemingphoto⁠
Sometimes it can be difficult to be true to yourself. The world can feel really judgemental (even if it's just the voices in the back of your head saying it). But, you might be worried about being 'too much' or worried of what people might think if they saw how vibrant and colourful you really are on the inside. How big and sparkly your thoughts and feelings are!

Well, guess what? There's no such thing as 'too much'. Not in my books! As a wedding dress maker (and honestly, a fellow big, sparkly person) I'm here to encourage you to listen to what your heart is telling you. Ignore those voices telling you should be anything less than 100% yourself, especially on your wedding day.

There is nothing that makes me happier than a bride bringing me their ideas - the crazy ones they've barely voiced to anyone else. The ones they shyly mention, usually followed by "but if that's not possible, then don't worry about it". And there's nothing more exciting than seeing the face of that bride when they realise that I am absolutely on this journey with them, that we will make it happen and that I cannot wait to get started!

Anyway, I love my job 😉

#weddingdress #fantasyweddingdress #fantasybride #historicalweddingdress #dramaticweddingdress #bespokeweddingdress
Isn't this the perfect wedding dress for a colourful festival wedding?

Bright, fun and beautiful to look at. It's the kind of dress you can't take your eyes off of. 

As a wedding dress maker who loves working on alternative and unusual wedding looks, creating unique ombre dip dye dresses is one of my favourite things to do. I'm so glad this bride had such an amazing time dancing in it 🥰

#weddingdress #bride #alternativebride #alternativeweddingdress #colourfulweddingdress
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