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

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!

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

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.

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

Detail of the bolero with the beading being applied.

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

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.

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

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