Long sleeve lace wedding dress and veil

Bespoke ivory lace wedding dress by Felicity Westmacott


Whether for a small an intimate elopement or a traditional country wedding with a marquee and hundreds of guests, a traditional long sleeve lace wedding dress ticks all the boxes.

Issie’s dress was made with a boned satin bodice with pretty lace overlay. Long sleeves and a boat neckline were trimmed with a pretty scalloped edging. A simple silk dupion sash highlighted her tiny waist and the back fastened with buttons and loops. The full skirt was three layers of silk organza over linings and netting flowing out behind in a wide train.

I also made Issie’s very two tier long veil. The train part was trimmed in matching lace edging to her dress and the blusher (comes over the face) was edged with simple cording.

Official photographs by Monty Steedman Photography

Classic corded lace bodice and silk skirt wedding dress

original design sketch by Felicity Westmacott
Original design skirt for Issie’s dress
Traditional military wedding dress with full skirt and veil

Military Wedding

Issie’s traditional long sleeve lace wedding dress was a perfect foil for her groom’s military uniform. Other dress styles could work too. I have made a very modern and understated dress for a military wedding before. Mixing up traditions and new ideas can work really well in all aspects of wedding planning.

Ball dress style wedding gown custom made to order

corded lace sleeve detail on custom wedding gown

Bespoke wedding veil and dress for English wedding lace and silk

Making Issie’s Traditional Long Sleeve Lace Wedding Dress

Pictures from the fittings showing her dress at various stage of the making process. Every bespoke dress I make starts with a ‘toile’ or practice run in cheaper materials. We can check the fit and style are just right before working with more costly fabrics. Then a series of fittings enables me to check everything is progressing at it should as the dress comes together.

I also made a long, two tier veil for Issie to match her wedding dress. It had a ‘blusher’ which is the extra layer that can be worn over your face when entering your ceremony space. I hand sewed lace edging to the long train of Issie’s veil and edged the blusher with matching narrow soutache cord.

final fitting picture of bespoke wedding dress and veil

Sweetheart boned bodice and lace wedding dress

Fitting picture hand made wedding dress

Fitting picture of custom wedding dress and veil

bespoke corded lace bodice and corded edge veil made to order

To see another wedding dress with a lace bodice and sleeves see Sofia’s dress on my blog

If you’d like to speak to me about your ideas for a bespoke commission, be that a traditional long sleeve lace wedding dress or another idea just head over to my contact page to get in touch.

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felicity westmacott wearing a hat

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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Today is my birthday, so I wanted to share something I've been grateful for almost every year of my life.

I started ballet lessons when I was four, moving on to the Lewiston School of Dance until 18 (I even won the Pointe Work cup with them once). My grandmother had been a professional dancer and my mum also took ballet lessons (and still does, at over 70!), so there has always been a lot of ballet in my family.

When I went to uni, I stopped dancing, then came back to it in the form of adult ballet lessons with my mum, and then got pregnant. After that I found aerial hoop, which replaced dancing as my active hobby. However, my ballet training has really helped my progress in hoop, and I'm very grateful for the skills I continue to draw upon for both hoop and acting.

What's a hobby you're grateful to have started, no matter what stage in life?

(and shout out to @hair_by_tel ⁠for capturing this video of me playing around during a recent bridal photoshoot)

#ballet #passion #dancing
The main inspiration for this wedding dress was this blue and white gown, worn by Emily Blunt for Vanity Fair. Claire, the bride, added photos of the infamous Mr Pearl's beautifully ornate corsets to her mood board as well.

As a bride, talking in images is one of the easiest ways for me to understand your vision and aesthetic. If someone says to me 'dreamy' or 'classic', that can mean very different things to different people. But this gorgeous reference photo of a Dior gown gave me everything I needed to know to start sketching.

What images are on your dream wedding mood board right now?

~
#weddingdress #bespokeweddingdress #blueweddingdress #hautecouturewedding #weddinginspiration
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