Bespoke Wedding dress with sleeves in silk dupion

top hat and morning coat groom ivory silk wedding dress english summer

Gerry commissioned an elegant bespoke wedding dress with sleeves in ivory dupion with ruched bodice and off the shoulder sleeves.

Official photographs by www.timelesspictures.co.uk

Gerry’s dress was made with a fitted and boned bodice with ruched silk sweeping in a cross over design to one side. The sweetheart neckline flowed into the off the shoulder line around the top of her elbow length sleeves. The dress was gently fitted around the hips before flaring out and falling into a train. ‘Godet’ panels created the fullness of the skirt whist complementing the hang of the silk fabric. The dress was finished with covered buttons at the back and beaded motifs at the hip and the bottom of the back opening.

graceful window lit bride with veil and train

Two tier veil with beaded motifs

I also made a veil for Gerry in plain ivory tulle. It was cut to fall longer than her dress’ train and with a blusher for over her face before the ceremony. We finished the veil with the same beaded motifs as on the dress, placed to show up where the veil spread across the floor.

 original design sketch sweethear fitted wedding dress by Felicity Westmacott

Original design sketch

bride on the staircase traditional ivory silk dress

Gerry wrote: Just so you know – the dress was a huge success. Very beautiful. Just loved it! Thanks so much for making it such a lovely experience. I really appreciate your kindness, advice and all the hard work you have put into the dress. Your quality of work is amazing, Fliss, and incredible value for money. Thank you for all that extra work. I will certainly be recommending you to anyone I hear is getting married!! So will my friends!!! Thank you for making them feel so welcome too.
Best wishes, G
xxx

bride and her father church wedding traditional dress
 train wrist loop ruched silk wedding dress
something blue ivory silk dupion wedding dress
dancing with wrist loop wedding dress bride train
dancing bride sleeves wedding dress button back

To see another classic English bride visit Vicki’s dress

To see another bespoke wedding dress with sleeves visit Lisa’s dress

Making the bespoke wedding dress with sleeves

 intermediate fitting picture pinning the hem

Pictures from a mid-fitting with a partially finished dress.

creating the ruched bodice making the dress

The ruched bodice was created by draping the silk on a stand and then carefully hand stitching all the folds in place.

wrist loop wedding dress train hidden something blue

A wrist loop was sewn inside the train so Gerry could carry her dress safely across the grass when outside. A hidden ‘something blue’ was revealed when she lifted her dress up

final fitting pictures wedding gown

Pictures from the final fitting, showing the front and back with the train spread out and bustled up for dancing.

finished dress in the mirror dress fitting room

fitting picture bride reclines

A reclining bride in her partly made dress…

Embellishment for Georgina

black lace applique on collar for mother of the bride

Gerry’s lovely mother in law, Georgina Butler wanted her shop bought dress to have something extra and we came up with adding this beaded black lace to the lapel and sleeves to create a very elegant finish.

mother of bride sleeve edge applique alteration
mother of the groom applique black lace on collar

To commission your own bespoke wedding dress just get in touch and I can book you in for a free design consultation.

Or see more examples of wedding dresses with sleeves, Winter wedding dress and Chantilly lace wedding dress.

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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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Destination Vegas. Rockabilly bride. Halloween vibes. 
Sounds like the perfect wedding.

Gorgeous goth Ellie got married in Las Vegas on Halloween. She wanted something alternative, retro and a little spooky. She realised she was never going to find that with an off-the-rack wedding dress. That's where I came in.

I designed and made her white and purple wedding dress with a wonderful blend of 1950’s and 90's shapes, modern styling and subtle Halloween Vixen detail. Harkening back to when Halloween was a little more stylish - perfect for this gothic bombshell. Below the boned bodice, I ruched and layered white satin over sumptuous shot black/purple taffeta and layers and layers of white net. The white satin was spangled all over with hand sewn crystals, ready to sparkle under the Vegas lights. 

My favourite detail? The hand beaded spider web made from Swarovski crystals. Spooky but subtle.
As a seamstress there are certain things that give me the ick. Usually they're pretty specific and unless you're also a dressmaker it might be something you're completely unaware of.

I've always had a ‘thing’ about language generally. I find it really interesting. I've noticed how strong a reaction I can have to people using language differently to what I’m used to. And when I notice that I often go on a bit of a deep dive to understand where that difference stems from. I think coming from a historical costuming background also means I love to know the history of things (and despite my instinctive language-conservative leanings, I do actively work on being accepting and open minded, trying celebrate the differences).

That said, please don’t say your dress has a trail!

Snails have trails - dresses have trains! 🐌
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