Wedding dresses for Black and dark skin brides

just married bride and groom illusion guipure lace bodice

I have had the privilege of working with many brides who come from black heritage or have darker skin tones. When wearing western wedding dress styles, a fashion first evolved to suit white skin women, different choices can be made to ensure the dresses flatter darker skin tones. Often this includes ensuring any sheer or skin-tone matching elements are created to match the bride’s actual skin. I hand dye tulle for illusion neckline dresses, usually with two or three samples so a bride can decide which is the best and most invisible choice.

Being sensitive to and interested in different cultures comes naturally to me. I love learning about wedding customs and traditions that are new to me. I really enjoy designing dresses for brides who are planning a wedding from their own background, or a fusion blended celebration.

destination wedding confetti shot illusion back wedding dress for dark skin

Creating a bespoke wedding dress for Ayesha included hand dyeing her tulle for the illusion back and plunge front necklines. I really enjoy this aspect of making wedding dresses for black or dark skin brides.

Official photography by DSVisuals

angela 7 alternative wedding dress portrait neckline collar and dress

Angela wanted a subtle oyster pink dress and jacket for her white-tie wedding day. The opulent duchess satin and delicate chantilly lace combined to give a sophisticated and pretty look. You can see more pictures of Angela’s wedding ensemble here.

Photography bywww.christellephoto.com

Cultural Fusion Wedding

Custom bespoke make to measure uk london surrey sussex Asian Fusion Wedding Trousers top
low back wedding top dress south east asian gold latkan ties

Iram’s London wedding was planned a cultural fusion vibe. She wanted to wear a modern wedding ensemble in Western white colours, but with a big nod to her Indian background. My ‘Evie’ set was the perfect match, created custom for her with the latkan and belt details chosen to match her colour scheme. You can see more designs for cultural fusion weddings on this page.

You can see this set for sale in my Etsy shop, or contact me directly to discuss your custom order.

Photography – Rohit Gautam

tossing the bouquet black wedding traditional

I made Vanessa’s wedding dress with a very full silk dupion skirt pleated to her waist. Corded lace was used for the illuion bodice with tulle dyed to match her skintone as the support.

Safiya ordered a bespoke bias cut wedding dress in white silk satin. Cutting a dress ‘on the bias’ create a beautiful drape and close fit. Metallic embroidery was created for the dress by ‘Hand and Lock

Official Wedding pictures by Indigo Images

custom wedding dress alteration restyle new skirt

Hannah brought me a wedding dress she had found elsewhere to have the skirt section remade with more flaboyance. I created a stunning waterfall skirt in cascades of organza with lace applique to blend it into the main dress above. You can click here to find out more about booking wedding dress alterations with me.

Wedding with another Religious element.

bride and groom civil marriage ceremony Surrey

Reeta’s wedding dress was made in buttermilk coloured silk satin and ivory lace to compliment her beautiful mid skintone. Official photographs by www.photofactorysite.com

This bride wanted a dress made in African lace. I cut and sewed her beautiful lace fabric using the scalloped edges to trim the hem and full train. We also used more lace to create her hijab for the Muslim part of her wedding ceremony. It is always such an honour to make wedding dresses for black brides, especially when I am given such exquisite materials to work with.

Photoshoot wedding dresses for black brides

This photoshoot in London featured the beautiful Vanessa as our model. I designed a cadbury purple silk dress coat and an ivory short wedding dress.

Photography: Jessica Jill Partridge,

beautiful black bride groom london RSA house wedding dress cleopatra queen regal elegant

I designed an asymmetric wedding dress with a gold corset to wear over the top for a photoshoot in London’s  RSA House. The stunning  Dom and Yana were our models.

Photographer – Jamie Edward

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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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If you're curious about what I get up to in my breaks at the shop...now you know!

Inspired by @theadhdpersonaltrainer 🥰

#handstand #handstandpractice #upsidedown #handstandprogress #handstandshapes #feetuptrainer
With spring finally appearing, it was time to update my bridal shop display window.
(If you're curious what it was last month, you can look at my previous post...if you're a fan of dip dye, I think you'll really like it)

I wanted to create something that was full of verdant texture. I feel really strongly about single use plastics, so I always try to either re-use elements from previous window displays, or gather things from nature. This time I used a floral garland by @muscariwhites and added dried flowers from the hydrangea bush in my garden, as well as ivy, and anything else I found that I thought would look pretty.

For this display, I featured two dresses. Usually it's three, but when one of them takes up so much space, I had to make sacrifices! I chose the sumptuous pink Evil Queen dress, as well as the lilac dip dye Bridgeton dress. Both of them are historically inspired (the former by Elizabethan fashion and the latter by Regency), but also have fantasy elements to them. Completely my style as a wedding dress designer.

Which dress in this display is your favourite?
Last month's window display before I change it to something new.

For the display I featured three red wedding dresses:

First is the Elodie dress, made in stunning red silk with a sequin top. I love the bow at the back that extends into a train, as well as the hand-beaded back necklace.

For the middle wedding dress, I took inspiration from Romani gypsy styles, using ivory silk chiffon, accentuated with red floral lace and trimmed with matching coloured ribbons.

And finally, on the right, is the Aurora dress, made in layers of soft blush pink tulle, with gorgeous, floaty balloon sleeves. I think this dip dye combination of deep burgundy, crimson and red is really beautiful.

Do you have a favourite dress out of these three?

All three of these dresses are available, so drop me a DM, or check out my Etsy to find the wedding dress of your dreams 💜

#weddingdress #bridalboutique #colourfulweddingdress #ukweddingdress #dorking #dorkinghighstreet #surrey #sussex #bespokeweddingdress
As a wedding dressmaker, one of my favourite things to do is add colour to my designs. Whether making the dress from scratch, or dying an already bought dress, the colours a bride chooses tell me a lot about who they are as a person. 

The most common colours I get for dip dye overskirts and wedding dresses are blues. Followed by purples and pinks. I love getting green commissions, although they happen a lot less often.

Tell me if you think your colour choice is true to you?

~
#weddingdress #colourfulweddingdress #dopaminedressing #uniqueweddingdress #uniquebride #altbride #alternativebride #alternativeweddingdress #ukweddingdress #surrey #dorking #bespokeweddingdress #customweddingdress
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