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

Add a comment...

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

Felicity Westmacott

I write about all aspects of weddings, dressmaking, fashion history, and the human relation to clothing. I welcome comments and debate.

Recent Portfolio entries

Read More
follow me on instagram@felicitywestmacott

⁠When Iram saw the ⁠custom Asian fusion wedding trousers and top that I had made for a bridal shoot, she decided she had to have them for her own London wedding – and I don’t blame her! This outfit looks perfect on her.⁠ It's the ideal look for a chic, modern, summer wedding.

The ‘Evie’ separates comprise of a beautiful wedding top and trouser set with beaded waistband for a bride who is not afraid to make a statement. And Iram was definitely not afraid! She exudes chilled, modern bride energy in this cool and comfortable combo. 

If you love this custom Asian fusion wedding trousers, you can find the Evie bridal separates on my Etsy 💜

Photography @saidigitaluk
Since 1753, when the Marriage Act first came into existence, UK marriage law has come a long way. Some things have taken much longer than they should have (I'm looking at you, 1991 and 2013, 2023). But there's still more than can be done. The association of @independentcelebrants is campaigning for the UK government to follow the recommendations of the 2022 wedding law reform report.

"At least 10,000 wedding ceremonies a year in England and Wales are led by independent celebrants. These ceremonies are perfectly legal to hold, but as it stands a celebrant cannot perform a legally binding marriage – that part must be done separately, meaning added inconvenience and cost for couples."

I'm all about supporting couples to have the wedding day of their dream, and that rarely includes having to find time and money to go to the registry office.

If you want to help with this, then you can spread awareness! Share this post, or make your own. Talk about it with friends and family. And once you've done that, you can always get in touch with your local MP. The Independent Celebrants website has a PDF guide to help you with how to go about doing that.

Is this an issue you're aware of? Is there anything I've missed out?

#ChangeWeddingLaw #SpeakUpForCelebrants #LegaliseCelebrantWeddings
I created this Regency-inspired wedding dress for a Bridgerton themed wedding shoot. I used modern fabrics like tulle, beaded lace and shantung, but with period accurate details like the empire line waist, square neckline and boned stays (corset). ⁠
⁠
I love to work with versality when it comes to my creations, so the dress was designed with multiple layers; the main dress has an embroidered tulle bodice and asymmetric beaded lace skirt. A lilac and pink dip-dyed tulle skirt can be added over the floral train of the main dress for some dreamy ombre magic. A lilac silk dupion 'spencer jacket' with hand appliqued beaded lace completes the ensemble. ⁠

 All these options make it possible to have lots of different looks throughout your wedding day. ⁠

Which Bridgerton character can you imagine wearing this outfit?

~
#regencyweddingdress #bridgerton #historicalweddingdress #periodwedding #colouredweddingdress #dipdyeweddingdress #surreydressmaker #londondressmaker #vintagebride #romanticbride #weddingveil #purpleweddingdress #bespokeweddingdress #fantasyballgown
Now and again I'll take one of the wedding dresses I've made, and break down some of the elements. So, if there's something you love about a dress, but you don't know the 'proper words' to reference them, hopefully this will help you out.⁠
⁠
This beautiful 1950’s style wedding dress with delicate cream lace over golden-orange silk has lots of really scrummy details:⁠
⁠
🧡 the opening at the back of the dress is called a keyhole (or you could call this a slit opening). This one is closed at the top with three covered buttons.⁠
⁠
🧡 the base dress is made of a beautiful russet orange silk dupion, with dark ivory lace layered on top.⁠
⁠
🧡 the base dress is essentially a halter neck, with a turn over collar at the front, with the ivory layer providing semi-sheer, full length sleeves.⁠
⁠
🧡 the edges of the ivory layer are cut along the floral pattern of the lace, making a pretty scalloped edge.⁠
⁠
🧡 this length of skirt is called 'ballet' or 'ballerina'.⁠
⁠
🧡 the front of the dress has a line of false buttons (buttons that are just there for decoration), that match the buttons at the back.⁠
⁠
Those are just some of the details of this dress. If you have any questions about anything else, just leave a comment. I could talk dress making all day!⁠
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