Caroline and her dress ......

Caroline first came to me last year looking for a bespoke wedding dress. I immediately wanted to make her dress within seconds of meeting and when I closed the door to the studio I kept my fingers crossed that this better than Audrey Hepburn lookalike would be wearing my dress on her big day.

So lucky me, it turned out good! I worked on the designs with Caroline so that we could have a dress that not only looked spectacular on the day but could be worn again. As we speak I am just finishing a blue lace over dress for her Christmas party.

This post is going to have to span a few weeks long as there is so much to show you. The first pictures are of the engagement shoot which made it to the Times engagement section with my tie dye and black lace dress. How society!

Times Newspaper - Photography by Assassynation 

The initial sketches for Caroline's dress 

 Here is the first design of the dress and the development pictures. The dress was made from silks from Caroline's very local supplier in Gloucester, Beckford Silks. They dye all of our silks in Gloucester and are a brilliant company who print, dye and make sure all our silks are top quality.

One of the fittings at the studio.

So we had a few fittings at Caroline's Mums house and at the studio, it was always so lovely to see her twirling around whilst I pinned and gave my usual critical glare over the dress. (this isn't ever me glaring it you it's me checking the dress is just right!) Caroline couldn't have been a better bride to work with, always positive, gorgeously ladylike and wonderfully relaxed whilst knowing exactly what she wanted. It's also a great help having a super lovely family and friends to bring along too.

 And this is what the dress looked liked in the end ..........................  silk duchess satin, silver lace removable jacket and a huge detachable bow.  There will be lots of photos of the wedding coming up soon, after I share the bridesmaids dresses. xxx

Brides and Debs

The new bridal / debutant prom dresses and the updated, refined Debutant Debby dress. 

The prom dress is now built onto a silk corseted bodice instead of the bought in bodices I used before, This keeps it looking beautiful inside and also gives a lovely smooth back with no stretch. There is still the option for cups too if you like.

The new Ivory Betty and Betty's Big day asymmetric dresses in the lightest silk dupion which gives the full skirts a gorgeous ballet like float. Great to add detailing too in the form of veils, gloves, etc Audrey style.

And the new silk organza 'Candy' dress taken from our candy stripe floral collection with the colours de-saturated and a fuller pleated skirt added to take this design to a slightly more special level. I love the poppy late fifties feel of this dress with the strong outlines in the satin. I used to get told off for outlining everything in art class but outlines are good and I like to add definition.

The ever popular short wedding dress is a way of adding a second dress if you are having a big, big wedding or just feel the need for a costume change works especially well if you have chosen to have a dramatic full length gown with train for the main ceremony.
They also make a super chic option as your main dress and get amazingly pretty pictures too. You get to stay comfortable all day, can dance as madly as you like and depending on what you are looking for, they can be fantastic when you are on a modest budget. And there are so many things you can do to make yours unique.
A simple dress like our Betty dress  can be trimmed to the max with ribbons, vintage brooches and corsages, it's a great blank canvas. The simplicity and great cut also allows you to play around with veil options and go all out on the shoes. Then after the wedding you can take out your nets, add a leather belt and don some ballet pumps and off you go. I know there is a certain treasured feeling you get about your dress after the day but wouldn't it be awesome to just go out and wear these dresses whenever we liked?

For my own wedding I had a full length tulle number which looked fabulous in the photos but me not being used to wearing full length gowns and being a little scared of being a 'bride' on the day, I changed to a candy stripe tulle prom dress for the evening and danced away into the night very happily not feeling in slightest but wifely.
Being able to make the dresses myself did give me quite an advantage though like a kid in a candy store!

More photos have just arrived from another bride! Daisy, based in the USA ordered her dress late last year and it makes me so happy when I see the pictures, these are really, really awesome images and doesn't she look incredible, perfectly fifties!
The wedding took place at Boston's New England Aquarium which looks really exciting as a venue, grand and fun in one place.
The photographer who took these super gorgeous wedding images is Suzanne Camarata and you can check out all her other work here along with her stunning portrait work. 
The beautiful flowers which include daisies for Daisy are just the right amount and style for the dress and so pretty. The florist is Sarah's Garden based in Massachusetts's. Daisy's hair was fixed suitably vintage style by Daleen Scott at Pyara Aveda in Harvard Square, Cambridge, USA  and she did her own make up which is perfect and most often the best way.

 This was a lovely commission for the prom dress but this time in a very soft tulle and in a blush blue colour made from layering pale blues and creams together. It looks like Daisy had a wonderful wedding day in the dress and it has been worn just how I would have wanted. Huge thanks to Daisy!