I often meet brides who have a clear vision of their wedding dress but can’t find a gown to match their dreams. As an independent couture designer, I find working with brides to bring their ideas to life so fulfilling and creative.

If you want to be involved in the design of your dress it’s important that you get on well with your chosen designer and feel able to express your ideas. You will also need to listen and take advice because a good designer will guide you and ensure you are happy with the end result. Taking this route is a big commitment: there will be on-going decisions to make during the creative process and lots of fittings to attend. But the end result will make it well worth it.

Amy, bride, fitting for her Elizabeth Bessant couture wedding gown

When Amy came to see me via a recommendation, she knew exactly what she wanted. She admired the work of Lebanese designers whose dresses with price tags of hundreds of thousands of pounds are out of reach of most brides. But these dresses had inspired her thinking. She came to meet me with her mother and sister and we had a long chat over coffee about her ideas for her gown for her grand Barcelona wedding.

Her vision was for a blush coloured dress with a removable overskirt with pockets, she also wanted texture and appliqué but not too much sparkle. It was decided that I would take Amy and her mother to Joel & Son Fabrics – the largest haute couture fabric emporium in this country. We looked through so many fabrics and eventually settled on a blush silk for the lining and a textured ivory lace with a subtle sequin detail that would be mounted onto tulle, a fine mesh net fabric, as a base for the appliqué. I now had my starting point.

First, a toile for a fitted sheaf dress was made with another toile for the overskirt – a toile is a mock up of a garment in a cheap fabric so checks and alterations to the pattern can be made before cutting into expensive fabric. This was the first of many fittings as the dress and overskirt gradually evolved. Amy would often stand in front of the mirror for an hour while I pinned flower appliqué, cut lace, silk feathers and pearls over her dress. Sometimes a flower would be moved just half an inch because balance is very important – I call this type of work planned random as the eye will tell you when it is right.

Sometimes Amy’s two sisters would come along and her cousins who were going to be bridesmaids and always her mother. As we got to know each other, coffee would take longer and sometimes a bottle of Rosé Prosecco would be opened. The whole process was so special for Amy and her family – and myself.

It was a similar scenario when Jessica came to see me. She had tried on a lot of wedding dresses and couldn’t find what she wanted for her November forest wedding. Jessica‘s vision was a dress with a simple line and appliqué that would tell the story of her forest wedding and love of everything Japanese. She also wanted a long veil for the church ceremony that she would remove and replace with a hooded cloak for warmth when walking from the church to the reception through woodlands.

Working in London meant it was easier for her to come and see me after work and this kept her weekends free to plan other aspects of her wedding. At every stage of the creation of her outfit Jessica was very involved – and like Amy spent many hours in front of the mirror while I pinned handmade lotus flowers and vines in place ready to be sewn on to her dress with pearl centres.

From my London studio, myself and my team of couturiers make brides dreams come true. My team are highly skilled in every aspect of creating a beautiful couture gown plus veil, cape, hairpiece or bag.

If you are looking for a truly unique wedding dress and you would like to give me a call for a chat or book a free no obligation consultation please do get in touch [email protected]