As I write this my wedding is over six weeks ago and my dress is in the dry cleaners. How time has flown! But I’m delighted to finally be able to share the final chapter of this story and more importantly photos of my dress from the big day (I only just received my high res images).
I have to say I’m sad the journey is over (not the wedding, it’s nice to be done with all the planning) but the creation of my dress was a really special experience for me, so much so that I actually shed a tear as I bagged up my dress the following morning! Slightly embarrassed to admit that, but the dress carried so much emotion & sentiment for me and I felt so amazing in it that it was hard to see the journey end.
In my previous posts I write about dress shopping, why I decided to get my dress made and the process involved which you can read here and here. Lots of people asked me if I designed my dress. To be honest I felt like that would be too much to take on and wanted the luxury of having someone else do the work for a change! I worked with a designer, Jill Wilde from Wilde by Design, and she came up with the original design based on my requirements and and some images I sent her of “dream” dresses! My wish list included a fitted top half with pretty detailing, accentuate the waistline, A-line skirt with soft and flowing fabric and colourwise I loved cream and blush shades. One of the key design features was a deep V-neckline at the front, and a V at the back all the way down to the waist, both overlayed with beaded lace to create a high “illusion” neckline. The plunging neckline would not be something I would normally wear but I loved it! The skirt then was full-length, A-line with layers of silk tulle (this fabric was to die for!) Some flowers from the lace were then applique onto the skirt from the bodice down and trimmed the train. I didn’t want to wear a veil (opted for a beaded and jeweled headpiece) but love the romance of trailing fabric so decided to go for a train which could then be removed for the evenings festivities!
Knowing my line of work, Jill was keen to have me very involved in the creative process, so I got to pick my fabrics, colours, and at each fitting (there were several) I was free to tweak or change anything as the dress the being made. This was an amazing process, although not always easy as you have to make decisions and try to visualize how it’s going to look which can be hard.
At my final fitting, I’m happy to say I finally had my bridal moment, that emotional rush of knowing that’s the dress for you! I know it sounds cheesy and very “Say Yes to the Dress” but it was magic and worth the wait! The dress felt like me, not like a costume or playing dress up and I felt amazing in it which is of course the most important thing.
Having a wedding dress made isn’t for everyone, I think you have to really know what you want and be able to visualize the finished product. But if you aren’t a traditional girl and want something slightly different then this is a really good option. However, I would definitely recommend finding a designer who is on your wavelength, I had a good feeling from our first conversation. Jill had similar taste to me and did everything she could to make my dream dress a reality, I felt I could trust her which was so important.
I’ll definitely be keeping my dress and every now and then I will look at it and dream and remember the amount of happiness it brought. x
