Charlie and I got married in our beautiful garden, in the Cotswolds this June. Our wedding was a celebration of all of our favourite things; we chose to champion local and British companies and create personal touches so that the day felt so true to us as a couple. Truly the garden party wedding day of dreams – it couldn’t have been a more perfect day! Discover how I chose the perfect wedding dress.
The Journey
The journey to finding my perfect wedding dress was certainly not an easy one! I must have tried on around 20 dresses from bridal boutiques and wedding dress designers before coming close to giving up – I was disappointed by the quality of the gowns I was trying on, and quite honestly shocked by the prices – I didn’t think they were worth it. Nothing seemed special enough and I wasn’t blown away by anything I’d seen. I tried on a couture dress from a well known British designer, and it was beautiful and the quality was exceptional, but unfortunately the price tag was eyewatering, and I simply couldn’t justify it.
My next plan was to make my own dress. I shortlisted a selection of second hand dresses online which I planned to purchase, strip down to their corset basics, and then add my own ‘top layer’ (I created a wedding dress for my A Level in textiles and studied Fashion at university – so was confident I’d be able to do a good job!) But fortunately, a friend shared a dressmaker named Emma Beaumont with me, just before I began my DIY process.
It was the perfect solution; I met with Emma and her team at her boutique in Knutsford and drew out my dream dress. It was unlike anything she’d done before, and I already knew exactly what materials I wanted to use, and design details to include. She showed me some of her existing designs and we took further inspiration from these; such as her signature ruffle neckline hem, and bodice pleating. It was a true collaborative design process, and the resulting dress is more perfect than I could ever have imagined.
The Vision
I was very open to trying on lots of designs, but the more I tried on, the clearer I was on what I wanted, and so by the time I met with Emma, I had the exact design pictured in my head!
The Decision
I found the ‘wedding dress shop’ process quite intense, but going down the bespoke route for me was a lot more relaxed; especially as Emmas team were confident that anything was possible. They’d never done any kind of hand embroidery before my gown, so this was a fun challenge for them, but the universe aligned for us as Emma had a new team member, Mimi, join her just two weeks before my first appointment, and she just so happened to be incredibly talented at sketching and embroidering floral details!
I shared photos of mine and Charlies favourite flowers from our garden, and she created sketches from the photos, which we pinned onto the toile of my dress, to decide on positioning and size, and then she was able to embroider each delicate design onto the dress – it was truly magical. Oh and how could I forget; she even embroidered, at my request, two little sausage dogs into the Swiss dot tulle of my gown!
The Style Support
I actually keep the entire process a secret from everyone except my mother – because I wanted to do a ‘Bridesmaid Dress Reveal’ on our wedding day morning!
The Evening Look
I purchased a sparkly number from Net-A-Porter as an option for the evening, just in case I wanted to change, but in the end I didn’t take off my wedding gown, I adored it so much and felt so incredible in it, I didn’t want to change – plus – I didn’t want to leave the dance floor!
The Accessories
As the dress was quite a statement design, which included removable sleeves and interchangeable belts, I kept my other accessories simple. Delicate floral diamond pieces were kindly loaned to me on the day from David Morris; I wore a small floral tiara in my hair, as well as daisy earrings an a simple necklace. The pieces were subtle, elegant, and a nod to our floral theme.
The Second Day Outfit
My second day outfit was a fun and flirty short dress, with a floral cape sleeve detail, created bespoke from a brand called Mira Zwillinger. The mother and daughter brand designed and made the dress especially for our garden party ‘day two’ celebration, and it was such a hit that they decided to bring the dress into production, and named it the ‘Josie Dress!’
Advice For Brides
I would SO highly recommend the bespoke route. You’re able to get the exact dress of your dreams; choose every detail and ensure it is absolutely perfect for you and your needs for your day. Of course, cost is an important factor, but I was pleasantly surprised that even with the embroidery (which cost more than the dress itself due to the time it took to do the individual floral details) – my dress actually still cost me far less than many of the designs I tried ‘off the rail’ from bridal boutiques.
Favourite Photo Of The Dress
This photo is my favourite; it was such an impromptu moment and truly sums up our wedding day – our garden is our happy place, and anyone who watches me on YouTube knows that I’m always gardening in pretty dresses, and why should anything be any different on my wedding day?!
Guests will know that this was NOT a staged photo; I simply couldn’t walk by my sweet peas without tucking them into their frame – so of course Charlie helped to lift my dress and avoid it trailing in the soil, while I tended to my blooms! My love of gardening is of course represented within the dress itself, you can see florals embroidered into the stitching, and these aren’t just any random flowers; they’re mine and Charlies favourite blooms from our very own garden; from Anemone Honouring, to Salvia and Erigeron. A herbaceous border in a bespoke bridal gown!
Related Article: The Dress With Patricia O’Dwyer
