Real bespoke bride Alice in her silk gown

Our real bespoke bride Alice kindly wrote this beautiful guest blog about her experience of having her wedding dress made to measure.
Take it away Alice… xx

The problem with having a clear idea in your head of how you want to look on your big day is that it’s incredibly hard to find a dress that lives up to your expectations. You might see a glimmer of what you like in one dress, a hint of it in another and lots of trying on that leaves you exasperated.
So what do you do?

You go to a wonderful lady called Caroline. And you sit in her studio and you explain to her the picture in your head. I told her my impossible ideas: my ‘2 in 1’ dress, a dress for the ceremony that transforms for the night, with all my subtle personal touches and needs, how I needed it cinched in there and a little looser there, I wanted a structured corset holding everything together, but oh I also would like a low back, and material that flows like liquid.

And Caroline sits there, listens intently. Then she starts scribbling on a notebook. Then she starts drawing. And when she had finished, I saw something for the first time that came close to my imagination. A simple sketch on a notepad which took her no more than 2 minutes; a reflection of both her natural creative talent and her technical skill.

That was where my journey began. And it was a beautiful, personalised experience with an attention to detail I know I would not have had the privilege of receiving anywhere else. Every detail was chosen by me for my big day; the materials, the accessories, the shape, the length of the gown, how it should fasten, how it should feel, how the material falls and flows, references to other dresses worn on other special occasions, references to other generations, references only me and my family would understand and see.

The process was a pleasure, not a chore. The dress evolved and adapted with my ideas and as the planning for my big day progressed.

Caroline took my ideas and turned them into something exquisite. She and the lovely Louise supported me every step of the way and always found a way to turn my harebrained schemes into a reality.

Alice’s wonderful hair and make up was done by Jennifer Dayton

Caroline is not just a designer. She was my designer. She took my dreams and turned them into a dress. Quite literally! It was great fun on the big day, when friends and family commented ‘Your dress is stunning! Who designed it?’, and you can reply ‘I designed it myself!’ (with a little help from my friend Caroline).

There are thousands of stunning wedding dresses out there, but there is only one which is unique to me. I cannot recommend highly enough Caroline, her team or the wonderful process of designing your own dress.

The amazing wedding venue was the Bath Assembly Rooms, cared for by the National Trust

The gorgeous blooms were created by Flowers by Passion

Alice’s veil was by Joyce Jackson, and the silk satin and tulle of her bespoke gown were by James Hare Silks
And breath-taking photos by the very talented Nick Williams