Tiered Tulle Wedding Dress

Becky’s dress is based on one of my original designs which Becky saw when she came across this inspirational photo set by Heline Bekker. The Original design was very theatrical, very sheer and way over the top, and so it needed a re-design to make it work for Becky’s wedding celebrations.
This dress has actually already been re-designed in a very different way for Wilden Bride Georgina for her Beachy Festival Wedding. I love to see how one dress can be translated into lots of different wedding styles and themes.

Becky loved the sheer tones of the original, so we chose a champagne coloured silk which was layered with a metallic gold lace with a floral design, giving a subtle all-over texture. This was then overlaid with a dusky pink silk tulle.
The bodice was designed so that the seam lines seemed to ‘star-burst’ from the waist, which was emphasised with a scattering of hand embroidered gold and silver sequins.
A waist belt in an iridescent gold and ice blue ribbon, with a buckle made from a vintage necklace pendant.

Becky had been practicing for a Salsa dance and had worried how she might manage it in the long and full layers of the tulle skirt. So we had the idea to have a tiered skirt, and the longer length was to be removable.
The long skirt was worn as a petticoat, and the shorter layers were attached to the bodice, forming the dress (which can now be worn for many other occasions too!) The shorter lengths were shaped to be shorter at the front and longer at the back, and I find to be extra flattering, and if I may say so, a little’ Valentino-esque’.
The tulle layers were made in an ivory tone, with fine layers of champagne coloured tulle over the top to blend from the pink/champagne bodice to the ivory skirt. I also used a cheeky can of shell pink spray paint to further blend the two together.

My original design had a large tulle bow at the front of the dress, (I love a good bow), and we played with the idea for a long time before Becky decided that a bow really wasn’t 'her’. So instead I hand-made lots of silk flowers of all kinds of design, in golds, pink, peach and red, including one which was made from the chiffon sleeve of and Edwardian bodice.
Some of the tiny lace daisies from the Edwardian bodice were scattered amongst the sequins and flowers.

A special mention must also go to Claudia Barnard of Claudia’s Photography for caputuring such beautiful Photographs, and to Laura Hingston Flowers for creating the most amazing bouquet of roses I’ve ever seen, and a really pretty Floral Crown!