Did you have a bespoke wedding dress?

[sayyestothedress]

I have the perfect dress in my head, but haven't been able to find anything like it in stores or online anywhere. I'm considering having my dress custom-made. If you've ever had one made for you, who did you use, how much did it cost, and were you happy with it?

Yes, £100 for the fabric

I cheated, my aunt was a professional seamstress, she made it as my wedding present.

No such luck here My family are all as useless as I am on the sewing machine!

a friend of mine had a beautiful bespoke dress made for her by a place outside Oxford for about £700

Yes I did,12 years ago cost 100 quid plus fabric. Bog standard dress maker.

14 years ago

yes but I made it myself £120 for duchess satin, lace and lining. it was a 1950's princess length dress. about 4 years ago. just to give you an idea of fabric costs (Leo's fabric warehouse in Manchester)

My daughter got married in May and I made her dress and the bridesmaids dress.
Fabric for her dress was £500 but it was lace-heavy. Bridesmaids cost about £100 for two.

Yeah, a complicated corseted number. It cost £1500 by this very talented lady in Nottingham. I was delighted with it, couldn't have been happier. She is SO talented.

Yes. I had a dress made to a standard pattern. Local dressmaker: two fittings.
A Vera wang design, sort of like this dress, with a V back
In cream duchesse satin, with real pearl buttons sewn in along the zip on the back from an old necklace I had.
120£.

Floor length also.

Thanks all for your input. I don't have anyone I know who is able to make a dress, so was hoping for recommendations for dress makers, but sounds like you're all far more crafty than I am!

msrisotto Thanks for the link, I'll look into it.

If anyone else has any dress makers or bridal parlours they could recommend, it would be appreciated.

Where are you based OP?

Yes, I went with ideas, dressmaker sketched them for me and also used elements of my mum's wedding dress in the design (some lace cuffs). It was perfect. Cost about £600 eight years ago. She was in Northumberland so if near I can share details.

Where are you, don't forget you will have to go for fittings.

yes a beautiful lace dress made by Angela Vickers based in Nottingham.
It cost a fortune but the material made it v expensive.
She does a fantastic range well worth a look at her website.

Watching this thread as I'm thinking if doing the same!

I had mine made by Joanne Fleming - it was £390 back in 2008 but a similar style is now around £1200. I was extremely lucky that I found her when she was fairly new to bridal stuff and she was building a portfolio - she wouldn't have made any profit on my dress (silk, bespoke, designed for me and 4 fittings including toiles). She's a very nice lady and works from a studio in Brighton.

" If you've ever had one made for you, who did you use, how much did it cost, and were you happy with it?"

My mum made my dress. It cost about £20 for the material (it was 32 years ago) and I loved it.

Yes, I did.

I got married ten years ago, didn't want a strapless corset bodice dress, wanted sleeves or straps and there were none to be found, so I found a dress where I liked the train and bottom half and asked for it to made with the top half I imagined in my head!

It cost £1100 in 2003, but that did include some beading and the bottom half was v complicated, so a large train sort of floated out of the waist (like Kate middletons), and it included all the fittings etc.

It was roughly the same price as the ones I was trying on in shops& the quality was superb, the other advantage is a proper dress maker will make a toile first, so you get to check you like the design etc before the real one is made- I changed the neckline a bit based on how I liked it on. This is a real advantage.

AlsoI was losing a bit of weight for the wedding, so it meant I didn't have to order a specific size months in advance.

it was in North London, so if that area is any good to you i'll find her details.

"the other advantage is a proper dress maker will make a toile first, so you get to check you like the design etc before the real one is made- I changed the neckline a bit based on how I liked it on. This is a real advantage."

Very true - I couldn't decide between a slash neck and stand-up collar so she made a toile and we just hacked around with scissors and pins until I was happy. She changed the sleeves several times too until I was happy.

I went to the fabulous Anna Maria D'Amato

www.weddingpath.co.uk/wedding-planning/fashion-corset-queen/1532

London based and truly a wonder.

Her website is here and she's worth travelling to.
Especially if you like corsets!
www.damatobridal.co.uk/

My dress was made by this lady here Her name is Emma.

Ipswich area if that helps.

In the process of doing this now didn't wanted strapless, bling, lace or puffy so have found a local dressmaker to make one I actually do want. Might help if you give an indication of area op so people can give you recommendations not all dressmakers are equal.

I am considering this, been quoted £1400 for knee length but heavy on corseting and lace. Seems ridiculous for something I'm only going to wear once though. My last wedding dress was home made by me and mum, back in 1987, £200 for silk for me and two bridesmaids.