Colette & Estelle's dresses

Red, marvelous red. Striking, vivacious and a glorious colour for a stand-out wedding dress. Even with the resurgence of coloured wedding dresses, red remains a colour that many shyer away from, It is a colour that takes no hostages!

Colette was born to wear red, and the red with ivory (rather than the other way round) colour scheme was bold yet still delicate and perfect for Colette and Tristan's Edwardian themed wedding.

The dress was made as a two piece - a corset and a skirt. The corset is a longline (which ends over the crease of the leg) with a straight cut top and bottom which flatters Colette's tall slim frame and accentuates her curves while still creating a lean line. It was created from a (cotton) pressed velvet with a damask style design and then appliqued with hand-dyed ivory lace. 

The Skirt is a dupion silk which has a papery quality ideal for the partially draped and partially structured skirt. The skirt is cut to sit very low on the hips over the corset with a broad pleated waistband trimmed with lace which delicately overlaps the corset. We belled the hem of the skirt out slightly at the front for ease of walking (and getting into the horse-drawn carriage at the beautiful Oakfield Farm venue) while the back was kept slim at the top and pleated over the bum which then billows out into a mass of hand-dyed ivory tulle finished off with a floppy vintage lace bow. 

The first dance at a wedding is always an emotional affair, Colette stood the traditional waltz on it's head when she slipped off her long skirt to reveal a pair lacey vintage style bloomers after which she and Tristan did a hip-hop dance!   

After the privelage of making Collete's wonderful wedding ensamble, The icing on the wedding cake for us was making Colette's mum, Estelle's outfit which was a dirty pink silk/linen blend satin cami and skirt (cut to look like a one piece) with a layered scalloped hem and Ivory guipure lace detail on the neckline. It is and elegant and modern, yet it still retains an Edwardian agelessness. 

Sadly I could only be at the beggining of Colette's wedding, however what I saw took my breath away and was an incredible climax to the entire experience of working with Colette and Estelle. Seeing the photo's later just reminded me what a magical and beautiful experience the day was.