5 Alternative Wedding Dress Ideas

Are you looking for alternative wedding dress ideas?

Alternative brides come in different forms. I’ve had mature brides and second-time brides, who know what suits them in terms of colour or silhouette and have zero interest in going into a bridal store. They bear no tattoos, nor piercings, but still rank as outliers to the mainstream, as they don’t feel comfortable wearing traditional bridal styles.

I also have professional clients, who don’t have time to waste traipsing about the shops. They simply want the perfect wedding dress made for them.

There are also plenty of alternative brides who live for the outlandish and are after something particularly show-stopping and memorable.   I love the colour, texture and drama of a rule-breaking wedding! In the spirit of this, I’m even currently trying to encourage a colleague to go with her partner’s dream of having a Tudor wedding!

If you’re one of these kinds of unconventional brides, or even something in between, here are some alternative wedding dress ideas based on my past designs that you can use for some inspiration.

Experimenting with Colours

The first thing people think about when they hear ‘alternative wedding dress’ is a big, colourful gown, as if it’s a direct challenge on the traditional bridal white. Indeed a bold wedding dress colour can be a real feast for the eyes and soul, which will stand out in your guests’ memories for years to come. However,  I also truly believe that a bride will feel her most confident in a colour she knows she rocks. In most cases this tends not to be head to toe in white. Yes, you will still feel like a bride in a coloured dress, as I ensure that the cut, design, detailing and accessories are all undeniably regal enough for a bride. 

Some of my most favourite, attention-grabbing dresses have experimented with colour loud and proud. Whether it reflects the bride’s theme, mood, a special memory- or it’s just simply their favourite colour, a pop of colour is always a talking point and never a disappointment.

Need some tips on The Best Ways to Choose Your Wedding Colour Palette?

A Twist on the Traditional

What if vibrant colour isn’t your thing and you want to play it a bit closer to the traditional bridal style? I can still help you by suggesting more subtle variations in tone, texture and design.  This will still keep you safe from the land of “same old”, without scandalising the village elders.

Can’t find your favourite style?

I’ve had brides who can’t find the dress they want in store, purely because it’s not in trend, yet they know it’s a style that suits their particular body shape.  My bride Lucy wanted a strapless, tea-length very minimal ivory wedding dress, that would support her enough to enjoy the celidh at her evening reception.  The current mainstream bridal fashion couldn’t help her, so I was thrilled to bring her the solution. 

Don't Settle!

You compromise with fashion every time you go clothes shopping, but your wedding day is not the occasion to compromise!  Not on style, colour, fit nor comfort.  Being truly authentic to yourself is surely bound to mean straying from tradition, which is great for cookie cutter brides?

You should feel confident, beautiful and like yourself in your gown. Going to a dress designer is a great idea if you have the vision and just need it executed.

Gothic Luxe

I’ve been having so much fun exploring this theme lately, as you can probably tell from my last blog post. A big white wedding, for nice compliant girls is the exact opposite vibe for a forward-thinking woman; one who is drawn to the dark, opulent, and macabre ‘gothic luxe’.

Alternative couples often struggle to find the right support for their unique weddings. This is why it’s so special that we’ve built a tight-knit community of wedding vendors. These suppliers are ready to cater to all your gothic, mythical, and fantastic requests. In fact we couldn’t be more excited!

Choose me as your wedding dress designer and I can hook you up with all the suppliers you need to get as excited about your alternative wedding as you are!

Read about our wonderful shoot: Gothic Luxe Wedding in Hertfordshire 

Eras

Inspiration from a certain time period is a great reason to consider a custom wedding dress. Maybe you want the 80’s shoulder pads, a 60’s mini dress for the evening reception or elopement, or bell sleeves and giant flower appliques like in the 70’s. Unfortunately, true vintage gowns are notoriously hard to come by, they are typically tiny, and often in need of extensive repair. 

This is where my love of fashion history comes into play – I can design and create a version with all the charm and character of your chosen style era, but with modern materials, which render it not only more comfortable, but also cut specifically to flatter your personal shape.

I am more than happy to incorporate family heirlooms, such as parts of your mum’s wedding gown into your dress, or to turn  a vintage gown’s possibilities into realities!

Fantasy Wedding Dress

Another fantastic alternative wedding theme is an ethereal woodland faerie style wedding. I like to think that faeries are mystical and innately more powerful than the helpless princesses from traditional fairy tales.  

At the other end of this theme, I’ve had requests from gothic brides for evil queen style wedding gowns and also for real versions of witchy AI generated dresses. All of this also bears an undercurrent of female power…which you need to have, to challenge centuries of traditions!

So...Store bought or Custom Made?

If you are still stuck on whether to go with a store-bought or custom gown, just remember that when brides make their wedding their own and a reflection of their own best selves, those are the wedding gowns that remain in everyone’s hearts and memories.

A store may stock a token small range of unusual gowns, but you deserve a choice and consideration for your own brand of quirky, as well as a gown that fits you like a glove.  Your other option is to take a chance on an online seller and hope that you get what you were expecting, but sadly this isn’t always the case.

As an alternative wedding dress designer, my head lives and breathes in the unconventional wedding dress zone, I am never short on ideas or enthusiasm! 

If you’ve been inspired by any of the dresses in these pictures, all of which were designed and made by me, and you are ready to take the leap, get in contact with me and we can start to brainstorm the dream dress you’re after!

Photo Credits:

Shrigley Photography, Dave Hadley Photography,  Sally Masson Photography,  Claire Bemister Photography,  Liane Marie Photography,Bamboo Dreams Photography

Are you looking for alternative wedding dress ideas?

Alternative brides come in different forms. I’ve had mature brides and second-time brides who know what suits them in terms of colour or silhouette and have zero interest in going into a bridal store. They bear no tattoos, nor piercings, but still rank as outliers to the mainstream, as they don’t feel comfortable wearing traditional bridal styles.

I also have professional clients, who don’t have time to waste traipsing about the shops. They simply want the perfect wedding dress made for them.

There are also plenty of alternative brides who live for the outlandish and are after something particularly show-stopping and memorable.   I love the colour, texture and drama of a rule-breaking wedding! In the spirit of this, I’m even currently trying to encourage a colleague to go with her partner’s dream of having a Tudor wedding!

If you’re one of these kinds of unconventional brides, or even something in between, here are some alternative wedding dress ideas based on my past designs that you can use for some inspiration.

Experimenting with Colours

The first thing people think about when they hear ‘alternative wedding dress’ is a big, colourful gown, as if it’s a direct challenge on the traditional bridal white. Indeed a bold wedding dress colour can be a real feast for the eyes and soul, which will stand out in your guests’ memories for years to come.  However, I also truly believe that a bride will feel her most confident in a colour she knows she rocks. In most cases this tends not to be head to toe in white.

Yes, you will still feel like a bride in a coloured dress, as I ensure that the cut, design, detailing and accessories are all undeniably regal enough for a bride. 

Some of my most favourite, attention-grabbing dresses have experimented with colour loud and proud. Whether it reflects the bride’s theme, mood, a special memory- or it’s just simply their favourite colour, a pop of colour is always a talking point and never a disappointment.

Need some tips on The Best Ways to Choose Your Wedding Colour Palette?

A Twist on the Traditional

What if vibrant colour isn’t your thing and you want to play it a bit closer to the traditional bridal style? I can still help you by suggesting more subtle variations in tone, texture and design.  This will still keep you safe from the land of “same old”, without scandalising the village elders.

Can’t find your favourite style?

I’ve had brides who can’t find the dress they want in store, purely because it’s not in trend, yet they know it’s a style that suits their particular body shape.  My bride Lucy wanted a strapless, tea-length very minimal ivory wedding dress, that would support her enough to enjoy the celidh at her evening reception.  The current mainstream bridal fashion couldn’t help her, so I was thrilled to bring her the solution.

Don't Settle!

You compromise with fashion every time you go clothes shopping, but your wedding day is not the occasion to compromise!  Not on style, colour, fit nor comfort.  Being truly authentic to yourself is surely bound to mean straying from tradition, which is great for cookie cutter brides?

You should feel confident, beautiful and like yourself in your gown. Going to a dress designer is a great idea if you have the vision and just need it executed.

Gothic Luxe

I’ve been having so much fun exploring this theme lately, as you can probably tell from my last blog post. A big white wedding, for nice compliant girls is the exact opposite vibe for a forward-thinking woman; one who is drawn to the dark, opulent, and macabre ‘gothic luxe’.

Alternative couples often struggle to find the right support for their unique weddings. This is why it’s so special that we’ve built a tight-knit community of wedding vendors. These suppliers are ready to cater to all your gothic, mythical, and fantastic requests. In fact we couldn’t be more excited!

Choose me as your wedding dress designer and I can hook you up with all the suppliers you need to get as excited about your alternative wedding as you are!

Read about our wonderful shoot: Gothic Luxe Wedding in Hertfordshire 

Eras

Inspiration from a certain time period is a great reason to consider a custom wedding dress. Maybe you want the 80’s shoulder pads, a 60’s mini dress for the evening reception or elopement, or bell sleeves and giant flower appliques like in the 70’s. Unfortunately, true vintage gowns are notoriously hard to come by, they are typically tiny, and often in need of extensive repair. 

This is where my love of fashion history comes into play – I can design and create a version with all the charm and character of your chosen style era, but with modern materials, which render it not only more comfortable, but also cut specifically to flatter your personal shape.

I am more than happy to incorporate family heirlooms, such as parts of your mum’s wedding gown into your dress, or to turn  a vintage gown’s possibilities into realities!

Fantasy Wedding Dress

Another fantastic alternative wedding theme is an ethereal woodland faerie style wedding. I like to think that faeries are mystical and innately more powerful than the helpless princesses from traditional fairy tales.  

At the other end of this theme, I’ve had requests from gothic brides for evil queen style wedding gowns and also for real versions of witchy AI generated dresses. All of this also bears an undercurrent of female power…which you need to have, to challenge centuries of traditions!

So...Store bought or Custom Made?

If you are still stuck on whether to go with a store-bought or custom gown, just remember that when brides make their wedding their own and a reflection of their own best selves, those are the wedding gowns that remain in everyone’s hearts and memories.

A store may stock a token small range of unusual gowns, but you deserve a choice and consideration for your own brand of quirky, as well as a gown that fits you like a glove.  Your other option is to take a chance on an online seller and hope that you get what you were expecting, but sadly this isn’t always the case.

As an alternative wedding dress designer, my head lives and breathes in the unconventional wedding dress zone, I am never short on ideas or enthusiasm! 

If you’ve been inspired by any of the dresses in these pictures, all of which were designed and made by me, and you are ready to take the leap, get in contact with me and we can start to brainstorm the dream dress you’re after!

Photo Credits:

Shrigley Photography, Dave Hadley Photography,  Sally Masson Photography,  Claire Bemister Photography,  Liane Marie Photography,Bamboo Dreams Photography