6 Embellishments That Make A Bespoke Wedding Dress So Special
Updated: 4 days ago
A bespoke wedding dress is what dreams are made of! While not every gown must strictly bear some form of decoration, nothing thrills me more as a designer, than creating gowns that do bear some unique embellishment! Such delightful details are a feast for the eyes and can also be cleverly used to flatter any body shape.
If you’re looking for some insight into what can really elevate your wedding look, here are my 6 top embellishments that make a bespoke wedding dress truly special!
1. Beadwork
Modesta Photo
Shrigley Photography
Nicki Spendelow Photography
Beads come in a mind-boggling array of different shapes, sizes, colours and finishes! I am relatively new to the art of embroidery and beadwork, and have been steadily building on this skill.
Factory beaded fabric tends to be repetitive and regular, which definitely has it’s place in luxury wedding dresses, but I delight in the unexpected. I vary the sizes and placements of the motifs throughout the wedding gown. In doing this, I am able to create visual flow, which can make the gown look slimmer or taller.
My very cute little Aurora elopement dress featured embroidery by Susan Kennewell. After I had made the dress, I beaded some of the flowers, diagonally down the body towards the left. This attracts the eye down a fluid oblique line, which is both slimming and dynamic.
To compliment the delicacy of Susan’s embroidery, I selected beads and tiny matt sequins that conveyed a vintage style. The paillettes catch the light subtly and each flower has been embellished differently, so the viewer never tires of looking at it. They will be in no doubt that this wedding dress has been made by hand, not stamped out in a factory!
2. Surface Texture
Shrigley Photography
Dave Hadley Photography
A couture gown is a delight to the senses; it looks gorgeous, feels wonderful and sounds luscious! I won’t suggest you taste or sniff it, those are the departments of other wedding suppliers!
My love of experimenting with remnants of previous bridalwear projects brings you fresh new adornments for your bespoke wedding gown! 3D silk petals, ruffles of varying sizes, laid in different directions, pleated silk taffeta, ruched tulle and tasteful combinations of all of those.
As before, this mindfully-placed surface texture makes your wedding gown a work of art, an heirloom.
It’s as if the dress lives and breathes. The undulating layers move with the wearer, creating delightful highlights and shadows. Sometimes the silk layers whisper or swish, making the wearer feel extra-luxurious!
Making it unique!
As a small business owner, I have to be resourceful and economical. It would be wasteful and unethical to throw away all my precious scraps of silk, so I repurpose them. Discovering new ways of creating my own embellishments gives me more artistic control, in terms of size and colour.
I hope my passion for creativity is coming through strong for you here, as my heart flutters, just trying to articulate it!
3. The Element of Surprise
Shrigley Photography
Shrigley Photography
I love gowns that have something of the unexpected about them. Perhaps some beadwork on a bodice, tamed by a tulle overlay? Or an accent colour just peeping out along a seam? Perhaps the movement of a bride could reveal some sparkle, or an embroidered quote?
I frequently like to have a contrasting colour amidst a full, multi-layered tulle skirt, to add depth to all the floof.
A bespoke wedding dress should be sophisticated and surprising. The embellishment doesn’t have to be a head to toe embrace, it can be a delicate, subtle kiss.
4 Infusion of subtle colour
Modesta Photo
Liane Marie Photography
You will have noticed that most of my bespoke wedding dress designs are in colour. To me it seems a real shame not to enjoy your favourite corner of the rainbow spectrum!
That said however, I also concur that a crisp white dress brings with it a bridal feeling that is important to more traditionally-minded brides.
I can still find a loophole there to work with! Have you noticed that there are so many different shades of white? Ivory, cream, antique cream….My unpopular opinion is that white on white on white is uneventful. But dancing in different shades of white, with different textures or beads, which create extra colour depth by casting their own shadows…well this gown is starting to look more lively.
Now let me nudge you towards the quirky edge a little more – let me delicately hand paint some of the white 3d petals on your arctic white gown, in soft watercolour tones? Or let’s applique some off-white lace onto the bodice that will accentuate your cinched waist and divert attention from an area on your body that you want less focus on? What about some boldly hot pink embroidered flowers to splash across your crisp white dress?
5. Silk Flower Petals
Sally Masson Photography
As I mentioned before I make my flower petals for my bespoke dresses. In doing so, I can control their size, shape and quantity. I can then get the precise colour that you need to suit your wedding colour palette.
Read here for more on wedding colour palettes.
I want them to look like they have grown from your wedding gown and tumbled down in a cascade, drawing the eye down the length of the gown, giving you the illusion of more height. Christina’s gown exemplifies this perfectly!
6. Embroidery
Nick Rutter Photography
Shrigley Photography
Modesta Photo
Nick Rutter Photography
Richard Puncheon Photography
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you will know that this year I have also been working with Ashley Jay Embroidery to bring you Titania, Fleur and Verity. Ashley has a deep knowledge of woodland flowers and translates them into embroidery designs in the most breath-taking way!
We went all out for colour! Art triumphed over tradition, in wedding terms. Ashley has expertly hand painted some of the florals and beaded others. These beautiful wedding dresses have been featured in top wedding blogs and magazines, like Rock and Roll Bride, Unconventional Wedding and Your Herts and Beds Magazine!
What it Means For You
As an alternative bridalwear designer I am always hungry for new approaches, new skills and new looks. I will never stop learning or experimenting and this means that my bespoke brides will never end up with run-of-the-mill wedding dresses. The passion I pour into each stitch and that of the skilled artists that work with me, shines through in every bead.
It is all of these features and more that give you the breath-taking bespoke wedding dress you’ve always dreamed of. The gown that makes you glow from within and light up your wedding day in the most unforgettable way!
If my lavishly embellished design style appeals to you, get in touch to start your bespoke wedding dress adventure!
Read about my Marie Antoinette Inspired Buckinghamshire Wedding Shoot and how a happy mistake resulted in A Gothic Forest Wedding Shoot in Bedfordshire!
Both feature some of the dresses shown here.
Photo Credits
All dresses hand made by Caroline Versallion, featuring embroidery by Ashleigh Jay and Susan Kennewell Textiles
A bespoke wedding dress is what dreams are made of! While not every gown must strictly bear some form of decoration, nothing thrills me more as a designer, than creating gowns that do bear some unique embellishment! Such delightful details are a feast for the eyes and can also be cleverly used to flatter any body shape.
If you’re looking for some insight into what can really elevate your wedding look, here are my 6 top embellishments that make a bespoke wedding dress truly special!
1. Beadwork
Modesta Photo
Shrigley Photography
Nicki Spendelow Photography
Beads come in a mind-boggling array of different shapes, sizes, colours and finishes! I am relatively new to the art of embroidery and beadwork, and have been steadily building on this skill.
Factory beaded fabric tends to be repetitive and regular, which definitely has it’s place in luxury wedding dresses, but I delight in the unexpected. I vary the sizes and placements of the motifs throughout the wedding gown. In doing this, I am able to create visual flow, which can make the gown look slimmer or taller.
My very cute little Aurora elopement dress featured embroidery by Susan Kennewell. After I had made the dress, I beaded some of the flowers, diagonally down the body towards the left. This attracts the eye down a fluid oblique line, which is both slimming and dynamic.
To compliment the delicacy of Susan’s embroidery, I selected beads and tiny matt sequins that conveyed a vintage style. The paillettes catch the light subtly and each flower has been embellished differently, so the viewer never tires of looking at it. They will be in no doubt that this wedding dress has been made by hand, not stamped out in a factory!
2. Surface Texture
Shrigley Photography
Dave Hadley Photography
A couture gown is a delight to the senses; it looks gorgeous, feels wonderful and sounds luscious! I won’t suggest you taste or sniff it, those are the departments of other wedding suppliers!
My love of experimenting with remnants of previous bridalwear projects brings you fresh new adornments for your bespoke wedding gown! 3D silk petals, ruffles of varying sizes, laid in different directions, pleated silk taffeta, ruched tulle and tasteful combinations of all of those.
As before, this mindfully-placed surface texture makes your wedding gown a work of art, an heirloom.
It’s as if the dress lives and breathes. The undulating layers move with the wearer, creating delightful highlights and shadows. Sometimes the silk layers whisper or swish, making the wearer feel extra-luxurious!
Making it unique!
As a small business owner, I have to be resourceful and economical. It would be wasteful and unethical to throw away all my precious scraps of silk, so I repurpose them. Discovering new ways of creating my own embellishments gives me more artistic control, in terms of size and colour.
I hope my passion for creativity is coming through strong for you here, as my heart flutters, just trying to articulate it!
3. The Element of Surprise
Shrigley Photography
Shrigley Photography
I love gowns that have something of the unexpected about them. Perhaps some beadwork on a bodice, tamed by a tulle overlay? Or an accent colour just peeping out along a seam? Perhaps the movement of a bride could reveal some sparkle, or an embroidered quote?
I frequently like to have a contrasting colour amidst a full, multi-layered tulle skirt, to add depth to all the floof.
A bespoke wedding dress should be sophisticated and surprising. The embellishment doesn’t have to be a head to toe embrace, it can be a delicate, subtle kiss.
4 Infusion of subtle colour
Modesta Photo
Liane Marie Photography
You will have noticed that most of my bespoke wedding dress designs are in colour. To me it seems a real shame not to enjoy your favourite corner of the rainbow spectrum!
That said however, I also concur that a crisp white dress brings with it a bridal feeling that is important to more traditionally-minded brides.
I can still find a loophole there to work with! Have you noticed that there are so many different shades of white? Ivory, cream, antique cream….My unpopular opinion is that white on white on white is uneventful. But dancing in different shades of white, with different textures or beads, which create extra colour depth by casting their own shadows…well this gown is starting to look more lively.
Now let me nudge you towards the quirky edge a little more – let me delicately hand paint some of the white 3d petals on your arctic white gown, in soft watercolour tones? Or let’s applique some off-white lace onto the bodice that will accentuate your cinched waist and divert attention from an area on your body that you want less focus on? What about some boldly hot pink embroidered flowers to splash across your crisp white dress?
5. Silk Flower Petals
Sally Masson Photography
As I mentioned before I make my flower petals for my bespoke dresses. In doing so, I can control their size, shape and quantity. I can then get the precise colour that you need to suit your wedding colour palette.
Read here for more on wedding colour palettes.
I want them to look like they have grown from your wedding gown and tumbled down in a cascade, drawing the eye down the length of the gown, giving you the illusion of more height. Christina’s gown exemplifies this perfectly!
6. Embroidery
Shrigley Photography
Modesta Photo
Richard Puncheon Photography
If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you will know that this year I have also been working with Ashley Jay Embroidery to bring you Titania, Fleur and Verity. Ashley has a deep knowledge of woodland flowers and translates them into embroidery designs in the most breath-taking way!
We went all out for colour! Art triumphed over tradition, in wedding terms. Ashley has expertly hand painted some of the florals and beaded others. These beautiful wedding dresses have been featured in top wedding blogs and magazines, like Rock and Roll Bride, Unconventional Wedding and Your Herts and Beds Magazine!
As an alternative bridalwear designer I am always hungry for new approaches, new skills and new looks. I will never stop learning or experimenting and this means that my bespoke brides will never end up with run-of-the-mill wedding dresses. The passion I pour into each stitch and that of the skilled artists that work with me, shines through in every bead.
It is all of these features and more that give you the breath-taking bespoke wedding dress you’ve always dreamed of. The gown that makes you glow from within and light up your wedding day in the most unforgettable way!
If my lavishly embellished design style appeals to you, get in touch to start your bespoke wedding dress adventure!
Read about my Marie Antoinette Inspired Buckinghamshire Wedding Shoot and how a happy mistake resulted in A Gothic Forest Wedding Shoot in Bedfordshire!
Both feature some of the dresses shown here.
Photo Credits
All dresses hand made by Caroline Versallion, featuring embroidery by Ashleigh Jay and Susan Kennewell Textiles
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