Making A Wedding Dress For My Best Friend

It’s not every day that you can say you made your best friends wedding dress but in 2020 with two months and a fairly random and unpredictable schedule we designed and made her dress together. It was the most special project Ive worked on in all the years I have been sewing. She looked so beautiful on her day and I was so proud of my oldest friend Georgina finally taking the next step of her life with her Soulmate Brooke. Together these girls are going to be such an amazing team!

Professional Photo credits to Captured memories with Renee and dress by me Secret Culture Custom. The blurry photos are from my camera 😉

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The Wedding was held of the 5th of December at Culburra beach in front of the surfhouse with the Reception inside the surfhouse. They had amazingly perfect weather as they were photographed on the beach out the front of the surfhouse. Everything was so beautiful. Brooke and Georgina had truly surpassed all expectation of their special day held by all attendees.

Making the wedding dress we had some inspiration starting off. As it was a lesbian wedding I wanted to dye her dress all different colours of the rainbow but Georgina wanted a more traditional look. something floaty but fitted. Ivory lace but no beading. Or if there was beading quite minimal. It had to be something that accentuated her beauty without taking away or being too over the top. She looked perfect on the day.

“Today is not the start of your Partnership. Your partnership began when you met. Today is just another day where we Celebrate your Union and Lifelong committment”

Ashleigh Renee Evans
The Designer Dressmaker Secret Culture

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Wedding dress 101 Why you can’t have your dress taken in too tight

You just can’t have your dress too tight and I will go into this in gory detail.

Firstly the wedding dress you wear is the most important part of your wedding. If your dress is too tight you suddenly develop roles of fat which are pouring out from your underarms or the back. The waist looks like the fabric has stretched because it’s been taken in too much.

Ok so there are some ways around this and you should ask your dressmaker or designer what you can do if you need the dress to be so tight your waist looks like your wearing a corset.

But let me repeat myself there is nothing worse than a cheap looking wedding dress that has popped.

Your a size bigger than your sister or your girlfriend and you just wanted to look smaller. We all know what it’s like but please for your own sake and the sake of your wedding do not make your dress so tight you need to squeeze into it.

There is nothing worse at a wedding than the brides dress popping. It’s absolutely horrifying and the stuff of nightmares. I’ve actually seen this with my own eyes and it definitely wasn’t a dress that I made. Invisible zippers are known for popping on girls who are wearing dresses that are too tight. When I saw this happen it became a drama for half the night and the bride ended up being so rude to her sister even I was disgusted. Horrified even after bridezilla reared her ugly head. Poor uninformed size 22. I felt very sorry for her while her bridesmaids attempted to use giant safety pins to pin her together. Omg! What a scary terrible wedding. I was just a young waitress at the time but I really felt sorry for the girl. She just wanted to look smaller and it ruined her wedding.

Imagine your walking around casually and then your dress pops.

There is no going back. Once your dress has popped your wedding goes down hill. You have to change into your honey moon clothes if you have them with you. Brides worst nightmare walking around casually in her Bahama thongs, casual jeans and tshirt she wears on weekends while her size 8 bridesmaids are swanning around in gorgeous little cocktail dresses.

At least pack some back up clothes please and not the variety you find in supre or just jeans.

Why you can’t trust a quilter to make your wedding dress

Ok I’ve said it before many times. A quilter is not a dressmaker. But a dressmaker is 100% the person you go to after having your wedding dress stuffed up by the quilter.

So you know she’s a friend and she can sew but can you trust her to sew your wedding dress?

Well according to myself not unless she has knowledge of pattern making, fitting and fabrics.

It is very different sewing straight lines and showing you can appliqué a few stray cats on a cushion to hand sewing beads and lace to dresses

Fitting the dress to the human form adds a whole other dimension. You have to know how much to fit the dress so it’s not too tight and it’s not too loose. You have to know how to alter the pattern so you can change the style to suit the bride. You also have to help the bride choose the right style steering them away from bad taste moments. Remember that dress you really liked on the hanger but the style just didn’t sit right and looked horrible.

Sewing a wedding dress is much harder than the average sewers sewing level. If you are a quilter and have succeeded in making a wedding dress well done but I bet you will never attempt another one unless your a glutton for punishment.

The nicest wedding dresses are designed especially to suit the bride and made with the highest quality fabrics and needlework. They should have a mixture of hand and machine sewing and fit just right with the right style to suit the body shape.

The truth about buying a bridesmaid dress online

So I’m sharing a huge secret with you all. My biggest group of clientele are bridesmaids who have had dresses bought for them online.

With online dresses I have noticed a certain pattern of faults in fitting and design that I would like to share.

Firstly when you look at the bra cup shape it is all kinds of wrong. I mean who really wants their boobs to be cupped by padding that looks like a discus rather than the more conventional balconette cup.

Secondly the dress is always either too small or too big. This means huge alterations if your dress is too big and even if it is too small where we might even have to add a panel or let the dress out. Better the dress is too big than too small none the less.

Thirdly the straps are always an odd length meaning you have to get them taken in or let out.

Fourth if there is any beading or fancy techniques you have admired in the design they usually are falling off by the time they reach Australia.

Fifth the hem always has to be altered

Sixth the style may not even sit right because the shape is all wrong and if it does sit right then the style may still be wrong.

Bridesmaid dresses are the things best made by local dressmakers but you have to make sure you can trust your dressmaker before you let them take on your work.

The other thing is you must make sure that the dressmaker has some form of qualification or learnt knowledge. Do not trust any person who thinks that sewing a quilt together or a cushion qualifies them to make bridesmaid dresses. God forbid you let them make your wedding dress. Ask to look at prior examples of their work before investing yourself financially in their business and wasting valuable time.

Dealing with Bridemaidzilla a Dressmakers guide

So here we go. If you haven’t seen it before the bridezilla is becoming a rarity. It’s more or less bridesmaidzilla in the marriage department nowadays. I’ve seen it more than once and I’m sure I will see it again.

The girlfriends who want to look better than the bride or who want to turn themselves into a size 8 when they are really an 18.

Well the only way to deal with this breed is to make sure that they are fully informed before they get their dresses made or altered. If your a size 18 I can’t use my magic sewing wand and turn you into an 8. What I can do is fit the dress to your size and ensure that the style you choose matches your particular shape.

About shape. All these apples pears and mangoes are all wrong after a certain size. As far as I can see you are the shape you are and you will only look as good as you can look. Which is great as long as you choose the right style.