The Brides Who Choose a Bespoke Wedding Dress
Charlotte’s gowns are designed for brides who want to exude laidback elegance and effortless glamour on their wedding day. They’re also made to reflect the wearer’s unique personal style and story. As the bride, you’ll become Charlotte’s muse, inspiring a bespoke dress design that’s completely unique and unmistakably you.
The Possibilities of Bespoke Bridal Design
With more than ten years’ experience spanning the realms of costume design, high fashion and couture, Charlotte is an extraordinarily skilled designer. Every element of your bespoke dress will be handmade using traditional couture techniques and the finest silks, beads and embellishments. There’s also the option to incorporate colour, print, personalised embroidery, vintage lace and all sorts of intricate details.
Anything is possible – this is your chance to let your fashion dreams run wild.
Email Charlotte to start discussing your dream wedding dress design.
Anais wears a chiffon gown embroidered with flora and fauna found her native France.
Jasmine wears a Silk Ballgown embellished with pearls and glass beads.
Alice wears a lace and organza ballgown embroidered with custom beaded lace.
Emmie wears a sheer gold lace wedding dress embroidered with gold and bronze crystals, beads and sequins.
Lucrecia wears an organza and chiffon wedding dress embroidered with custom lace design.
Georgie wears a chiffon wedding dress embroidered with spring flowers.
Jessica wears a silk organza and chiffon wedding gown embroidered with personally symbolic motifs.
Emma wears a vintage style silk wedding dress with custom antique embellishments and lace-edged veil.
The Bridal Atelier
Tucked away and hidden from view, Charlotte’s small atelier just outside London is a diamond in the rough, a treasure trove of fabric, feathers, beads and embellishments. It’s also a working studio, so consultations and fittings take place where designs are envisaged and wedding dresses are made.
Charlotte receives bridal clients by appointment only and is used to welcoming guests from afar. If you are based overseas, she would be more than happy to deliver her bespoke bridal design service remotely.
The Bespoke Design Process
The exact process will look different for each bride who commissions a dress, dependent on life schedules - we are very flexible to suit your needs.
Generally, a minimum of 6 months is required - 8+ months is ideal. Faster turnaround is possible depending on current commitments.
As a rough guide, the process will be something like this:
Contact us! Tell us everything you know so far, logistical things like the date and location of your wedding, but most importantly - your ideas! We love to hear in as much detail as you can envision - fabrics, silhouette, embellishments, motifs.
A few emails back and forward, and book in a consultation on Facetime, phone or in-person. In person is preferred as we ask lots of questions to really search out the information needed to create a design that will be truly personal. In person, we can gauge your reactions to questions, fabric options and ideas and form a connection and understanding that goes beyond an email or sketch.
A sketch will be provided for discussion - Often this will be a working drawing, outlining ideas and direction. You will be asked for your honest feedback, and alterations to the sketch will be made if necessary.
A quote will be provided based on the sketch and fabrics discussed. The quote is often accurate, and will not alter unless a major alteration to the dress design is made - such as silhouette, additional details, different fabric choices.
A toile (mock-up) will be made in cotton - this is a rough version, and the first draft is to work on fit and proportion and will often look nothing like the final design.
A second version of the toile will start to bring the dress to life, depending on the design, an extra toile fitting may be required.
During the toile fittings we discuss and plan all the details, which may be beadwork, lace embroidery, fabric choices, and we plot out all the things that will make the dress perfectly suited to you - placement of embellishment, necklines, waistlines, sleeve volume, train length, accessories - so many details which make the dress the perfect couture wedding dress, designed just for you.The wedding dress will start to emerge, first in plain silk fabrics to check the fit again in the final stages - then we add the detail, overlays, finishings and fastenings.
Finial touches - necessary tweaks are made to the fit and placement before your dress is ready to collect.
On average you will need around 5 fittings to complete your dress and ensure that is will be perfect.
