Real Bride - Isobel
When I first spoke with Isobel she had a solid vision in mind for her dramatic and baroque themed wedding dress, finding inspiration in a vintage couture gown, adorned in antique golden embellishments. This would be an undertaking for me quite unlike anything I’d made previously and a departure from my usual style, but Isobel piqued my interest with her unexpected ideas and I was excited to take on the challenge of helping her create the vision she had in mind.
Isobel as a person is vivacious, warm and energetic, full of life and with a strong sense of self, not to mention charming with her Australian accent. She was positively bouncing with excitement during our initial consultations and buzz words such as regal, Elizabethan, baroque, and drama helped us to hone in on what she was looking to achieve with her bridal style. During our first consultation we worked on some sketches and Isobel was very certain about elements she did and did not want to include, which helped to narrow down the design. In preparation for our meeting I sourced a selection of materials and trims including some antique golden trims which went on to inspire the appliqué design for her final dress.
Our subsequent fittings involved various stages of toiling to evolve the design and establish a secure way to keep the cathedral length overskirt detachable whilst also keeping it open at the front to reveal some leg when Isobel moved. This open section coupled with the volume we needed to achieve at the waist called for some imaginative thinking (and some sleepless nights on my part) to come up with a fastening option that was both detachable but could handle the weight of the skirt. We settled for the use of a cage in the end which was the most lightweight option to create the most volume. This also felt an appropriate nod to our starting point in terms of era. The overskirt would be removed in the evening to reveal a mini dress made for dancing in.
Isobel was the most delightful bride to work with and especially for such a bespoke design because she knew her own mind and could confidently make decisions with me on the spot. This was important as she was travelling from London to see me for each fitting so we needed to make the most of our time together face to face. Her dress was more detailed and ornate than anything I’ve created before. The design felt so perfect for her and the day she had planned come the end of our journey together. When she came to collect the final gown with her Mother who had travelled over from Australia for the wedding, it was a very special moment as she had only seen the dress via Zoom call up until the final fitting.
When the gallery of images from the amazing Kevin Mullins Photography dropped into my inbox I could see Isobel’s vision had come to life and the princess moment she had been waiting for had arrived. The bride walked down the aisle to ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift, I can’t imagine a more perfect entrance song for this theatrical, romantic and beautiful bride. Congratulations Isobel and Geordie.
To read about Isobel’s experience as a Solunah bride in her own words, Click Here
See more from Isobel and Geordie’s magical day below.
Stunning photography by Kevin Mullins