Bespoke Wedding Dress Design Edinburgh 

Imagine walking down the aisle in a beautiful wedding dress that is unique and special to you. Our studio is waiting to create just that. 

Bespoke Dressmaking is a process to incorporate all your wonderful ideas and visions, bringing them to life. From your very first appointment at our studio in Edinburgh’s New Town we will strive to understand the style that you want to create. Creating your bespoke wedding dress is our passion, and we embrace being involved in a part of your big day. 

Not every bride feels as though they fit within the traditional bridal box. Whether that’s because they don’t want the classic white dress, or even a dress at all. Our mission has always been to cater to every individual and their own unique style. 

What style of wedding dress suits me?

You don’t have to deviate from your comfort zone for your wedding day. Some women come to us feeling completely unsupported in other bridal boutiques where their individuality was not catered for. It can also be difficult to visualize your outfit when your style or shape isn’t represented. There is a misconception that a bride is a certain age or look. Not everyone gets married in their twenties or thirties. We work with brides of all ages to ensure they feel their best on their big day in an outfit that feels like them. 

We work through a personalised process with each bride. Starting with a relaxed first meeting to talk through your perfect outfit. We don’t just have to create a bespoke wedding dress, there are so many options for you. Whether you want a classic long white gown or emerald jumpsuit, a tartan two-piece suit or skirt and corset top combination, we’ve got you covered. Your outfit will start from scratch so all your ideas can be incorporated. We talk through silhouettes, colours, fabrics and everything else in between.  

What if I don’t know what style I want for my wedding dress?

We appreciate that not everyone has a vision when they first step through our doors. However, if you do, we would really love to see inspiration beforehand to ensure we have the relevant samples to show you. Pinterest is a great place to start much like social media pages (including our own).  

If you are comfortable, trying on physical dresses too is a good call as well. You may find you love elements from each dress, even if it isn’t the right one for you. If there’s a dress or jumpsuit that you have and love the fit of, please bring it. All of this will help us create a beautiful outfit in which you feel happy and confident. We will send you a proposal of all the design elements we have talked about and the sketch we created together. 

Once we have a design agreed we can move onto even more exciting bits. Fittings! We start with a calico mock-up which uses a plain fabric to replicate your garment. This allows you to visualize and make changes without overly manipulating your final fabric. This stage also allows you to get a feel for the outfit as a whole.  

Once you are happy with the calico we make your actual wedding day garment. You will usually have a few calico fittings to get it right then a couple fabric fittings of your actual dress with small adjustments being made. 

Can you replicate a design I’ve seen for my wedding dress?

As dressmakers, we believe in individuality. We will not copy a design as it is illegal, and we believe it is immoral. However, we can incorporate different ideas from multiple dresses to create your dream gown. We believe if you see a dress that you like then you should go for it. Nevertheless, we are more than happy to look through your inspiration pictures and craft something that feels unique to you but keeping to the same lines as what you’ve shown us. 

What if I want to change something?

This is what the calico fitting is for. Speak up in all your appointments and tell us when something’s not as you imagined, the sooner we know the sooner we can rectify it for you. It is YOUR dress; we are just bringing it to life. This whole bespoke process involves lots of communication to ensure you are happy. We will always give our opinions (when asked or to advise) but ultimately, it’s your design. 

Can you accommodate changing weight when designing my wedding dress?

A lot of brides come to us with goals for their wedding day, whether it is to lose weight or gain it, just tone up or have a dramatic change. It is important that this service is booked in advance as it takes a lot of planning on our end and very close together fittings. The same applies to pregnancy, we are happy to accommodate growing bumps that may feature on the big day. Bespoke designing allow you a lot more freedom when it comes to sizing in particular. This is definitely the route to go down if you have a changing weight goal as you aren’t committing to ordering a size like you would in a traditional boutique.

How does this work? We do your initial consultation as normal, picking style, silhouette, fabrics etc. Depending on how drastic a change you are making determines how long we wait to start the garment creation. The consultation is always done in advance so we can order fabrics and ensure we have everything ready for the process. Then, we do the calico fitting so you can see the vision. We aim to do all the main important fittings as close together as possible, as near as possible to the deadline. This allows it to be as true to size without large adjustments to the final fabric.

How much does a bespoke wedding dress cost?

We price individually for each garment. Our pricing is strictly on fabrics used and time put into your garment. We factor in embellishments and time intensive hand worked details. This is anything attached or matched up by hand e.g. beading, buttons and loops, matching up of lace scallops and lace designs. We will always quote you a price and stick to it before we start. This will only change if you make changes to the initial specification. 

Do I need an appointment for my consultation and fittings? Do you take walk-ins?

Ideally, we would like to ask you to book an appointment in advance. We will then have set time aside to spend with you and we will have done any preparations in advance to make the process as smooth as possible. Most of the time if you show up without, we will be in the middle of a fitting or consultation already. Our days tend to be booked with back-to-back appointments or fittings and any quiet time is blocked out to prepare for these appointments or for creating your garment. 

We are by appointment only to ensure that we have plenty of time to explore your ideas. Ensuring that you are the priority in your appointment, we ask kindly that you don’t come too early or run late to your appointment, so you aren’t eating into anyone else’s booked time. You can book here for a zoom call or here for an in-person appointment. 

We would love to meet you and explore your ideas. Whether that’s through zoom or meeting in person please get in touch with us to start the process.