Rachel Lamb Bridal Design

Here is another outfit from the shoot I did back in the hot summer time. These are bridal separates called Nora and Dinky - just the names make me smile! Nora is the skirt, which is a slim A-line shape, soft and flowing and easy to wear, teamed with Dinky - the strapless satin bodice with random pleats. Both are perfect for a hot summer wedding or for brides who like comfortable elegance. Nora and Dinky bridal separates are available to view and order now from my studio as made to measure designs, by appointment. For more information, just  email . Credits: Photography:  Sarah Brookes Photography Make Up:  FlashkateMua Model:  Stephanie Swan Hair:  Becci Jones Hairdressing Flowers:  Florae Foray

This is Anna wedding dress. Short, it can be made knee length or tea length, and beautifully simple with a boat neck and V-back, cap sleeves and a tiny band of diamante twinkle detail at the waist. Anna is available to view and order now from my studio as a made to measure design and can be made in many colours. By appointment only. For more information, just  email . Credits: Photography:  Sarah Brookes Photography Make Up:  FlashkateMua Model:  Stephanie Swan Hair:  Becci Jones Hairdressing Flowers:  Florae Foray

Shea wedding dress has amazing silk, organza and satin ribbon detailing down the back skirt, topped off with a statement bow at the back waist, this contrasts beautifully with the super plain front of the dress. Shea is a strapless A-line shape in the sample, but can be made with shoulders or a different shaped neckline on request. Shea is available to view and order now from my studio as a made to measure design, by appointment. For more information, just email . Credits: Photography: Sarah Brookes Photography Make Up: FlashkateMua Model: Stephanie Swan Hair: Becci Jones Hairdressing Flowers: Florae Foray

Gemma wedding dress is a beautifully light gown, ideal for a summer wedding (it was a very hot day when we photographed it) or a beach wedding, or if you're a comfort loving kind of gal. The skirt is made of a fine soft satin overlaid with soft ivory tulle attached to a softly shaped fine lace bodice with beaded spaghetti straps. It's finished off with a simple satin ribbon and crystal motif at the waist. Gemma dress is really easy to move about in and you don't feel like it's wearing you. Gemma wedding dress is a made to order wedding dress and is available to view in my studio now, by appointment only please. For more information or to make an appointment, please email . Credits: Photographer: Sarah Brookes Photography Make Up: FlashkateMua Hair: Becci Jones Hairdressing Model: Ingrid Carolini Flowers: Florae Foray

Here's the 2nd of the outfits from my photoshoot back in the summer. This is a selection of bridal separates: The top - Dilys - is made from an embroidered tulle lace and is ideal for wearing over a more revealing garment such as a strapless dress or you could also wear it with nothing underneath if you're brave. Worn with Dilys is Dinky - a simple strapless bodice with random pleats, and Fritzi nude colour tulle bridal skirt. Fritzi bridal skirt can be made in many different tulle colours, as can Dinky bodice. All garments are available to order now as made to measure bridal separates by appointment at my studio. To enquire or to make an appointment, please email . Credits: Photography: Sarah Brookes MakeUp: FlashkateMua Flowers: FloraeForae Model: Ingrid Carolini Hair: Becci Jones Hairdressing

    Time has flown this year, and back in July the fantastic wedding photographer Sarah Brookes took some photos of some of my Collection dresses. The day was sweltering hot but we managed to find some shade somewhere! This first dress I'm showing you is modelled by Steph Swan and is called Kallista. It's a statement of a dress with a full ballgown shaped skirt with a strapless feathered bodice. The feathers are optional of course which completely changes the look from something quite humourous to a more traditional feel. The dress is made in a fabric called Zibeline and is available to view and order in my studio right now. This is a dress that your friends won't forget! Steph's makeup is by Flashkate MUA , her hair is by Becci Jones Hairdressing and her flowers are by the wonderful Florae Foray .

Here are some beautiful shots of one of my brides and her husband on their wedding day this summer. The bride wore a bespoke design: ivory lace A-line shaped dress with lace capped sleeves. On the back we used a bolder lace applique, and the waistline was hand beaded with crystals. The photos above are by Andrea Cantova for N Drew. The above 2 images are from fittings and work in progress :)

Lovely testimonial from a bride: 'The quality of Rachel's work is excellent and I would especially note how fussy she was about the dress fitting perfectly - exactly what you need from a dressmaker. I was very happy with the end result and would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone looking for an expert in bridal couture.'

Last year I made a bespoke wedding dress for one of my brides with white lace and ruffled white organza skirts. It really was a wedding dress! The above pic is a finished shot. I am showing here below, without much explanation, mainly work in progress shots of the dress as it came together. It was a very labour intensive dress with all the white corded lace hand appliqued onto the bodice, and the skirt ruffles also all attached by hand.  Above: Not finished yet - only about half the ruffles attached at this stage. I thought this would be good to show as another wedding-dress-making journey from start to finish. I'm taking bookings for 2019 and 2020 weddings at the moment. Do drop me an email if you'd like to discuss having your wedding dress custom made. :) X

To keep things tidy, this is the 2nd and final part of the post I started back in March following bride Lois's fittings for her bespoke 70's style wedding dress.   I love this image above of Lois & Ash on their wedding day! The photo is by Matt Brown . Back in the early spring when I started this post , (pre-peak wedding season & moving location distraction!) I thought it would be useful to show some of the process involved when having a wedding dress made. We left bride Lois at her 2nd fitting, where it was decided that the toile (calico prototype dress) was looking good and that it was time to cut out the real thing... 3rd Fitting: The above images are the dress on a stand, and then Lois in the dress at her 3rd fitting. At this stage the dress is put together but with raw edges in most places - the hem hasn't been levelled and finished and there are no fastenings at the back, or buttons on the front and sleeves, and everyth

Well...what a year. Quite a lot has happened this year, not only lots of weddings, but alongside these, the main thing that happened is I moved out of my unit and back to my home studio here in my garden, which is where I was working before I took on the unit. The unit was a short and sweet experiment, but sadly it just wasn't working for me or my business - far too much noise and very high heating bills were stressing me out, so I decided to cut my losses and come back to my original purpose built studio. It all happened unexpectedly fast in fact, back in March with 2 weeks notice, and as with all things wedding, the show must go on! So, I'm much happier now. My work space is peaceful again. I feel joy again! :-) My garden studio is smaller, but prettier, and I can concentrate! Bliss! I'm still doing what I do - designing and making wedding dresses of all shapes, sizes and designs for my lovely brides, so if you're looking for a designer - dressmaker to hel

If you're thinking of commissioning a bespoke wedding dress, I thought it would be useful to return to bride Lois from my previous post , and to show some images from her fittings so the progress of having a dress made can be seen. I've divided this process into two posts. This is part 1. First fitting: For at least the first 2 fittings, the toiles (prototypes of the design to check the fit) are made in calico, or something similar. It's not the loveliest of fabrics but it works well for toiles because it's cheap, easy to make marks on and to unpick and tear up! It's fairly standard to use calico for toiles in the fashion industry. Sometimes it's called a 'muslin', which I think might be more of an American term. (NB: It's important to have the underwear you're going to be wearing on your wedding day for the first fitting and every fitting thereafter, otherwise it's not possible to fit very accurately.)