Rachel Lamb Bridal Design

Remember this dress I showed a picture of at the toile stage? Well it's slowly progressing! Above was the toile (prototype) made from calico. Yes, I pinned all those pieces on something that it's then necessary to take apart again. Below is a picture of the real silk dress in progress. Today I started beading those squares onto the main body of the dress. Phew! I really enjoy this sort of day, working on something where I'm sitting still and doing a repetitive task like this can be very relaxing and leaves my mind free to wander. But I think the idea of doing this sort of work does weird things to my brain: First thing in the morning, I optimistically think such things as 'Yes, I'm sure I'll have half the dress done by sunset'. The sun is not yet set, but it is fading, and I'm about 1ft up from the hem at the back... and I'm not hanging about! It's important that I get the timings right, as this is a sample dress and needs to be...

  Really excited about this dress. It's currently being made as a new collection dress and I can't wait to show you when it's finished.

Here is Abi on her wedding day at Madingley Hall in Cambridge, the grounds of which are much bigger and more formal than I realised (lots of pleasing clipped, topiary shrubs etc if you like that sort of thing - I do). Abi is wearing a strapless version of one of my collection dresses (called Tallulah), which is made from ivory silk taffeta. For Abi I made the beading denser than the sample dress and the actual beaded area is bigger too, so although she chose an existing design, it was adapted to suit her. The above shot shows the beading during manufacture. This dress was the perfect choice for Abi because the pleating at the waist showed off her figure really well. But what is this I see? Shock, horror! First she's running - which just shows how easy to wear my dresses are...  and those shoes don't seem to match her dress! ;) Aren't they fab? I'm a great fan of brides wearing different coloured shoes and accessories. (I once had a...

Remember this wedding from my last post? I wanted to show you some of the actual day and the dress being worn. As there were so many pictures, I thought I'd divide them up into separate posts. Off to the woods... Love these pictures of the bride Tash, having a waft :) She looks great in that late summer sun with the seedheads behind her and the flowers in her hair. A really laid-back feel for a chilled-out wedding. I'll show you a few more at a later date.

The other day I received some photos from one of my recent brides, and they made me smile in a big way. They were just so her . After I'd looked through them I remembered that I'd taken pictures of her wedding dress throughout the process and that I'd taken quite a few. So as there are many images relating to this wedding and I would like to show most of them, I thought I'd break it up into a few posts. The shot above is of Tash, the bride and her new husband. I thought I'd put this one in first as, even though you can't see any detail, it has such a faded, atmospheric, summery charm to it. I love that they are in a wheat field :) I thought it pleasant to show you a romantic and wedding-y picture before going back to the nitty-gritty reality shots about the process of making a bespoke bridal gown. Ah, the glamour of calico, pen and pins. This is the under-layer toile of the dress - the basic shape made in cali...

Here's Karen from a few years back, wearing a silk Duchesse Satin gown with a random pleated effect across the body and a contrasting velvet shawl. Karen is very petite, so the skirt width was especially important and was made to fit her proportionally with a bespoke made underskirt. I particularly like the wide square neck of this dress.

I've added a new dress to my window display. Take a look over there to the right...see it? This dress has been in my collection in various forms for a few years now. It's SO popular! I think what clinches it is it's so easy to wear, the little cap sleeves are very cute and feminine and the lace is lightweight and not too intense . I call it a 'skipping through the fields with daisies' dress! It can be made in various ways - as is, strapless, sleeveless or change the neckline shape if you like. I think this adaptability is what has also kept it such a popular design. It's wonderfully understated and comfortable, and has no boning, although if you fancy a bit of support, it can be adapted to include a boning layer.