Rachel Lamb Bridal Design

For me, New Year always brings with it the setting of intentions or clarifying of thought, both personal and work based. A lot of it is just reminding myself of my business and what it is. That may sound daft, but micro businesses like mine need regular staff meetings - which means talking to myself and refocusing. So here's some recent thoughts about my wedding work. It's a bit stream of consciousness, but hey, that's how I roll sometimes! The wedding industry is part of the fashion industry and influenced by it. The pressures on women to look and behave in a certain way are immense and I try not to subscribe wholly to this, and to keep it real and authentic. In a recent interview in the Observer Magazine (16.12.18) stylist Grace Woodward said of fashion, “It’s an industry, not an art”, meaning in part that this is what it has become in the context of disposable, fast fashion and how it is promoted. Of course fashion has always been an industry and this ...

Photo: sarahbrookesphotography.com Happy New Year to you! Well 2018 is over and I look forward to another year of wedding dress-making and designing!  Huge congratulations if you got engaged over the festive season! Exciting times ahead for you!  Photo: beckyharleyphotography.co.uk  What will you choose to wear for your big day? What have you always wanted to wear? Something soft and flowing? A huge ballgown style? Tailored and sophisticated? Trousers? Lots of feminine lace and twinkles? I can help by creating the dress or outfit of your dreams! If you are now a bride to be, or a mother of the bride or groom and are thinking of having a custom wedding dress or outfit made for your special day or event, you are in the right place. I offer an award winning bridal design and wedding dressmaking service, and I recently won my category of Dressmaker and Designer for the 3 rd time in the Four Counties Wedding Awards. Looking back, I ...

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 .

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.) ...

Continuing my mini series on my Bespoke wedding dress design service, I thought it would be useful to take a look at the most common FAQs that I get asked by brides-to-be. These questions come up over and over again, so here goes: How long does it take to make a wedding dress?  I get asked this all the time and there isn't one answer! It depends entirely on the design of the dress. If we put the hours end to end it can be anywhere from approximately 40 hours to approximately 160...ish. It could be more or less than this, but this is average for me and my work. However the way I work means the hours are spread out over months, rather than worked from start to finish in one go. I time every dress I make so I have a good idea of how long a particular design might take to make. Working on a toile. What lead time do you need?  Usually 6 months or more, but often it's less than this. A year is ideal. 18 months is wonderful. If it's a complicated design or requires much ...