Rachel Lamb Bridal Design

Did you dream of your wedding dress when you were small? Some do, some don't. Today I'm going to show you someone who did. Perhaps you read the title and thought instantly of some sort of extremely fluffy 'princess' style fairytale look, well you're a tiny bit off the mark, for although she's very beautiful, this bride's dress is what I consider to be quite a modern and simple look, based on a modern fairy story. I'll leave the story until the end to see if you recognise it. Meet Zoe - here she is prior to the ceremony. Here's a close up of the back of her dress. Guessed the story yet? We made a few changes to the fabrication and details within the dress, but essentially its very close to the original imagery. All pictures of Zoe (apart from the last two) are taken by her photographer John Harris . A huge thanks to John for sending me these images and allowing me to use them. If you're looking for a wedding photographer, do have a lo...

This is the dress that I was beading in my last post. I've named it Amica. All my dresses are named because its easier to identify them (and in my opinion, more fun than numbers). Some are easy to name and at other times I find myself consulting baby names books, but that's another post... Originally this was going to be a dress with cap sleeves, but as I was making the calico toile (see below), I couldn't decide. This is a type of fishtail dress and is available to order as is, or with variations. Here's a close up of the beading I showed you last week: Amica is made from ivory Thai silk, which is nice and smooth and has more of a matt look than many other silks. I wanted this dress to look elegant and simple. Eventually I compromised with the sleeves and made this sample dress with detachable sleeves so it can be ordered with or without and you can actually see how that might look. I think it would also look good as a strapless dress too.   With and wi...

I'm in mid dress construction at present, so thought I'd take the opportunity for a break by showing you some beading. I love beading. It's something to do with the repetitive nature of it and that it can take a long time to do. The feeling that 'this is what I shall be doing' for the next few days is quite comforting; probably something to do with the fact that I can sit still and don't need to pack up to start something else, which is often how my day runs when I'm working on other parts of gowns. While I bead I like to listen to story tapes. While beading this dress I listened to The Clothes They Stood Up In by Alan Bennett, The Laying On Of Hands by Alan Bennett, By The Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie and several Just William stories - I am loving the impression of Violet Elizabeth as read by Martin Jarvis! This beading is placed around the waist of the dress and when finished, the beaded section is about 10cm wide. The completed look ...

Here is Laura, one of my super springtime brides. The thing with weddings is that it's generally several months later that the images come through, after the honeymoon and all the sorting and getting back to 'real life' that goes on for the bride. It's always a lovely surprise, and I am very touched when I receive a pic. Laura is very petite and didn't want to be swamped in her dress, so she's wearing a slim A-line/mermaid shape, fitted over her hips and then gently flaring out to the hem. You can't see it very well in the pics but she has ruching across the body from under the bust. I think both she, and the setting, look lovely.

I'm delighted to receive these pictures from one of my clients who was married this Christmas just past, in New Zealand. I wanted to share the images because they show that dresses can be a mix of traditional and unusual. Robyn knew she didn't want a fluffy dress and chose the black guipure lace herself and brought it to me to use. The effect looks great! She looks both 'a bride' and totally herself!