Where do fashion people look to find their wedding dress?
INSTAGRAM VIA @SUZIE_STEVENS/INSTAGRAM
Words by Fashion Journal
How seven women in the fashion industry found the one.
One of the biggest decisions for anyone approaching their wedding day is what to wear. Everyone wants to feel their best on such a big and important day and historically, there’s so much expectation on brides in particular to find The Dress.
I remember approaching my own wedding day. I wanted to wear something big and white and that I might never have the opportunity to wear again, but I didn’t want it to feel too ’bridal’.
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The weight of the decision was crushing, stressful and ate up way too many hours of my time. I had friends who had regretted their choice, friends (not mutual) who had worn the exact same dress, and an acquaintance who’d gone to pick up her five-figure custom gown in the days before her wedding, only to realise she hated the dress.
In my research, I found myself seeking out others in the fashion industry with a strong sense of personal style. I wanted to know what they wore when they got married. I realised the outfits I liked best were from those who honoured their personal style, or reached out to friends or designers they loved for custom pieces. Some felt very ‘bridal’, others not at all, the common thread was how personal the outfit was to them.
Knowing how helpful it was for my own planning, I asked a handful of women who work in the fashion industry to share where they looked to find The Dress. Hopefully it helps you too.
Millie Sykes, stylist
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There were a few factors weighing on my dress choice. It had to be stunningly unique and iconic on a tiny budget, with only one week on the clock to find it. We chose to have a courthouse wedding and although I’d spent a considerable amount of time browsing vintage Mugler suits online, I knew I didn’t want to part with the money unless I’d felt it on my body and said SHE’S THE ONE.
With only one week left in LA before I returned to Sydney for the event (shout out to long-distance lovers) I took a recommendation to visit Cannonball & Tilly, a vintage store in LA’s Miracle Mile, with a dear friend. Said dear friend convinced me to try on a red, two-piece set that at first I’d skipped past. It fit like a dream. But I couldn’t just purchase the first thing I’d tried on right? So I stepped away from it and had a think overnight, only to return the next day and scoop it up. It was the first and only thing I tried, and it was perfect.
Gabrielle Beswick, founder of Slowly Studio
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My partner and I got engaged early last year and shortly after, we discovered we were expecting a baby. We had planned a trip to Italy for my 30th birthday, staying at Palazzo Daniele in Puglia. Two months before departure, we decided to have our wedding there.
Living in rural Tasmania, I didn’t have access to local wedding stores. While researching, I stumbled across a green Valentina satin mini dress that inspired my non-traditional wedding gown. I found Perple on Instagram and was drawn to their custom dresses. Holly from Perple truly impressed me with her talent and understanding of my pregnancy concerns. We designed a simple dress inspired by the Valentina style with a long silk veil, finalising it in her Melbourne studio. The dress was completed just two weeks before we left. The entire process was seamless, and I couldn’t have been happier with the result.
Suzanne Stevens, content creator
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I looked for a wedding dress designer that would not only make my size, but also cater to my love of opulent fashion. As a size 20 bride, I’d heard so many horror stories of plus-size folks going wedding dress shopping and not being able to try on gowns because the sample sizes were so small. Luckily for me, I found Hope & Harvest who create custom wedding dresses.
Harvest is a genius and insanely talented, and it has been an utter joy designing my gown with her, knowing that I won’t have to settle for something because it’s the only thing that fits me. I actually get to wear the dress of my dreams. She even made me the perfect dress for my hen’s party!
Caitlin Mullaly, founder of Veils of Cirrus
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I designed and made my dress myself! I am a fashion designer by trade – I run the Naarm-based label Veils of Cirrus with my business partner Amy Forbes – so naturally, I had to design my own dress. At first, I thought this might be a crazy idea because I knew how much time it would take, and there was the very real possibility of it becoming a major source of stress.
But I actually found the process of making the dress to be very meditative and intimate. It emotionally reconnected me with the beauty and joy of craftsmanship. It took many months and I had to chip away very slowly before I had a fully finished dress. Towards the latter stages of the process, I was fortunate enough to work with my talented friend Jack Hancock who runs The System, a garment-making consultancy and design practice.
Jack taught me patternmaking at university and was an invaluable resource in helping me refine my patterns for the wedding dress, as well as advising and assisting me with couture-level finishes. The dress is made in three detachable parts – the skirt, the corset and the bustier – which can all be worn together or as separates. It was made from a beautiful champagne silk duchess satin which I purchased from Franke Stuart in Hawthorn, contrasted with a raw, silk noil which I used for the boned corset.
When the party kicked off in the evening, I switched out my long skirt for a mini, pleated, silk taffeta skirt that I whipped up a few days before the wedding. The veil I made too, and the shoes I sourced from New York-based designer Amy Crookes. The bejewelled metal bows that are attached to the bustier were made by my talented friend Harley Herrera who smelts down recycled aluminium and makes unique beautiful jewellery.
Ruchi Page, content creator with Bella Management
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I always imagined my wedding dress experience to be seamless. However, I never would have predicted the overwhelming doubt that would flood my mind when attempting to Google my dream gown. I noticed a commonality: a lack of size representation in bridal advertisements.
People with curvaceous bodies are desired, they fall in love and if it’s part of their plan, they get married too. So, where are the visuals of bigger bodies representing bridal wear? The quest to find that special dress can, at times, be a jarring experience. Cue my mission to find ‘the one’.
I considered a bridal store, but amid the first couple of visits and continued, unsatisfactory research, one of my closest friends offered to take on the project. I accepted. And now we have worked together to create a dress that is really special and fits me, just as I am.
My hen’s outfit, on the other hand, was a dream to coordinate. The brief was: drama meets comfort. So I snatched up a $30 tulle dress by the brand Daizie and paired it with an Etsy find: a tulle robe (aka the ‘drama’ portion of the ‘fit). I stoned some Bonds stockings (love a DIY moment) and paired them with pointed-toe, pearl kitten heels and an Izoa Besito pearl handbag. Luck was on my side with the colours matching across the tulle robe and dress, so much so, it looked as though they were a co-ord set.
Giulia Brugliera, Fashion Journal’s Managing Editor
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Perhaps the worst piece of advice I got when searching for my wedding dress was ‘you think you know what you want, but you’ll end up with something totally different’. This led me trying on so many body-skimming styles that simply were not me. Almost everything I wear is oversized and when researching, I was most drawn to designers like Molly Goddard and Cecilie Bahnsen. So it was no surprise to anyone that I landed on a big, poofy dress.
I looked (and loved) many pieces online but the import taxes alone were insane. If I wanted to simply try on these dresses, I’d need to outlay thousands to order them online and then, even with refunds, I’d be forfeiting hundreds of dollars. I considered custom options and, naive and hopeful, emailed Emilia Wickstead for a quote before wailing at the price. I then fell in love with a mini from Carolina Herrera which was set for release after my wedding date. There was plenty out there I loved, but nothing I could realistically get my hands on.
In the end, my wedding dress was a skirt that I hiked up. I don’t remember the name of the designer, but she has a storefront on High Street, Armadale where many of Melbourne’s bridal retailers are concentrated and where I’d been walking one afternoon with Mum. Everything we’d seen felt too ‘bridal’, so Mum suggested wearing the skirt as a dress to make it feel more like ‘me’. I loved that it allowed my (Magda Butrym) wedding shoes to poke through, and that no one else would have the same dress.
Ours was a 20-person lockdown wedding, followed by a party with our original guest list. I’d planned to rewear my skirt for the party but two days before saw a stunning, butter-yellow, vintage Vera Wang gown listed on Art Garments. Curated by Sydney-based stylist Grace Corby, I messaged her right away to see if she could get the dress to Melbourne in time. It was a push, but we managed to coordinate the interstate delivery in time and the dress fit like a glove! She’s since launched a whole bridal capsule on Art Garments, it’s well worth checking out.
Kee Reece, content creator with Bella Management
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After a long engagement and having our daughter, we finally set a wedding date. Because we’re absolute lunatics, we decided to do it in eight weeks. EIGHT WEEKS. I immediately got to work on finding a dress. I wanted to look like a bride, but with an edge. I’d been saving a bunch of images on Instagram and Pinterest since the engagement, so the first step was to see if there was any theme that aligned with styles I’d been saving. Thankfully there was: an off the shoulder, corset into an A-line skirt with some kind of dramatic twist up top. I had one bridal appointment at Karen Willis Holmes – such an important thing to do. Often what you like is different to what you feel good in.
I fell in love with a Fall ’22 Murashka dress that was going to be impossible to find, and ended up buying a Shona Joy dress that loosely fit the brief and that ultimately I was happy with. But something was niggling at me to keep looking. A friend suggested I look at Rachel Gilbert. I went home and had a look online. There it was: the Riccardo Gown in ivory, on sale, the last one in Australia and in my size. The catch was I couldn’t try it on and being on sale, there were no returns. I called my bestie immediately. We decided this was the dress.
A week later, it arrived in-store and it fit like a glove! At 5”1 I’ve never not had to get something altered. The slight waterfall of the dress meant the length was perfect. I have never felt more beautiful. Some things are just meant to be.
For tips on choosing the right wedding ring, try this.
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