Raquel by the water

One of my oldest and closest friends is moving to France tomorrow. For two years or thereabouts. Somewhere near Bergerac in the Dordogne region, a little hamlet called Lolme. There are only three houses there. They are going to do up an old house and see what happens. I wish I was going too. Well, I am going in September to visit but it would be nice to have an adventure like that. I think France is my spiritual home but Tim doesn't think it is his...... oh well

Anyway, below is my lovely bride Raquel. She got married earlier this year in Manly but it looks a little like St Tropez or somewhere! A bit of Euro up the road, or across the water as it may be.

Her dress is in latte coloured sand washed silk with a fine beaded tulle skirt over the top. Raquel is an artist I think, or maybe she's at art school. She had very specific ideas about her dress and the feeling she wanted. Well, they all do really! She found her own lace and the tulle for the skirt which was actually taken off an existing dress.

She then beaded extra beads and crystals on the bodice once she had taken the dress. Normally we do all that, a bride generally doesn't buy their own lace etc, although from time to time someone does. But Raquel really wanted to do as much as she could herself. So we gave in.

Anyway, she looks lovely and very womanly, volupturous. Which she was!

See? That's a bit Euorpean isn't it?

These types of beaches are not European though

The dress looks lovely here, nice colours

Matching colours

They look glamorous and very relaxed. She's quite beautiful really. Great hair. I always like to imagine some people as being from some other time and she has a 60's beach glamour thing going on. A little bohemian

xn

A few more Real Brides

I'm not even going to make a comment about the time it has taken me to write another blog. Some blogs that I read, the people writing them update them everyday, which is what makes us read them all the time. That and the content I suppose. I'm not that organised.... or intimately involved with my computer. Or whatever.

Anyway, below are some variations on a theme. One of our best selling dresses is called 'Madeleine' and we can easily modify it with colour or lace to make it quite different for each bride. The skirt under layer is silk satin. On top there is a layer of silk chiffon which has godet panels cut into the hem to give it a fullness which can depend on the amount of godets used. Some of them have so many godets that some brides can bring their hands together above their heads and the fabric will follow easily. It's very fun and feminine.

This is Aurelie. A lovely French girl. Her dress was in Ivory silk satin and chiffon and the bodice was embellished with a French corded lace that we dyed black.

Aurelie was quite particular about her dress. She really wanted a contrasting detail and as she had such strong ideas about how it all should be, she was a great muse.

The lace was subtly embellished with jet crystals

The straps were in an Italian silk tulle

The back was quite low and the top of

each godet was also embellished with jet crystals

The skirt was full but still quite sleek

This is Eneida, a gorgeous Brazilian girl. She was such a pleasure to work with, a very warm and sincere person.

The dress was in champagne silks

The bodice and high waist was detailed in a

heavily embellished French lace also in Champagne

The skirt was soft and fluid

That's her son, who was very excited about the whole thing

This is my bride Louisa, who eloped with her husband to New Zealand to get married. Just the two of them. They arrived in a helicopter.

There was obviously a bit of a breeze that day!

It's still fun though

She also had a French lace down the centre front of the dress.

The lace was Ivory in colour with a metallic silver thread

This is Leona, who had the greatest curly hair ever! Although I'm sure she thinks it's a pain.

Her dress was actually the colour platinum even though it looks white here.

She had a soft cotton French lace on the bodice

and high waist which was in Ivory.

Her dad was very sweet, look how emotional he is....

And that is the end of variations on a theme x