Designing my wedding dress with Andrea Hawkes
The Journey
Wow, what a time it is to be choosing your wedding dress! A wonderfully exciting time, but one I found to be quite difficult and overwhelming, too.
I was never the girl who day-dreamed about her wedding day. I relate heavily to Friends’ Monica Gellar in many ways, but the a4 ring binder of wedding scenarios is not one of them. I hadn’t spent years perfecting the day in my head – I hadn’t given thought to what flowers I would have, what the dream location would be or how I’d wear my hair – it wasn’t that I was against marriage, weddings just weren’t something I felt a huge affinity to.
So when I got engaged and the process of planning a wedding began, I was right in at the deep end! And when the time came around for trying on dresses, I’d been reassured by many a bride that I would ‘just know’ when I put on the dress. Needless to say I was confused, disappointed and a bit deflated when that feeling just didn’t come for me.
I tried on some gorgeous gowns – ones that made me feel beautiful for sure. But there was always something that wasn’t right. I never felt totally comfortable and so that desired feeling never came. I worried that something was wrong with me – why did I feel so differently to everyone else I’d spoken to about finding their dress? In all honesty, it made me feel quite down and so I took a break from looking for a while.
With that space and time, it got me to thinking, doing what I do for a career, I have a very strong sense of my own style. I have a real passion when it comes to my personal style and design and so feel confident knowing what works for me and what doesn’t. In turn, I went into each bridal boutique confidently knowing what I would feel my best in, and ultimately it didn’t exist. What I wanted was in my own mind, and no-one else had created it quite like how I envisaged it.
Andrea Hawkes
When Andrea Hawkes, a contemporary British wedding dress designer, reached out to me about the potential of working on a bespoke design, the penny finally dropped. It wasn’t that I was indecisive or that nothing suited me, it was that designing something myself was how it was meant to go. And as soon as I said yes to that idea, I suddenly felt that feeling, the one of pure joy and excitement of what was to come.
One of the reasons I wanted to work with Andrea and her team was down to Andrea’s business values – a small, local, and independent in-house team of designers and seamstresses, working with natural, sustainably sourced silks. A slow and considered approach to an otherwise fast paced industry, Andrea and her team were a breath of fresh air.
It took me all of thirty seconds to explain what I wanted my dress to look like and Andrea came back with a sketch that hit the nail on the head. I can’t really explain how amazing it felt to see the design that was in my mind, sketched out on paper by someone who just got it. And that was the start of one of the easiest and most beautiful experiences I’ve ever had.
The entire team at Andrea Hawkes were an absolute dream. Whilst being clear and concise in their offering and their way of working they were also incredibly kind, understanding and accommodating. I truly felt like I was designing my dress with a group of my friends – ones who would make me feel special but also be honest and guide me with reassurance and love.
And I’m so excited to share the whole process with you here.
The First Appointment
Our first appointment involved me trying on one of their dresses from an existing collection, with the gorgeous studio manager Siobhan. Using that dress as a muse for the visual representation of my own design, I talked through with Siobhan the main elements I wanted to achieve – and shown in the images here you can see the snippets of the features my own dress would have.
There were some core things I was certain I wanted:
1. A sleek, simple and timeless design
2. A low back
3. Silk fabric
4. A cowl neckline
5. Spaghetti straps
6. An exaggerated train
7. A form flattering shape with no boning/structure as being comfortable and moving freely were both equally important to me
Whilst trying on the sample dress I fell in love with the seams running over the stomach. In these photos they’re quite a lot lower down as we were manipulating the dress to emulate the cowl neck etc. so in the final design, this would sit nicely over my stomach area for a super flattering shape and a beautiful cut for the skirt of the dress to fall from.
What was crucial to me was creating something that didn’t feel like I was dressing up. I couldn’t have thought of anything worse than wearing a bodice dress that meant I couldn’t sit down to eat my meal, or you know, breathe. I wanted to feel myself, accentuate my shape, stay true to my style and be comfortable too.
The Toile
Once I’d signed off the sketch design, it was time for the team to create my toile – a prototype of my dress, made from cotton using offcuts from previous designs to avoid any waste. This is a super important part of the process, to ensure you are happy with the overall look and feel as well as ensuring measurements and fit are spot on.
Whilst this dress wouldn’t emulate the exact look (as it’s in another fabric!) it would give a great indication of what to expect from the design.
It was so interesting trying it on and knowing instinctively what needed to change! We made so many amends, Andrea made the decision to create a second toile just to ensure we’d got the design right before proceeding to silk.
The changes we made:
1. I knew I wanted the cowl neck to be more exaggerated, so we decided to layer the cowl over the top of the dress, meaning I had more security in the front and we could add more fabric to the cowl without compromising the fit and shape of the dress.
2. Lowering the neckline substantially – I like my decolletage area and wanted this to be on show!
3. All the design elements had been met, but I knew I needed it to feel a little more form fitting to be comfortable – so we took in quite a lot of fabric on the front of the dress to sit a little closer to my body.
4. I also knew I didn’t want the skirt of the dress to float out at the sides – I wanted all the drama to be in the train, and for the rest of the skirt to fall closer to my legs, so we took in a good chunk of fabric on the sides to have it flow more seamlessly down the front and sides of my body.
The second toile fitting was beautiful – and instantly felt like the dress I’d had in my mind. I felt much more comfortable, but there was still something niggling me that it wasn’t quite right. I wanted to be able to put this dress on, feel incredible, but not have to give any part of it a second thought. Which is certainly a lot to ask of one piece of fabric!
And something I learned pretty quickly throughout the bespoke design process, was that what is in your mind, doesn’t always translate into a functional design.
I had wanted a dress with a very low back, with very little structure, whilst still having a form fitting front; and the design I’d created for myself didn’t actually work like that. A low back and little structure, meant having something as form fitting as I wanted, wasn’t really possible. And whilst it looked stunning, it wasn’t particularly practical. Any fast or grand movements, meant the straps fell down and to keep the dress as it was, would’ve meant tit-taping myself to high heaven to keep everything in place. Which would have been an option, but I knew that I wouldn’t feel super comfortable with it.
And like with my usual style, comfort trumps everything! I didn’t want to compromise on that just to tick all the design boxes I had in my mind.
Andrea and the team were amazing at working through this conundrum with me – and did a brilliant job of reassuring me that we’d find the solution together to get it just right.
The team told me that to achieve that form fitting shape, we’d need a little more structure to the front of the dress – and in doing so we’d need to pull the fabric round tighter on my front and bring the back up that little bit higher to support it.
I also made the decision that the straps needed to change, I knew I didn’t want to be pulling them up all evening whilst I was dancing and risking nip slips a plenty! I suggested to Andrea and my seamstress Laurie that we cross the straps over the back, and they confirmed my hopes that in doing so, we would alleviate any worries about the straps falling down; and that ultimately it would create more security in the structure of the dress, too. It squashed my vision of having a totally open back, but it was a compromise that felt worth it and it was a great learning curve for me in functional design that gave me a serious appreciation for the skills designers and dress makers have.
The thing that I truly appreciated with Andrea and the team, was that they wholeheartedly wanted to create a dress that I would be completely happy with. Nothing I asked was too much, and when some of my ideas didn’t work as I’d hoped, they were totally honest with me about the practicalities and were incredibly supportive about making any necessary changes.
The Silk Fitting
The silk fitting and the moment of truth came! And as soon I as put it on I knew all the hard work had been worth it. It was literally perfect. During this fitting we agreed the final placement for the buttons at the back, pinned the hem of the dress and agreed on where we would fix the straps.
We played around with a few options of how to have them, but ultimately went for bringing them both across the centre of the back in a diamond shape and I’m so pleased we did. It adds something even more special to the design I feel, and now I can’t imagine it any other way.
The Final Fitting
The final fitting was more than I could have hoped for. I have truly never felt more me, more beautiful and more comfortable in anything I’ve ever worn. The team brought my design to life in the most wonderful way – and together we achieved exactly what I was searching for. A simple dress, that worked with my body, allowing free flowing movement, ultimate comfort and distinct design elements that flatter and enhanced my shape. The pièce de résistance was the perfect pairing of the aptly named Meghan veil. Whilst my dress was simplistic in its approach, I went all out on the drama with my veil. With lace florals hand-sewn on the edging and scattered throughout the body of the fabric, it is quite literally my Grecian dream. I felt other worldly when I was wearing this veil and it compliments my dress so beautifully. Laurie also showed me how to pin the back of the dress for later in the day – and I utterly adored their design approach to this – rather than a button and loop, they used a silk bow, so that one end of the skirt tied into another creating this beautiful waterfall effect at the back of the dress. Everything was just *chefs kiss*.
The Dress
On our wedding day the dress came through in all of the ways – I was so, so comfortable, I could’ve been wearing my pyjamas (but what a win to actually be wearing the best dress I’ll ever own) I danced around all day and all night without a second thought, I could go to the toilet on my own (an important point to note, as there was no need for assistance or any unbuttoning!) And most importantly I felt beyond amazing.
I feel so proud that I trusted in myself to design my dream dress, and I’ll be forever grateful to Andrea and her gorgeous team for making it possible. I definitely second guessed myself a few times throughout the process thinking that maybe I’d got it wrong – it shouldn’t be underestimated the magnitude of creating something from scratch rather than having something ready made to work with! But once I’d pushed through that uncertainty, trusted my gut and got to the final fitting, I genuinely couldn’t have asked for a more perfect outcome.
If you are looking to source your wedding dress from a beautiful team of women, working ethically and sustainably to create gorgeous designs, with how the bride feels always in mind, I couldn’t recommend Andrea Hawkes more.
AMAZING News!
And I am totally honoured and so pleased to share that Andrea and I will be working together to bring this design to Andrea Hawke’s bridal boutique (!!!)
My dress will be available for you to try on and purchase at their Danbury Street studio in London from the middle of October. To know that something I have co-created will be an option for you to wear on your actual wedding day is one of the greatest privileges of my life; and I am literally giddy with excitement to see you wearing her!
If you’d like to book an appointment at Andrea Hawke’s, you can do so here.
*This process was a collaborative one and I received a press discount on my dress in exchange for sharing my journey with you.
Wedding photography by Rosie Hardy