What is your most memorable wedding?
Mine of course. 😉
Describe your style in 5 adjectives.
Creative
Exuberant
Effusive
Personal
Body-positive
What about your business are you most proud of?
My wall of thank-you cards, especially the brides who tell me how confident and beautiful their dresses made them feel on their wedding days.
What is your No. 1 wedding planning tip for couples?
As long as you finish the day married to the person you intended, everything else is just detail.
What is your favourite personal touch you have seen at a wedding?
Ooh, tough one. Possibly the bride who asked me to embellish her gown with pearls from a necklace that had belonged to her grandmother. Or maybe the veil I embroidered with motifs representing places and poems significant to the bride and groom. Or Princess Eugenie making a feature of her scar on her wedding day - she reassured us that so-called imperfections are good enough for a princess.
Describe your typical process with a couple.
I'll meet the bride usually several months before her wedding to have a cup of tea (and some proper biscuits) to have a chat about what she'd like, her usual style, her wedding, budgets, and what she feels good (and not so good) in. We usually hit Pinterest and sketch some ideas together too. I then go away to sketch some clearer designs with various options to send to her. At least two months before the wedding, I'll see her again to take all the measurements I need and finalise the design so I can make a toile (a pick-up of the dress made from muslin or similar). I'll then have her back in to try on the toile and make any adjustments for fit before making the final version from the fabrics we've chosen. We'll have a final fitting to check everything's perfect and that's it!
What do you love most about your job?
Because there's just me, there are no rules or limits on how creative I can be when I suggest things. It's a privilege to meet people at such an exciting time and create something for them that reflects who they are and makes them feel utterly gorgeous.
What is your favourite style of wedding dress?
I don't think what I would choose for myself is relevant to what I do for my brides. I'm all about creating something that they love, works for them and makes them feel like themselves, but on a really good, magnificent, fabulous day.
What is the best way to incorporate "Something Blue" into the wedding outfit?
The garter is the obvious one but I've also embroidered a tiny forget-me-not with the wedding date on the dress lining, added bold blue swallows to a veil and handbeaded little blue satin roses between layers.
What is your favourite wedding dress of all time?
Mine of course. 😁 Isn't everyone's?