Today guys, I’m going to showcase another of my fabulous Real Brides. This week, It’s Zara.
Zara is a freelance hairstylist and co-founder of the amazing Portraits Bridal Hair and Make-Up Agency. Seriously, if you’re a soon-to-be bride reading this and you’ve not yet found your hair stylist, check these guys out - their work is stunning.
Zara and I have worked together before and I was over the moon when she approached me about designing a dress for her own wedding. Zara and her husband – guitar technician to the stars - Henry, were very keen to have a stylish, modern wedding. Speaking to Love My Dress last year, Zara explained that they wanted the vibe to revolve around their own diverse lifestyle.
“As a couple we are definitely very eclectic and random. We both love art and Henry is a musician and we are both a little bit all over the place in terms of style. I definitely have a love for the Twenties and Thirties and also adore the 70s era and I think this came across in the final design of my dress but overall, we just picked stuff that we both liked, there were no heavy themes, just a real random mix of stuff.”
When Zara popped in, she explained that after putting on a bit of weight due to a leg break, she felt a bit self-conscious about going along to lots of different wedding dress boutiques and as such, wanted a more intimate, bespoke experience.
After getting a really good idea about what Zara wanted, we began designing her dream dress from scratch together. I began by sketching out some principal ideas based on what we’d discussed, and once Zara had approved the design, I began working on the calico sample, which we tweaked until she was happy.
Zara is the first to admit that at times, the process was trickier than she’d imagined. Principally, this was due to the fact that when you’re designing your wedding dress from scratch, the opportunities are endless. Sure, I’m here to guide and advise, but none-the-less, there are lots of decisions to make, right down to the tiniest details – far more than there would be with an off the peg dress. But ultimately, when all those little decisions are combined, they are what makes your dress unique and perfect for you. Trust me, when you see the finished result, you’ll be glad you went through all of that umming and ahhing!
Zara also said that when seeing herself in the calico mock dress, it was quite hard to imagine the final result, however when it came to the final fitting and she got to try on the completed dress, she finally got the WOW moment she’d been waiting all that time for.
So what did Zara think of her finished wedding gown? We’ll her lovely comment from the Love My Dress article says it all…
“I must say I couldn’t have been happier with the final result and so pleased that the dress is one of a kind and so unique to me! It ticks all of the boxes with it feeling both modern and vintage with both a 1930’s and 70s twist to the design. I absolutely love it!”
It's hearing things like this from my brides that makes me truly love my job. If you’re thinking about going down the bespoke route and Zara’s story resonates with you, please do drop me a line. I’d love to chat.
