Perri and Ed's Wedding

Like most of the brides that come to me for a wedding dress, Perri wanted a dress that she could wear after her wedding day.

Being in Melbourne, it was really hard for us to predict the weather. Early December should be summer afterall, which means sunny, right? Well, that is not the case with Melbourne, it could be cold and raining, sunny, it could hail, it could be windy or it could be extremely hot (or all of the things I just mentioned in one day).

Perri knew she wanted red and something that would keep her cool if it was a 45C day. Cotton sateen was the fabric we chose and after 2 initial designs, we decided on an 'Anni' dress style, but using a full circle for the skirt. I initially was going to fully line the dress, but as the weather was looking like it would behave, I decided to half line the dress using red viscose lining, as cotton sateen with lining can be a little heavy on a super-hot summer day.

The outfit was completed with a 1950s style Malco Modes petticoat and a beautiful crocheted shrug, handmade by her friend.

Perri also wanted her bridesmaids to wear dresses that could be worn again, they chose my 'Rocker Girl Jane' style dress "off the rack" from my online store and we used red with white cotton pindot fabric, instead of polka dot fabric. I made white belts to compliment their white petticoats, and as the bridesmaids live in different places around the world, each one was altered by their own dressmaker.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Perri and Ed for making me a part of their wedding day. It has been alot of fun.

Bridal party dressed by 'Peta Pledger'

Melanie contacted me in October, and asked me if I could make her wedding dress. "I don't really make 'wedding dresses' as such, Melanie", I replied. "I know, but I am not after a 'wedding' wedding dress", Melanie replied. "Wonderful, I am the right person for you then!", I said. "Oh, and by the way, I am pregnant" Melanie added...

At first, I had a little panic attack as I had never made a wedding dress for a pregnant person before and I confess, I was a little scared.

Our first meeting was so much fun, Melanie's mother and sister came along and we settled on a design and fabric. A few weeks later, Melanie came to my studio to collect one of her bridesmaid dresses and the first thing I noticed was how much bigger Melanie's tummy had gotten!

Concerned that both my original design and fabric choice (shantung) would be too constricting, I hit the commercial pattern books to get a different perspective. I decided to use and modify a Vogue pattern as it had an empire line, open back and neckline.

We also decided to use cotton sateen as we liked the breathability of the cotton and the stretch thanks to the 5% elastaine content.

The skirt was full enough to accommodate Mel's tummy if it grew more and we made a navy blue belt that matched her gorgeous shoes.

Dressmakers will notice that the dress is half a size too big - this was intentional for two reasons, the wedding was in December (summer in Australia) and how much she would grow between dress collection and the wedding day was too unpredictable. I also wanted her to feel comfortable on her special day and not too constricted.

I am so happy with the way both the wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses looked.

Thank you so much for making me a part of your special day and thank you to Kerstin Steger for this photo, check out her super cool childrenswear label Paul & Paula here.