The Dress

The Peony Essence of Australia gown is a modern ivory floor length A-line gown with a Mikado (raw silk) fitted and structured bodice with a V neck plunge cut out held together with delicate tan mesh that blends into your skin tone. There are shoestring spaghetti straps. The V-side cutouts are also lined with a fine tan mesh as shown in the photo. There is a moderately low back with buttons at the base of the satin bodice overlying the hidden zipper to step in and out of the gown. There is a multi-layer tulle skirt and small train with a floral lace pattern to balance the simplicity of the ivory Mikado bodice.

Although I did not wear a veil for the ceremony due to the outdoor venue and breeze, I did wear a simple floor length ivory tulle veil without lace for some photos and the dress looked beautiful paired with this design. No veil included, as it was borrowed.

The gown was professionally dry cleaned and remains in a garment bag. It is in excellent like-new condition.

I was so busy running around on the day of the wedding, I have limited full body photos of myself in this gown without me holding my bouquet in front.

Alterations

Professional wedding gown seamstress made the all alterations. The front is hemmed to reach the floor on someone measuring 169cm from the top of the head to the floor including the height of the heels (I'm just under 5'3" and wore 3" heels heels). The back forms an elegant train showing off the floral lace tulle skirt and scooped back. If I was an inch or two taller and wore the same heels the dress length would've been fine as I hemmed it to touch the ground and could be worn instead to hit on top of the toes. Due to availability at the time, the dress was purchased one size larger (wedding dress size 6) and modified to fit a wedding dress size 4 or street size 2-4 dress with built in push up support for the chest. I think this dress would better fit someone with a larger cup size than myself, with 32C likely being the best fit. However, the inserts could be removed to allow for a larger bust size and the satin bodice is thick enough to not require any insert. Despite the deep V plunge, the design of the dress is very structured and would be secure and modest for larger chested women. The straps could easily be shortened further at the back if needed, or I had 1.5" of strap left stitched in the back that could be undone to lengthen the straps for a taller bride or if a lower resting bodice is preferred.