The Dress

Wendy Makin describes her dresses as simple, stylish elegance with an extraordinary fit and that is exactly how I would describe my gorgeous ELLIE wedding gown. It's a timeless lace gown with a sweetheart strapless neckline supported by a boned bodice. Its fastened at the back with a neat zip hidden behind a row of dainty pearl buttons, finished off elegantly with an ivory satin ribbon tied at high waist to enhance the shape and style of the gown.

The standout feature of this dress is the beautiful ivory lace which is laid perfectly over a soft champagne satin. The lace is so delicate and stunning - it gently glistened in the sun at the ceremony and gave a subtle sparkle under the lights at the reception. All the edges of the dress are finished off beautifully in a gentle scalloped lace trim which softens the edges and really makes a feature of both the sweetheart neckline and the train.

The most surprising feature of this gown was that it was one of the most comfortable dresses I have ever worn! It felt really lightweight the entire day. The bodice held in place perfectly and I didn't have to adjust it as you often have to with strapless dresses and it gave a wonderful natural shape. The gown was as comfortable sitting down as when I was standing and hid all those little curves without any pinching or pulling. During the bridal waltz the dress bustled beautifully and just flowed with me, it was gorgeous.

The gown is virtually an untouched size 10. I had very minimal alterations made, a little pinch at the waist, seams eased just a little bit at the hips and hem taken up a small amount to suit my height of 170cm (plus heels). It has a hidden ribbon bustle in the satin lining, but you could change that to a button bustle or attach a wrist ribbon easily. It has been professionally cleaned and presents as new. As an optional extra I am offering my veil for free (worth $150). It's an ivory, soft tulle fingertip veil neatly attached to a clear hair comb, a very understated compliment to the gown.

The beauty of this dress is that you can easily make a few alterations to make it your own. Adding a different coloured satin ribbon to fit with your wedding theme and bridesmaids dresses or adding a diamante waistband could be an inexpensive but striking change. If you're looking for a fuller skirt you could place some soft tulle under the skirt, or even make it tea length for a bit of fun. As the veil is simple it can also be modified, maybe with a lace or ribbon trim or perhaps some beading for a bit of sparkle!

I received some lovely compliments on my dress on our wedding day. It was nice knowing that people admired the dress as much as I did and I hope there is a bride-to-be reading this looking for their perfect gown who will experience the same amazing feeling on their day as I did by wearing this gown.

Feel free to contact me for more information or photos.