The Dress: With Aimée Kelly

Finding the perfect wedding dress is a huge part of planning for the big day. In our new series, Aimée Kelly shares their journey to finding ‘The One’.

THE JOURNEY:

I was quite lucky and didn’t do the usual scope around different boutiques until finding the one. I met Savannah and when she came to me about designing my dress I think I emailed her back in 0.5 seconds with a mood board and a million different reference photos. This is how the love affair started! From then on it was back and fourth with us and Savannahs right hand girl, Charlotte.

THE VISION:

Did you have a clear idea of the kind of dress you wanted before you started looking? (If yes did you stick to this look or did you surprise yourself? If you had no idea how did you find what you wanted?) I definitely had an idea; I sent Savannah a mooodboard which was very Priscilla Presley heavy. The whole thing I’d say was a mix between baby doll/ meet me at the chapel/ 60’s vibes. A lot of this stemmed from my shoes that were kindly gifted by Jimmy Choo. Savannah and I fell in love with them and it was the first time I think she’d seen a bride choose a shoe before the dress!

THE DECISION:

I imagined the dress finding/creating process would be slightly gruelling but I was very lucky and in the best hands. Savannah, Charlotte and they’re amazing seamstress Cynthia made every fitting magical there wasn’t ever an element of stress and I am super grateful to them for that. Poor Cynthia probably had the most stressful job as she was hand making a silk corset!

THE STYLE SUPPORT:

Yes! My good friend Greta Bellamacina was super encouraging and we would talk about my vision and send each other links back and forward, a lot of her references were on my mood board. Liaising with a friend is crucial when designing a wedding dress because they keep you from going off track or in my case, encourages more lace, bows and pearls.

THE EVENING LOOK:

In the end, the dress we designed had many layers so in turn it had different looks. We incorporated clip on bows, a bow encrusted veil and my favourite was the pearl topper which I felt was more evening appropriate.

THE ACCESSORIES:

Shoes were by Jimmy Choo and I had those first. Kat Kim bridal very kindly provided my jewellery.

ADVICE FOR BRIDES:

Have fun with it and go as wild as you want. Also make sure you choose a designer or brand that you feel comfortable in or that you’d trust making decisions. Once I got past the design sketches stage, I completely handed over all trust to these three ladies and whatever change / addition they made I knew it was for the best.