West Yorkshire Vintage Style Wedding Gown Collection Has Arrived.

During the 1950’s influences including film, television and music created a new market when teenagers became an emerging fashion voice. 1950s glamour had suddenly arrived. The era can be remembered for two fashion silhouettes; the full skirt and the pencil slim. Both styles placed great emphasis on the narrowness of the waist and we have taken this as our inspiration for our new 2011 Spring/Summer Vintage Collection.

We are delighted to have been featured on one of the most popular wedding blogs

Love My Dress.

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There really is no 'I' in team and this really has to be said on this occasion. I'd like to dedicate this post to all those lovely people involved. Here's to you!!

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Ingrow train station and the Vintage carriages trust were the settings for the photo shoot which took place on Sunday 20th February 2011, to launch our very first Vintage style Collection.

The day began with the arrival of Donna Judson, hairstylist, and Leanne ‘Annie’ Anderson, makeup artist, at 8.30am sharp. We met photographer, Rob Booker on location at 1pm who immediately briefed us on the various shots he wanted to capture.

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Along with florist, Sarah Richardson of Leafy Couture and hat/headdress maker extraordinaire Jane of HF Couture, the whole look gelled together instantly. We really could not have achieved it without any one of them.

We'd also invited local photographers Graham Warsap and Martin Beaumont along. Graham said. "So we went hoping to meet a few people that are involved with the wedding industry. I had not bargained for how much talent you could get in one place. The work that had gone into the shoot was stunning."

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Between Saturday and Monday West Yorkshire had experienced snow and our models sat and stood bare armed in the cold for four hours. There was the brief warmth of fleece dressing gowns and hot chocolate. However, not one of our models mentioned the cold, their hunger or how tired they were feeling. Hats off to our models!

So, really, in no particular order.

Flowers by Leafy Couture. Photography Graham Warsap.

Flowers Leafy Couture, Photography Graham Warsap.

Flowers Leafy Couture, Photography Graham Warsap.

Flowers Leafy Couture, Photography Graham Warsap.

Gown, Sophia, Dresses at No 9

Head piece, Clara. HF Couture.

Photography Graham Warsap.

Gown, Esther Dresses at No9

Headpiece DragonFly Dream HF Couture

Photography Graham Warsap.

Gown Vivian Dresses at No9

Birdcage veil HF Couture

Photography Graham Warsap.

Picture hat, Audrey. HF Couture

Photography Graham Warsap.

Photography Martin Beaumont

Hair Donna Judson.

Make up Leanne 'Annie' Anderson.

Photography Rob Booker

Below you will find the final images of the day. The whole look was captured perfectly by Rob Booker. I've adopted him as our official photographer!

Esther, Vivian, Sophia.

Rita.

Model wears Pearcher hat, Ellie

And finally, just for fun.

This day could not have been complete without the professional talents of Photography Rob Booker www.robbooker.co.uk Accessories Jane www.hfcouture.co.uk Florist www.leafycouture.co.uk Hairstylist Donna Judson judsond@hotmail.co.uk Makeup Leanne ‘Annie’ Anderson makeupbyannie@hotmail.co.uk Location http://www.vintagecarriagestrust.org/ And of course us Dresses at No. 9 We would also like to thank our models and special thanks to Trevor, chairman at Vintage Carriages Trust for his hospitality.

Take The Stress out of Your Dress.

Your wedding gown should be the one thing that is all about you and something you may have dreamt about ever since you were a little girl. I know I did.

Ok, my expectations were different as an adult than those of my childhood fairytale dream, but nevertheless, my gown filled every expectation I had.

I still believe that bespoke is the way to go. You get exactly what you are looking for in a relaxed and happy enviroment. "You've made this so easy," many of my clients have said.

I certainly feel the pressure is on to find 'The One', but do worry that this pressure often leads to those impulse purchases. Yes, they can happen with your wedding gown!

I quite often read that ladies are not sure if the dress they have bought is the one for them. They were swept along by the ambience and fairytale and sadly they end up shelling out on a new gown when the doubt sets in leaving them to sell their original choice at a much cheaper price. In this current economic climate, can you really afford to give money away?

Top tips.

1. Take your time and don't rush into buying the first dress you see.

2. Look through magazines for favourite styles and looks. But remember, the choices you make may not be right for you once you have the gown on.

3.Take someone with you who knows your likes and dislikes and knows what looks good on you. Or not! I honestly feel, from meeting with many clients, that mum isn't always the best person to take. They have a vision of their daughter in mind and sometimes this does not reflect the vision of the person.

4. You wedding album is going to be with you for the rest of your life so think about your style over current fashion trends. And if your style isn't available to buy, you always have the option of your local dressmaker!

Many ladies are filled with dread when they walk into a bridal salon. Many are a little self concious of their body shape and can find the whole process intimidating. We offer a relaxed and informal service without compromising on quality. We want your wedding gown to be the dress of your dreams and above all a happy experience. One you'll feel comfortable about coming too for every fitting.

You deserve it!

Getting Married In Vegas!

Las Vegas is famous for weddings, and this was to be the dream wedding for our client, Julie today.

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Julie wanted to feel every inch bride, without feeling too weddingy (her words) with the current trends of bling, beads or a traditional wedding gown look.

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As designer/dressmakers, we feel it is very important that the vision a client has in her head, is the vision she portrays into ours. It's having an understanding, the ability to voice her preferences or changes where she feels they are needed without feeling she is going to upset the dressmaker, us! After all, if there is really something we know won't work, we'll tell her!

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The way a client will upset us is to not say when she feels something isn't right or her vision isn't quite the reflection she sees in the mirror at her fitting.

Sometimes a client will try on styles before we have a consultation so she knows what suits. Sometimes we pull together a design and have toile fittings. Or sometimes a client will come with a favourite dress or sketch of something she has worn before just like Sarah did with her trouser suit.

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This is how Julie chose her wedding day gown. She brought along a favourite dress, but wanted to add sleeves, a subtle change to the neckline and of course change the colour.

Julie also wanted the skirt of her gown to have a 'feather' effect similar to that of the wedding gown we produced for Jodie.

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The effect a synthetic chiffon gave opposed to silk was slightly different and the result wasn't as effective for Julie as it had been for Jodie. However, after hours and hours of pulling back individual threads of the chiffon to achieve the 'feather' effect Julie had fallen in love with, proved successful.

Julie was over the moon when she collected her gown today and that makes us very happy indeed.

Julie, we hope you have an amazing time in Vegas. Your gown rocks!

Satin bands added an elegant detail. Something the beaded embelishment simply did not do.

The beautiful wide neckline looked stunning on the bride-to-be. With the insertion of little poppered loops, Julie could anchor her bra straps so they wouldn't work onto her shoulder and expose themselves.

The feather detail (a little hard to see) in the skirt.