Catherine's professional, friendly and personal service will ensure you look unforgettable on your wedding day...
Catherine is based in the World Heritage City of Bath just 1hr 30min from London and within easy travelling distance of Bristol, Cardiff and surrounding areas. From her studio Catherine hand makes exclusive gowns using exquisite laces and gorgeous silks for women who seek an individual style. Whether you wish to wear a gown that is classic, elegant and chic or theatrical and outrageous Catherine can make your dream come true!
All enquiries welcome.
"The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten" - Gucci family
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The Wedding Gown and You Accessories The Bridal Party The Wedding Day The Price Wardrobe Restyling
The Wedding Gown and You
Having a wedding gown designed and created for you is a special and unique experience. You will be wearing a gown that reflects your personality and style. Not only will you look stunningly beautiful but you will also feel comfortable on your wedding day.
Every bride has a complimentary and obligation free consultation at Catherine's Bath based Studio. Your ideas and dreams will be interpreted by Catherine who will also suggest her thoughts on style and silhouette to enhance your figure. Sumptuous silks and beautiful laces will be looked at and chosen for your gown. Together you will be working towards perfection on the day. It will be a gown created for you and with you. Within this design process Catherine will look at the possible suitability of the bride wearing a corset under her gown or to have the corset integrated into the gown thus giving the best foundation and fit. The other possibility is to have a corset made as an outer garment to create a real "wow" factor!! The joy of wearing a gown created for you means you achieve the most perfect fit and get exactly what you want!!
If you decide to proceed Catherine will cut your own personal pattern and make it into a calico toile which is a sample garment in unbleached cotton used to obtain a perfect fit before cutting into the silk. This also gives Catherine and the bride the opportunity to tweak the design and adjust the fit, experiment with the position of the neckline and make any adjustments to the overall potential look of the gown.
By the time you meet again the gown will be cut and be partially made in your chosen silk. You will be able to see a vast progression from the toile to the actual gown and how special it promises to be. A possible three or four more fittings will be required before completion. Your gown will radiate richness and style brought about by Catherine's skill, experience and expertise in hand crafting a gown which will be a work of art to be treasured for years to come.
Accessories
The choice of your accessories is also important and is another expression of your personality. Catherine keeps an extensive range of Tiaras, Veils and Shoe's from which you can choose in order to compliment your gown. Catherine also has a selection of vintage style jewellery including brooches, necklaces and earrings to complete the look. Catherine will happily advise you and create a wrap, stole or shrug in feathers fur or silk and even a sumptuously satin lined velvet cloak if the occasion and weather requires!
The Bridal Party
Finding the right style, colour and fit for the members of the bridal party can be challenging when you have a particular vision in mind. Catherine will be delighted to advise on and create beautiful dresses for bridesmaids and flower girls, outfits for page boys, mothers of both bride and groom not forgetting waistcoats and coordinated ties and cravats for grooms. In Catherine's experience this becomes a more relaxed way of achieving a complete look using your choice of colour and beautiful silks for your bridal party on your wedding day.
The Wedding Day
As well as creating something truly stunning and completely unique that will make you feel gorgeous, Catherine will also attend to your needs on the big day. She will be delighted to assist you and the bridal party into your gowns and finery. There is no extra cost involved with this unless of course you are getting married in Timbuktu!! She maintains it is useful to have someone who has been involved but not involved organising people who can be nervous and excitable on the day of the wedding. Catherine calls it "a calming practical influence" and has been known to balance tempers and mop up tears as well as adjust corsages and button holes, tweak veils and get you seated in your mode of transport! You will arrive at your wedding ceremony un-crumpled and with gown and veil in place so your walk up the aisle is a memorable moment for you and your guests. Catherine will make the wedding day preparations a wonderful experience instead of a memory worthy of a nervous breakdown!
The Price
Each gown is individually priced and will depend on the complexity of the design and the choice of fabrics and the detailed work within it. On the whole prices start at £800 and don't usually exceed £2800. The cost of your gown can be quite well determined at the initial consultation stage. Bridesmaid dresses start from £250, Flower girls from £130 Mothers outfits start from £475 and grooms waistcoats from £150.
Wardrobe Restyling
Personal wardrobe stylist and shopper
How many women have a host of clothes in their wardrobes that they no longer wear?
The reasons for this can be numerous but often include a variety of reasons:
• Change in body shape.
• Change in lifestyle.
• Impulse purchases which one realises are inappropriate or ill-fitting.
• A nostalgic draw to certain items of clothing.
Whatever the reasons, the fact remains, we all recognise some or all of these elements in ourselves.
During her years of creating beautiful wedding gowns for individual and discerning women, Catherine has imparted a great deal of knowledge about style and fit and has been asked to help revamp and revitalise these women's wardrobes.
Being stylish is about choosing the right clothes to flatter and enhance your body shape and not necessarily to follow the current trends of fashion.
What does restyling your wardrobe involve?
• Firstly Catherine needs to know what your likes and dislikes are and what your lifestyle calls for.
• She will then look at your figure and explain why certain shapes and styles either flatter your figure or should be avoided.
• There will be items in your wardrobe that work well for you and are flattering, and those that are less so or are not at all flattering. The aim is to dispense with these latter types of items and then fill in the gaps with the items you need to make the wardrobe fully functional, stylish and appropriate.
• Together a shopping list of items can be created, and Catherine can either give you advice on where to shop for these all-important and often quite inexpensive items or she will happily accompany you on a shopping trip to help you choose what would be desirable.
Pricing:
• To restyle your wardrobe £35 per hour (2-4 hours)
• A personal shopping day £35 per hour (3-4 hours)
So why not begin right now?
You don't need to be getting married - restyle your wardrobe and restyle yourself!