BTS: Making Ellicia's Custom Wedding Dress

For a year beginning in April 2021 and ending in April 2022, we spent hundreds of hours working with Ellicia to create her one-of-a-kind custom wedding gown, custom 'Nikita' mini hen's party dress, and a custom robe to wear in the morning before her wedding. The process of custom-making Ellicia's gown was a passion project for all of us.

Ellicia came to us with a vision of the gown she wanted, and we worked together to bring it to life. Throughout the creation process, we took progress photos of the gown as it came to life, so with Ellicia's blessing, we're sharing a visual journey into making her couture wedding dress.

Ellicia's gown was handcrafted with detachable sleeves as a feature, creating a transformation look between the wedding ceremony and the reception. The detachable sleeves were held onto her gown by thin, invisible thread, designed to cut off to give a more seamless look sitting flat against the skin rather than having clips or buttons that give off a clunkier, more visible look.

We had Ellicia’s bridesmaid, Danika, come to the studio before the wedding to show her how to assist Ellicia in removing the sleeves on the night.

While creating a custom wedding dress, we'll often iterate on different parts of the gown. In the case of Ellicia's gown, the back went through multiple styles so Ellicia could see different styles before settling on a final option she loved most.

To trial the back of this gown for Ellicia, our couture artisans would tack the lace down using pins to represent how it would look without having to spend hours sewing something that we may change. Visualising the final product can often be quite difficult, so changes often occur during the creation of a gown.

Some other aspects of Ellicia’s couture gown;

• Hand beaded crystal lace
• Full structured corset bodysuit
• Illusion V-front + illusion low V-back
• Fit & flare silhouette with added extended tulle train
• Pearl buttons
• Crinoline base with structured hem
• In-built cups

Ellicia's custom 'Nikita' hen's party mini dress.

Ellicia's custom pre-wedding robe.

The final product, Ellicia’s couture custom wedding dress, photographed by Meszic Studios, with hair and makeup by Hong Le and J-Dolls.