I witnessed her in action at my best friend Karl’s wedding the other week, and everyone thought she was fantastic, The shots I have seen so far are just gorgeous and here are a couple from that awesome day  Cute eh??? Love these two !!!

So we have a very special offer for you, Sassy has very generously offered anyone who has not already booked  their photography and who reads this article, a whopping £200 discount off your wedding photography ..Thats quite a saving !!

To qualify  you just have to comply with the following

1.Quote COUTURE when you get in touch with Sassy at  sassy@assassynation.co.uk

2. Book with her before 31st October 2013 (Make sure that Sassy is available on your wedding day)

3.Leave a comment below  xx

(hurry because the end of this year and 2014 is starting to fill up)

Aren’t we good to YOU???

If you want to read some reviews ,Check out her facebook page and read the awesome testimonials from her fabulous couples

The corset featured is our Elise design and is pictured with a tuille skirt , and can be made in any colourway

The silk chiffon Gown is La Robe Blanc

The Full 2 part shoot is here on Emma’s blog – please go visit , it really is totally gorgeous

 Part One and Part two

and it turns out so does she !! especially the geeky and  kitsch japanese culture, so we hatched a plan and came up with a concept based around Harajuku and Pirikura Photobooths ,with tonnes of other goodness thrown in! From Studio Ghibli and Hello Kitty to My little Pony style unicorns. See how much you can spot in this shoot!!

We had an amazing team on the day  who worked their lace top ankle socks off

This would never have looked as epic without them

Big Love and thanks to :

Camera Hannah – Photography

The Couture Co -Dresses and Headpieces

Ava Event styling- Set design , Floristry and Rocking Unicorn

 Elbie Van Eeden – Make-up artist and Hair Extraordinaire

 Revive Me Boutique – Shoe adornment and jewellery

Nails by Rosie – The most awesome nail artist

Little Cherry Cake Company- for Cake Bakey wizardry

 Paper Joy- Paper decorations

 Little penny Tree- Felt rainbow garlands

 Nellie Jo and Diablo Rose, for being the cutest models xxx

 Beau xoxo – Cute Hair clips and slides

If you like what we do and all the hard work that went into this, show us some love and leave a comment xxx

Thanks , Jo

]]> http://www.the-couture-company.co.uk/turning-japanese-in-a-harajuku-stylee-a-quirky-and-kitsch-shoot/feed/ 1 http://www.the-couture-company.co.uk/a-dress-fit-for-a-queen-a-special-red-silk-embroidered-commission-for-a-very-special-lady/ http://www.the-couture-company.co.uk/a-dress-fit-for-a-queen-a-special-red-silk-embroidered-commission-for-a-very-special-lady/#comments Tue, 28 May 2013 21:35:31 +0000 Jo Couture http://www.the-couture-company.co.uk/?p=1524 Just over a year ago I had the pleasure of meeting this lovely lady Regula aka  acclaimed food blogger Miss Foodwise, to say she has transformed my life is an understatement….but she has in so many ways…and I will never be able to express my gratitude enough to her and her husband Bruno xxx.

The results that you see in this post make me very proud of my team , especially Sally and Alicja without whom there would be no such wondrous things that you see before you.

We are all so very proud of this collaboration, we think its one of our finest gowns and the embroidery by Sally is awesome!!! We are totally blown away by the  testimonial that Regula wrote , I will hand over to her…..

“I wish I knew Jo before my wedding… Let me start by pointing out that I’m a terrible perfectionist, when it came to my wedding dress I was actually feeling slightly unwell when I saw it… Don’t get me wrong, it was a pretty dress but to me there were various flaws in the dress that I couldn’t ignore. I kept silent about it, the dress did cost a huge amount of money but it wasn’t my dream dress, it wasn’t perfect.

 Although I know you can’t ask for things to be perfect all the time, the flaws in the dress did disappoint me big time.

 And then I met Jo.

 When I saw Jo’s dresses my heart skipped a beat, not just because the styles were gorgeous but also because of the immaculate finish on them, the sublime quality of the fabric and the hand machine stitched embroideries that must have taken hours to complete to this standard.

 As others might look at the exterior of the dress, I also looked inside, at the rims, the finish on the buttons and the way the lining was sewn in.

 I studied fashion design and had to create a 9 piece collection for graduation, the finish of the garments was always the hardest part for me. So much time and effort goes into clean buttonholes, bindings, collars and lining … I remember evenings -nights- when I couldn’t see out of my eyes from exhaustion – trying to lay the last hand on a woolen jacked and ruining the finish. I would always see the uneven seam, the zip that wasn’t sewed in with a straight line… Nobody noticed the flaws, but I always will.

 When Jo and I started my dress I knew I would be getting a perfect dress, I just had to decide on a fabric, a design and a color. We went from red to petrol blue to green, black and finally back to my all time favorite red. I had a few things I absolutely wanted, fabric buttons, puff sleeves and an embroidery with meaning.

 That was my part of the deal and it was extremely difficult, this dress was so important to me that every time I decided I changed my mind again. I drove Jo absolutely crazy and she was so patient and lovely.

 Finally after 4 months there was a breakthrough at my end, we changed the fabric from sheer to silk and the embroidery was tested and decided on.

 There were a few corset fittings because Jo -like me- is very much a perfectionist too and wanted it to be a perfect fit. She knew I was sad about my wedding dress not fitting perfectly and she wanted to make that right with this dress.

 The first time I saw a glimpse of the dress was about 3 weeks before completion, it were the embroideries, the swans and Tudor roses… I was over the moon to see it, the finish was so detailed, so delicate, I couldn’t believe my eyes… It wasn’t easy, I had given her a sketch my husband -who is an illustrator- made for me. The inspiration was a lullaby I adore about swans and England. I never expected it to be the same, how can you expect an embroidery to be so detailed as a drawing made with a tiny pencil point. I gave Jo the design and told her I trusted her to make it work, I even made her a simplified version but she wanted to use the detailed one. When the embroideries were finished, they were able to sow the dress together and then a picture appeared in my inbox – teasing me- with a glimpse of the nearly finished gown.

 I stared at that picture for a long time, there were dozens of buttons she had added to the back of the gown – I love buttons, I am obsessed with buttons. Collar till seam was a line of beautifully hand made silk buttons and hooks. Just beautiful… The next time I saw the dress was in a hotel room in London. It was the day of my husbands first UK exhibition and my birthday celebration. When she showed me the dress I was completely overwhelmed by emotion, fought against my happy tears and nearly hugged Jo to death.

 I looked upon this dress as a piece of art, a collaboration between creative minds.>I couldn’t stop looking at the delicate embroidery, the feathers that were created on the swans by using different shades of white and silver, the tiny apples and the golden thorns on the roses … When I say the dress is beautiful, it is an absolute understatement. It is extraordinary, it is perfect, it is a work of art.

 I can’t recommend Jo enough, she puts her every effort in your gown and she delivers nothing less than perfect. She is an amazing lovely lady, and she will make you a dress you will cherish for ever.

 Jo, I can’t thank you enough for this”

       All the photographs above are courtesy of  the wonderful Assassynation

Hetty frock

    The shoot was on location in and around The Custard Factory and the indoor shots were at the fabulous  The Vintage salon where Lynsey from Le Keux worked her magic on Lotti and Coco

Our Gorgeous models were Lotti Bella and Coco Fierce

the amazing shoes are by our super talented amigos at Revive Me Boutique

All copyright for photographs is Haywood Jones Photography

She came to me slightly stressed as another designer had let her down, and the pink haired fairy godmother Kat at Rock n roll Bride recommended that Sarah come to me,as we were fairly local and as it happens right up her street

We got chatting and Sarah told us all about her Halloween inspired wedding, and her and Colin (her fiance) love of scare rides and attractions……..

so after we had finished designing her gown, we set to work on her headpiece! She wanted a headband that was beaded but not at all traditional, I suggested something halloweeny and tattoo inspired and we decided on a sugar skull and roses, and we named him”Boris”

Everyone meet Boris xx love him!!

Sarah was a total joy to work with, she is gorgeous, fun, and has a great sense of humour, we had such a laugh, and she totally comfortable in her own skin. I thought she looked radiant and so so happy in her pics, and I just love that her and Colin make THE cutest couple!!!

Here are few more fab images from their wedding and a lovely testimonial from Sarah, Thanks so much doll xx

‘I don’t really know how words can describe the gratitude that I have to Jo and her amazing team. They picked me up and transformed a brow beaten, down in the dumps girl with a heavy heart from the shallow perceptions of mainstream wedding dress shops, into a Bride…a real Bride! With a dress and a smile and a happy heart and everything! Oh, and Boris…my headdress!

After my first chat with Jo, and explaining my previous dress traumas there was no doubt in my mind that this was the woman to make my dreams come true. She really truly understood what I was after. She got my random references to Hattie Jacques as a style icon. She asked the right questions and when I explained a bit about what me and my husband were like as a couple, our interests, and how I wanted to convey that in my outfit, there was no polite insincere laughter, no funny looks. Jo is different, in the best possible way! Nothing is too much trouble, nothing sounds too crazy, nothing is out of her ridiculously talented reach.

Her work is exceptional, and her approach is nothing short of perfect. I cannot believe that such an amazing company was right under my nose the whole time, and because of my own insecurities I didn’t spot them!

Oh and can I just add… Boris…my headpiece (which I am currently wearing as I type this) is the 2^nd love of my life, after my husband of course! He is nothing short of a piece of sparkly beautiful sugarskully art!

Jo and the team really are much more than dressmakers. As a bride you put your faith and trust in a select few people to make your big day special. I truly count myself one of the luckiest brides in the world to have had the opportunity to meet Jo, and in honesty, without her I wouldn’t have felt as utterly wonderful as I did on my big day. I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again…I could have died that moment knowing that I could never be happier and more confident in my own skin.

Thank you Jo

Love Sarah (and Colin) xxx ‘

    Thanks to Rob W May Photography for letting us use these images

If you want to see even more pics from this awesome wedding then there is a full write up here on Rock ‘n roll Bride’s blog

I was so happy with Sarah and Colin’s story and attitude that I asked them to come and model in our fashion show at The Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza and here are a few shots of the cute couple (photos courtesy of Jay Mountford Photography )

Both  our models were dressed in ruby red but both with very different look, Jennifer wore our Ophelia corsetted gown, with its beautifully embroidered with cherry Blossom and hummingbird design, and Grace looked stunning in Liliia’s red ethereal chiffon gown

Zarla for  her fabulous hair Skills

Gem from Dollywood Creative for beautification skills,

and our gorgeous girls Grace In Liliia gown

and Jennifer in our Ophelia gown

Special thanks to Sassy from Assassynation for her  incredible camera skills

Here are some pics from the awesome Jay Mountford Photography of the fashion show, featuring us and our naughty little sister company Rawhide Corsets

This cute couple are our real life bride and groom Sarah and colin xxlove ‘em!!

Special Thanks to my gorgeous Girls : Erika , Kayleigh, Marie and Hannah,

and to Elbie Van Eden and Le Keux for helping beautify

Keep those peepers peeled as we will featuring some of the awesome exhibitors from EWE2 really soon xx

We are UnBAAAAAleivably excited  to tell you the at we will be in full flocking effect at

The Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza on the 24th March .

All photos above copyright of Toast Of Leeds

We had so much fun organising and participating in the last show  with our pals  from Assassynation Photographyand Liliia Designs that we HAD to do it again!!

We will be bringing some of our most awesome and EWEnique designs for your viewing delight and delectation!!   Photo above credit  Rob W May. Photo below, credit Ben Fones

2 Photos below Credit Lisa Devlin      5 Photos below credit to Assassynation

Photo below credit Steve Gerrard

Check out the website to see all the other awesome BAAAAd Ass Mo Flo’s that will be bring EWEnique delights and fabEWElous treats www.allaboutewe.co.uk

If you register for tickets they are a BAAAArgain £3

See EWE there!!!

Hazel came all the way from Spain to have her fittings, I was totally honoured and delighted that she thought so highly of us that not only did she commission her gown with us but that she travelled all that way to make it happen….

Hazel had a cap sleeved french lace  1950′s style gown, the lace was so beautiful and very delicate, and has the most gorgeous scalloped edge detail, we just had to use it on the sleeve and the hem.

She was married at The old Library (where I too was married) Its a gorgeous space at The Custard Factory (where we are based)…and to top it all Hazel and her husband came to see me in the shop just after they tied the knot!! I was choked and so so happy they did this for me, we even had our photograph taken….can you spot me??? …i am the one who looks nothing like a bride or a groom

Hazel writes

“I had an idea of what I wanted my ideal wedding dress to look like, so it took me many visits to many shops before I found The Couture Company.

At my first appointment Jo made me feel so relaxed and really listened to what I wanted. Jo knew exactly how to alter the design of the dress to compliment my figure, as well as adding little touches to make my dress even more unique to me. Jo was very flexible, I live abroad so we had to schedule my dress fittings according to when I could be in the UK. This was all done without any fuss or pressure and I knew I didn’t need to worry about my dress as the big day approached.

At my final fitting, I was gobsmacked – my dress was absolutely perfect. It was exactly what I had pictured and more. On my day I felt like a genuine princess. The dress fitted and flattered my figure, as well as being comfortable enough to last until 4am AND endure plenty of dancing!!

I know all brides are told how lovely they look on their wedding day, but people still talk about how beautiful my dress was now, nearly one year later!

Thank you Jo and everyone at the Couture Company who helped to make my dress. It really is the most beautiful thing I own!

Photographs courtesy of  Amit and Anna Photography

Niki came to us knowing she wanted a 50′s style dress, she knew  what kind of look and feel she wanted for sure, she just wasn’t absolutely sure on the fine details. It took us a couple of consultations and deliberations on details to get the perfect design for Niki….and sometimes that is what happens when a bride is having a gown made, sometimes after more thought ,fabrics or colour may change, details may change, but if the end result is that we have a happy radiant gorgeous bride then its worth every minute of making sure the design is right and that the bride is happy before we even cut a gown.

Niki’s gown was designed and made with a boat neck and 3/4 sleeves, in a pretty polka dot sheer silk organza, it was trimmed with covered buttons up the back and on the sleeves, and had a lovely big frothy petticoat and was finished witha silk satin sash and bow and a matching Bow alice band.

As with a lot of brides who have gowns made , its perfectly natural to be a little anxious about the final result, afterall there is nothing tangible to go on except seeing and trying other styles of gown in our boutique. Niki was no exception to this…sometimes a sketch, some fabric swatches and trying on samples is all they have before they take a big leap of faith into having a bespoke gown made us.

Brides like Niki are why I started to write a blog that features our brides and how they felt about having their wedding gown made, I want our girls to be honest about the process and how they felt on the day when they write their testimonials, so that other Brides to Be can have assurance and peace of mind that we are going to do our utmost to make them feel like the beautiful girl they should on their wedding day.

Look at that waistline!! Very tiny and very Fifties !

Niki Writes “When it came to sorting out my wedding dress I knew from the start I wanted a shorter length fifties style dress, a long traditional dress just wasn’t me. I tried searching in wedding dress shops for my ideal dress but just couldn’t find it.

I stumbled across the couture company whilst walking past the custard factory on a night out the cute dress in the window caught my eye so the following day I googled them.

I was your typical bride to be in the respect that I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted. along the way I changed my mind and the dress design several times thankfully Jo was fine about it and was very patient and understanding with me.

My dress went from a plain simple dress to one  with to polka dots with sleeves. There were times when I was nervous as I wasn’t sure if I would like it but when I saw the end product I was over the moon it was stunning !!  I had so many wonderful comments on my wedding day everyone said it was very me which is all a girl could ask for.

Thank you Jo !!. ”

Photos courtesy of Ben Fones Photography

When Adele came to see us last year , I could hardly contain my excitement, she did not want a traditional ivory dress , she wanted a RED dress!!!! not only did she want a Red dress but she was adorned in the most beautiful tattoos a mix of cherry blossoms , lilies and butterflies… I  was filled with inspiration  and felt we had to incorporate some tattoos and colour into her gown. Our embroidery designer Sally got to work from photographs we had taken of Adele’s body art and here are the gorgeous  results for a truly stunningly awesome bride.

We LOVED doing this dress and coming up with something so unique and bespoke for Adele !!

  thanks Adele for sharing your beautiful photos and for this amazing testimonial,

“I’ve know ever since I was a little girl I wanted to get married in red dress, but unfortunately my taste was not shared by many bridal shops, apart from one. I was told about The Couture Company from a friend who was also getting married, I did not hold out much hope as I had been disappointed before. But boy was I so wrong!!! As soon as I walked through the door I knew I’d get my dress from here!! Jo and her team were so lovely and laid back which made me relax and completely trust them to create the dress of my dreams, and she didn’t disappoint, Jo has a fantastic ability to pick the idea out your head and make it a reality. I didn’t want to take my dress off on my wedding day, it was so beautiful, and beauty should not be hidden in a wardrobe, so I have had mine framed and hung on my lounge wall for to see!

Thank you Jo and your team for all your love and  hard work you put into my dress, and helping to make it the best day ever ” xxx

Photography copyright of Ben Fones Photography

Ok lovlies, welcome back, sit back and enjoy the ride, so it’s on with the awesomeness that was a whopper of a year in 2012… and first up is Claire’s wedding, packed full quirky DIY and general loveliness  ….it was also a great wedding to share because our pals Steve Gerrard Photography and Shutterbox Films did the photography and video…

and it was featured later in the year on Rock My Wedding Blog

Also later in the month I got some gorgeous shots back of our Stephie dress that was modelled by the lovely Jo on Steve Gerrard’s photography workshop…

Love this dress with that belt and fascinator …soooo CUTE!!!

July

July was a pretty epic month for us because not only did The Tiny Red Factory re brand The Couture Company, and redesign our whole website they made us some awesome logos and badges too…I am going to do a whole blog post on these guys soon but here is a little taster of their immense talent  

July also saw a gorgeous bride Claire get married in a very pretty French lace gown,

she was featured in a beautiful write up by Annabel at Love My Dress here

August

August  was Hot in this city and our trailer park shoot with Assassynation Photography , The Vintage salon  and Revive me boutique was EPIC, I loved every minute of this shoot and Sassy absolutely rocked it with her kick ass style of photography!!      

  Here it is featured in it’s full gloriously glamorous trailer trashiness on Rock n’ Roll bride’s blog... What a team!!

Loved working with these guys!!….watch this space for more shoots we have planned.

Back to  business with our stunning bride in Lavender Nikki,

this dress suited Nikki down to the ground and we had such a great time creating this corseted purple Silk taffeta gown….here is our blogpost and a lovely testimonial

………………….

We are over the moon to have had lots of  wedding blog action this year and we were asked to be part of this cute photo shoot featuring real brides to be on Rock my Wedding

And here is the link to the whole article on the RMW blog, the lovely images were taken by Christian Ward

September

Our Naughty little sister Rawhide Corsets was asked to create corsets for all the female singers and dancers for the final scenes of Jesus Christ Superstar the Musical…which went out on a sell-out national Arena tour in the autumn… the musical start Tim Minchin , Mel C and Chris Moyles …we went to see it and it was a very proud moment for us, seeing our corsets up in big lights on an immense stage as part of an incredible production….I think my mum was proud of her not so little girl that night!!

 ………………….

Our stunning bride Emma got married in September

and we loved making her silk chiffon seventies inspired gown, it was so unique and very HER

Here is a little post I wrote, and it has a lovely testimonial with it x

October

The lovely Laura was married in her native Ireland, we created this pretty french lace and silk tuille gown for her

We were also invited  Kat aka Rock n roll bride and Lisa devlin to have our Polly and Steph designs used at the Photography farm and were lucky enough to see Elbie looking super cutesy cute from cutesville in the Polly frock

Cutie pie x

…Love this  ice cream shoot!! Here is the write up and images on Rock n’ roll Bride

………………….

And then for a second shoot with the awesome inked lady Lisa Jane in our Steph frock

 and her fella Alex dressed as the coolest most adorable dinosaur…

oh how I love these shots….I will be doing a full blogpost on these two really soon but in the meantime here’s what Rock n’ roll bride wrote with tonnes of eye candy thrown in

………………….

October was the month for Adele’s ruby red wedding, we had lots of fun working on this dress,

in which the dress embroidery emulated Adele’s beautiful tattoos, lots of flowers and blossom in the most gorgeous and opulent colours….blogpost to come soon xx

November

November was EPIC, Fact!!-EWE better believe it!! 6 months in the planning, we held The Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza aka EWE at Fazeley studios in Birmingham and it was fab, we couldn’t have hoped for a better reaction!!

Photos above by Louise Holgate

EWE is the brainchild of Sassy from Assassynation, Vikki from Liliia designs and myself – our idea was to bring a real alternative in wedding style to what is on offer at the moment…here is the blogpost   I wrote leading up to it  and here is a review by one of our suppliers, Shelly from Toast of Leeds photography. If Ewe missed out in November ,   don’t despair we are back on March 24th

December

What a fantastic wedding to  end to the year!!

Our bride Sarah and her lovely fella got hitched at Halloween,

and in December the awesome Rock n roll bride Blog featured their wedding in Full! Click here, the wedding got a great reaction and Sarah’s story brought a tear to my eye!!

She is an awesome girl, and a true ambassador for all those kick ass curvy girls out there!!

So there you go….an awesome year by my standards!! Hope you enjoyed just a small selection of our highlights….keep popping back here for more awesome weddings from last year…we are awaiting photos being sent from out Newlywed couples as I write !!

Lets see what craziness 2013 brings for us here in CoutureCoLand xxxx

So I guess January would be a good place!!

January kicked off the year with an awesome Rock Chic shoot that we did being featured on Rock n’ roll Bride’s Blog, photos were taken by awesome photographer and fellow Custard factorian Steve Gerrard….the badass girl in the pics is Stephanie May..

You can see the whole shoot here on Rock n’ roll bride….

February brought us the  beautiful Snow covered wedding of Becky and Paul….

Photographed  by Steve Gerrard….more stunning  images on Steve’s blog  here.

We also had our cute tattooed bride Rachel’s wedding in Vegas

February also brought us the biggest collaborative shoot ever, our Circus shoot with the awesomeness that is photographer Sassy of Assassynation Photography , it was a magical experience, albeit it was freakin freezing!!!…this collaboration led to even greater things…..but more about that in Part 2!! Here are a couple of images from the shoot ,

but if you want to see more of the epicness of this shoot then you can here is the full feature on Rock n’ roll bride

March was also an awesome month because our actual Rock and Roll bride Jen got married in our pretty lace 50′s inspired April gown More images from this awesome kitsch Americana wedding  here

and…………………

We were super excited to be asked by  acclaimed wedding photographer Lisa Devlin  and Kat from Rock n’ roll bride to collaborate on creating a gorgeously decaying dress for the March Photography Farm…

We were like kids in a sweet shop getting to play on this gown, and  creating all the trims and hand made and hand dyed decaying leaves, fungi and skeletal structures

The images above are by Asassynation and there are more from her here. There are also more images by Lisa Devlin  here in an awesome feature by Kat from Rock n’ Roll bride ….

We were also  honoured to have an Art Deco inspired indie rock chick shoot we did with Steve Gerrard featured on here on Love My Dress Wedding blog. The dresses featured are Thea (above ) and Marlene (below), and that pretty doll is Stephanie May xx

 April  showered us with weddings, all very unique and different to each other, that’s the fantastic bit of our job…Every bride is different and every gown has their own stamp on it:-

here we have Alli And some more of her wedding pics here x

We also had Nikki in a super gorgeous polka dot number

Then we had our 2 gorgeous girls Tracy and Emma for their civil Partnership in complementing Purple and Ivory corset ensembles

We made a pretty lace gown and jacket in a gorgeous buttery cream shade for Hayley…

May

May was a magical month, as we got to see Nicola’s beach wedding in her pale Aqua chiffon gown, for so many reasons this is one of my favourites for the year

and here is a little blogpost I wrote to say why it was one of my faves!!

Here is Thea looking radiant in her simple and slinky bias cut crepe gown…

and another awesome bride was Samantha, in a pretty lace gown and bolero with Emerald green trimmings…Luxe!!

Love this image….if you want to see more along with a lovely testimonial click here

The month was topped off by getting to work with  stunning alternative model Ulorin Vex  and photographer Claire Seville on a SteamPunk inspired shoot for our naughty little sister company Rawhide Corsets….Ulorin rocked it as ever!!

June was a great month, because Nicola got married and giggled and squealed her way through from her first consultation to her wedding and beyond…such a great couple !!Here is a little blogpost we did for Nicola’s wedding, and an extra bonus was that Emma Case Photography shot the wedding

So that’s just a small sample of the weddings and what we got up to for the first half of 2012….stay tuned for Part 2 coming to a blog somewhere round these parts real soon

xx

Jo & The Team

Emma came to us a slightly reluctant bride…when I say reluctant bride I don’t mean she did not want to marry the love of her life….she  just did not want all the attention and pressure that sometimes comes with getting married, and with being a bride…..so I am extra grateful to her for sending me her gorgeous photos and for sharing her experience with you

We designed this gown in a silk chiffon as we wanted a light flowing fabric to give the gown a  bohemian 1970′s …think Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks. The chiffon is a gorgeous buttery ivory shade and gives the gown a real vintage feel. It is cut with a slash neck and is semi-fitted and we have given the skirt volume by adding godets of chiffon from the hip down.  The gown is then delicately apliqued with a subtle and very pretty french lace….. I love the sleeve of Emma’s dress, it just falls beautifully over the deep Silk Satin cuff

Thanks Emma for this lovely testimonial

” I’ll never be able to thank Jo enough for creating my beautiful dress.
As a bride daunted by the idea of finding my wedding dress, not
revelling in trying on hundreds of different dresses, my experience at
The Couture Company was completely perfect.

I wanted a dress that reflected my own personal style so a traditional
large dress was out of the question. One appointment with Jo and I knew
she would create something special just for me. From the moment I
stepped in to the studio I felt calm and in control, not pushed or under
any pressure.

On the day my friends and family commented how “me” my dress was, which
was exactly what I wanted.

I can’t recommend Jo & her team highly enough and I’d say to any bride
out there who feels overwhelmed by the whole wedding industry and who’s
individual style is important to them to visit the Couture Company.

Thanks

Emma”

I love this photograph!!

All images are copyright of Paul Ward

When we first met Sarah, she had a definate idea about the elements she wanted incorporating into her bespoke gown…vintage inspired,lace, sleeves and buttons…

Well we wouldn’t want to disappoint now would we?? ….

So we got to work and designed a very pretty gown in a delicate french lace…the lace has a fine scalloped edge which we used across the neckline, and on the hem of both the sleeves and skirt. The lace is overlaid on a pale ivory dupion silk, and the back is finished with delicate covered buttons all the way down from the nape of the neck to the waist

Thanks Sarah for the lovely testimonial and allowing us to share you gorgeous wedding photos xx

”

I wanted a dress that reflected my personality and style and after visiting quite a few conventional wedding shops, where the dresses in stock looked identical, I started to doubt that this would be possible.

Thank goodness for Jo and her team at The Couture Company!   As soon as I met Jo everything started to fall into place.   She listened to my ideas, understood my anxieties and from start to finish the whole process was flawless.

I wasn’t sure whether I would be a ‘crier’ on my wedding day or not.  I think I surprised quite a few of my friends and family by how relaxed I was.  Instead of crying throughout the ceremony I had fits of giggles and just felt so unbelievably happy.  I know that a large part of this was down to how beautiful my wedding dress was and how confident I felt wearing it; I was also very relieved that we had one day of sunshine!

I have had so many compliments about the dress and I cannot thank you enough for the care, attention to detail and absolutely amazing service that you provided in making my dream wedding dress.

I would wholeheartedly recommend The Couture Company to my friends and family.

Thank you so much.

Lots of Love Sarah x x x x”

Photographs are copyright of http://www.orchardhouseweddings.co.uk/

I love Nicola!! I love that she trusted us to make her look super gorgeous and I love that she put her trust in me when it came to choosing the perfect colour for her and her beach wedding!!

Nicola came to us with certain things that she wanted incorporating into her gown, It had to be simple and stylish, nothing too fussy or embellished, something a bit Boho, with a sleeve …….. So we chatted and I sketched a few ideas down , suggested a fabric that was a bit swishy and that hung and fell beautifully, so we chose Changeant Silk Chiffon…. in the most gorgeous shade of pale aqua turquoise, we overlaid it onto a very pale pwder blue silk crepe de chine. Perfect for a relaxed British beach wedding in May

The most rewarding moment of the year for me was helping Nicola into her gown at her final fitting, and seeing the beaming smiles on both her and her mums faces as she came out of the changing room!! That was priceless, you cannot buy or fake smiles like that!! I must admit  my eye started leaking a little at that point, but hopefully they didn’t notice ;-P

Thank you Nicola for choosing us, for sending us your gorgeous pics and this awesome testimonial xxx

“thank you Jo for creating such a beautiful dress for me and for being so lovely. Organising a dress was an experience I was dreading and you made it very enjoyable. It was always a pleasure to come for my fittings and you made me feel so relaxed and confident. I loved the dress and felt great in it and it was so beautifully made. I kept peeking at it before the wedding and it made me smile so much. The fact you cater for all shapes and sizes and know how to make all brides look wonderful is really unique. I am so glad I found you! Thank you again.” Nicola

Now I know it’s not easy for a bride to put complete trust in us to make her a gown, especially when its a dress designed from scratch , and a colour you can only see on a shade card….I totally get that…and that is the reason I started this blog and asked my brides to be honest about how they felt about their gowns , their wedding days and the service we gave them. I can tell brides till I am blue in the face that they will look gorgeous and the dress we have designed will be totally them, and fit them like a glove….but you cannot go on blind faith…I know that….so hopefully now you  brides-to-be can see some of the  gowns we have made, and how beautiful our brides look, and take confidence from these blogposts

This is what Laura had to say about us
“We have just got back from Rhodes and I just wanted to email to say a huge ‘Thank You’. I felt amazing in my dress…it was everything that I had ever pictured but so so much more…as well as not melting me in the 48 degree heat!
From the moment I first walked into the shop I knew that you and the team would make that perfect dress that I just wouldn’t have been able to find in a ‘normal’ bridal shop; as well as making the process exciting and so much fun!

I can’t thank you enough…I just wish I could wear it over and over again!

Laura xx”

Thanks for sharing your gorgeous wedding with us Laura xxx

When Helen told me she was getting married in New york I was so excited for her, New York is one of my favourite cities in the whole world… I knew she would have an amazing time , and looking at her photoographs not only do they capture New York but real New York moments  with  Helen (and her husband) looking gob smackingly gorgeous.

I totally LOVE the first image…. Imagine….love the shoes the tattoos and the sentiment..

Helen wore our Audrey gown, it totally suited her…she looks gorgeous doesn’t she?

Here is what Helen had to say about us

“”We had a bit of a whirlwind engagement and only had 4 months to get a dress sorted, before we left to get married in New York. I knew I wanted a vintage dress, with a 50′s feel if possible, but was starting to lose hope after looking around Manchester and not seeing anything that I liked. As soon as I found the Couture Company website I knew I’d found the shop where I’d get THE dress. I’d seen the Audrey dress on the website and fell in love with it immediately, I tried on a couple of different designs in the shop, but knew it had to be Audrey.

Jo and her team were amazing throughout the whole process; they helped me design a bespoke birdcage veil and I felt like they understood my tastes and were genuinely excited about making my dress. The final dress fitted perfectly and turned out far better than I could ever expected.

Our whole wedding day was amazing and the New York skyline was the perfect back drop to my dress.

THANK YOU!!”

Photographs are copyright of Aaron Almendral

A while ago we were approached by Rock and roll bride’s Kat Williams who was styling a shoot for award winning photographer Lisa Devlin’s Photography Farm…

Photography Farm is a wonderful place where photographers go to improve and enhance their skills and knowledge and as part of it a full shoot set up is laid on….that’s where we came in in creating this decadently decaying gown inspired by Miss Havisham….the jilted bride from Dicken’s Great Expectations. We looked at decaying nature as our main influence, from skeletal forms of leaves and creatures, to fungi and decomposition, so we got to work with dyeing, embroidering, staining, manipulating and deconstructing fabrics…it was a lot of fun being so creative and exploring lots of possibilities. we were so happy with the finished gown and I think the farmers were too!

All the photographs in this article were taken by Sassy from Assassynation photography…We love them …they are dark, gorgeous and gothic!!

Thanks Sassy for letting us use your wonderful images xxxx

Nicola was such a breathe of fresh her ,

I loved her happiness and joy, and when she told me Emma Case was doing her photos I was over the moon for her…I knew Emma would capture all Nicolas joy on her special day…and look at her wedding photos…Pure Joy and happiness!!!

Congratulations to Nicola and Steve!!! What a beautiful

All Photographs are Copyright of Emma Case Photography

A few weeks ago my pal Steve Gerrard asked us to get involved and style the bride for a workshop he was hosting with world acclaimed Mexcian photographer Fer Juaristi…. I nearly bit off his hand up to the shoulder!! Fer’s work is stunning and so cinematic ….I absolutely love what he has done in these shots!!

The gown featured is our Penny gown, it can be made in any colourway, you can also see it on Our Brides page   Becky’s Winter wedding which coincidentally was shot by Steve Gerrard .

Sit back and enjoy the view…………………….

Photography is copyright of Fer Juaristi

We loved the gown we designed for Alli, it was based on our Roccoco Gown,

but as it was an early spring wedding Alli was certain she wanted sleeves, so I showed another gown that was very 1930′s inspired which had a gorgeous bishop sleeve with a deep cuff, and using those sleeves in the Roccoco gown  we had a winning combination!

As you can see the silk devore velvet had a lovely scrolling swirl pattern to it ,  and combined with the bias cutting on the skirt gave it a very organic Art Nouveau  feel .

Thanks to Alli for this lovely testimonial too xxx

“After searching endless amounts of blogs for inspiration on the right dress and also spending a morning at a place that provides something ‘off the rail’, I found The Couture Company.

Jo was amazing to work with on producing a unique dress for my wedding day and it was a style that suited me perfectly. She totally understood what I was after and any anxieties I was having about bits of my body that I didn’t necessarily want to draw attention to.

I felt like a million dollars.

Other than marrying the love of my life (of course) wearing that dress was my MOST favourite bit of the day.

Terrific. Thank you to Jo and her super team. You are all stars.

x

Thanks Jo.

Much love, Alli x”

Images are Copyright of Jonny Donnovan

but she had in her mind that she wanted a strapless gown with a little matching lace bolero…..so we got to work and came up with this pretty and elegant design.

Samantha had in her mind some green highlights and as you can see we put this beautiful emerald green silk into her belt , her petticoat and also her cute little bespoke fascinator….

We love this photograph!!

and love those Vivienne Westwood shoes!!!!!

Thanks also to Samantha for this lovely testimonial

Nikki came to us with a very specific shade of purple in mind, and so the search commenced to find a silk in that perfect shade!! after endless sample searches we found the perfect match in a beautiful Imperial silk Taffetta.

I love this image Nikki looks so happy!!!

A huge thanks for this Awesome Testimonial

”

‘I’d nearly given up on the idea of being able to wear a purple corseted wedding dress, before I came across Jo and the Couture Company.

Jo and all the staff there were really helpful, friendly and professional. They took my basic design ideas and turned them into something really special; the end result was absolutely beautiful.

The dress was so supportive and comfortable and on the day it made me feel like a true beautiful bride. Months after the wedding, people are still talking about how beautiful and unusual my wedding dress is.

Thank you so much to Jo and all the staff at The Couture Company’

Nikki

Photography courtesy of Greg Shingler Photography

Rachel and her fella Nick  went over to Las vegas to get hitched, along with a big group of family and friends and it looks like they had so much fun.

The dress that Rachel wore was our Stephie gown and we tweeked it and added a bit of red to bring it together with her wedding colours

Check out that tie!! love it!

and here is a lovely testimonial from Rachel

“As soon as I walked into the couture company I knew I had found my dress! Everything in there was so unique and beautiful I was thrilled when they said they could make the one I wanted in such a short time.

and to top it all Rachel graced the cover of Tattoo Revolution magazine in her gown!!

Big  THANKS and Congratulations Y’all xxx

Well where do I start??? I got together with my good friends Sassy from Assassynation

Assassynation

and Vikki from Liliia,

A Liliia gown , photo : Assassynation

and a couple of glasses of vino later decided that if we wanted a good alternative show, with some Badass suppliers in an awesome venue then we had to stop talking and start walking…..and there EWE have it….. with only 2 weeks to go !! EEEEEKKK

The Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza

Dorothy by The Couture Co, Photo by Steve Gerrard

The Eclectic Wedding Extravaganza was born out of a real and genuine need for an alternative wedding show, the mainstream and vintage sections of our industry are adequately catered for,,,but what if you are a geek or a goth?

Gown by Victorian Gothic , Photo Mademoiselle Chatte

inked or pinked?

Audrey gown by The Couture Co, Photo by Assassynation

a steam punk or a new punk?

Gowns by Rawhide Corsets , Photo by Assassynation

.

Fifi by The Couture Co, Photo :Assassynation

…or what if you are unique and one of a kind?

Cake by the Conjurers Kitchen

…where do you go to find wedding supplies that can be customised and created for you, your wedding and  that shows your personalities?….Well my little Flockers…you come to our show and meet some totally creative and awesome Mother Flockers…I present just some of the BAAD ass Mother Flockers

Bouquet by Beautiful Bird Creations, Photo:Daffodil Waves

Shoe decor by Revive Me Boutique, Photo by Assassynation

Restoration Cake

Ceramic styling by Cherry Pie Lane , photo by Assassynation

Steve Gerrard Photography

Ava Event styling, Photo by Steve Gerrard

Jewellery by Catriona Faulkner

Emma Lucy Photo

Stationery by Love Illustrated

If you Love this idea , then we love EWE too…get yourselves over to our website www.allaboutewe.co.uk and get your super discounted rates only £3 each

See EWE there !!! x

Cutie pie x

on their skills and get to learn from other photographers such as the wonderful Lisa Devlin,The fashion side of the shoot was styled by Miss Rock ‘n Roll bride herself Kat. Go Sparkles Go!!

The pretty lady who modelled is the amazingly talented Make up artist/ hair stylist Elbie Van Eeden.

The theme was Ice cream sprinkles so we got to work on creating the cutest ice cream inspired outfit . we could! Don’t you love our sparkly bird?

Elbie looks good enough to eat xx

P.s Check out the flower crown and Glitter Bow by Crown and Glory! Awesomeness!!

All photos are Copyright of Lisa Devlin

We had a blast on this shoot with Sassy from Assassynation  the girls from The Vintage salon,  and the lovely Greg from Mobile Ink came with his awesome mobile tattoo parlour airstream trailer

Here we have the gorgeous Kia and her ride a gorgeous red Mustang available for hire from Le Keux

and here is Diablo Rose in our Inkspired gown…

matching LOVE pillbox hat, designed and crafted by us

Kia in our Lovebird tuille gown looking super cool!! Our “Some Like it Hot ” gown , and below “Lovebird”

….and here is our Hetty coat dress in multi coloured polka dot silk organza  doing a little shimmy with the “Polly” frock….and again here is our Hetty coat dress in multicoloured polka dot silk organza