Load more
0439 522 345
Bespoke Wedding Gowns
Bespoke Wedding Gowns
We were so excited to take part of Wedding Upmarket’s annual styled shoot which has been published on bridal blog, Nouba. Featuring some of Perth’s best wedding vendors, this shoot was what wedding dreams are made of ~ incredible styling and colourful blooms that go pop! And the dreamy location of Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club shows off the best of what Perth has to offer.
The mood board for this shoot was very exciting with vibrant colour, bold styling and ornate detail so we decided to opt for a minimal gown with a little bit of bling. Our ‘Lorilee’ gown was the perfect fit, the crepe bias-cut sheath style wedding dress features hand embellished shoulders and an eye-catching low v-back. We worked with the girls from the Pretty Parlour to create a bridal look that complimented the gown and the styled setting. Sasha, our model, had a pop of colour on her lips (to match the bold blooms) and a sleek up-do which worked will with our Lorilee wedding dress.
Images Christine Lim | Venue Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club | Stylist Flights of Fancy by Kristy | Florist Freek Florals | Furniture/decor M Events Hire | Tableware Side Serve | Breezeblock backdrop Bryan Was Here | Stationery Armila & Co | Desserts Caviar Catering | Cakes Posh Little Cakes | Gelato Cart That Little Gelato Cart | Bride’s dress Elvi Design | Hair & Makeup The pretty Parlour | Celebrant/DJ The Wedding Host| Videographer Freo Fox | Event Wedding Upmarket |
We were so lucky to be apart of the recent Wedding Upmarket styled shoot, our pieces were set against the creative styling of some of West Australia’s best wedding vendors. The shoot featured recently engaged couple, Anni & Tim, there is nothing better than a real life couple who are obviously in love! The styled shoot has also recently been featured on Australian bridal blog Nouba, click here to check it out.
Wedding Upmarket is on this weekend, Saturday 6th May from 10am to 3pm, at The University of UWA. You will find a bunch of hand-picked local vendors that will inspire you to start planning your wedding!
Our new collection will be available to view on the day and will also be worn by models roaming the venue. If you are wondering what my thoughts are on finding the perfect dress you can ask me on the day or you’ll also find my advice on the Wedding Upmarket blog, click here to take a look.
For now, I’ll let the photos do the talking and get you excited about the upcoming Wedding Upmarket!
Images Fields & Skies Photography | Event Wedding Upmarket | Location Tropical Grove, UWA | Styling & Stationery Marielle Studio | Flowers A Little Bohemia | Food Caviar Catering | Furniture M Events & Hire |Heart Strings Hire & Style | Bryan Was Here | Tableware Hire Society | Lighting Synapse Events | Cake Posh Little Cakes | Bridal gowns Elvi Design | Groom’s suit Suited for Him | Hair The Pretty Parlour | Makeup Kristy Ellis | Crown Halo the Label | Ring Bespoke By Briarne | Videographer The Bride Atlas | Celebrant Kiss Me You Fool |
What a day! We set up shop at One Fine Day Perth for the second year in a row and it was a huge success! Once again, One Fine Day pulled off the best bridal runway event in Perth. We showed a few of our new designs on the One Fine Day catwalk and met lots of gorgeous ‘bride-to-be’s’ at our stand. Thanks to everyone that stopped by to say hi!
We even had our gorgeous Elvi bride, Jess, slip into her own wedding gown for the event. A big thank you to Nic for her hair and Rochelle for her make-up.
Photography by Amanda Alessi
We’ve been a part of Wedding Upmarket, a local Perth bridal fair, for the past six years. It’s always been a great event that offers brides a relaxed environment to meet local wedding vendors and chat with them about their upcoming wedding.
This year Wedding Upmarket introduced the ‘Wedding Insider Sessions’. Each session was hosted by Ann Lord and touched on a different category, whether it be photography or event hire. I was grateful to have the opportunity to be the ‘Wedding Insider’ for the wedding gown category and share my expert advice on wedding dresses. If you missed my session, you’ll find my notes for the interview below the photos of this blog post.
This year we also had Elvi Brides Michelle and Sam hop back into their gowns for the morning. Our brides were such a hit with bride-to-be’s, it’s so nice to see real women in their custom wedding gowns and we just love catching up with the girls and hearing all about their wedding and honeymoon!
A huge thank you to Kailah from Elegant Edge and Kristy from Kristy Ellis Makeup Artist for doing the hair and make-up for our Elvi brides. Jane and Jones Flower Co. provided the beautiful flowers.
Images by Lola Images
Images from our Instagram Account
If you purchase a made-to-measure gown you can expect to have your body measurements taken and then have your wedding gown made to fit your body shape. At Elvi Design, we use your measurements to create a calico for your first fitting which is essentially a ‘mock-up’ of your gown. This will then be used as a pattern for your custom made wedding gown and so the process of a bespoke wedding gown begins.
If you select a gown ‘off-the-rack’, it means you select a size closest to your body measurements and then when the gown arrives, you will need to arrange alterations to ensure the gown fits you properly. A lot of brides underestimate the cost of alterations, I have known of brides to spend between $500 to $1000 on alterations which can be a rude shock if you don’t factor it into your initial dress budget.
At Elvi Design we provide each bride with a quote that is all-inclusive. It will include your fittings, materials and there is no need to worry about pesky alteration fees.
It’s one of the most exciting parts of your wedding so by all means, start looking the moment you get engaged. Go and try on a few gowns (but don’t overwhelm yourself), feel out what you like and what suits you. It will also be a great way to get an idea of what a wedding dress is worth. But then, I suggest you take some time to think about it, do some thorough research and consider which process you’d like to undertake – ‘made-to-measure’ or ‘off-the-rack’.
Our brides will come and see us anywhere from 18 months to 6 months before their wedding. We will discuss their ideas, they can try on our samples and then we will sketch up a design to suit them. They will then book their spot and we will start on their gown 6 months before the wedding. If you leave it until 6 months before your wedding, you may not be able to get in with your chosen designer.
If you select an ‘off-the-rack’ gown, from what I understand, you are also best off ordering six months before your wedding as you will have access to the entire selection on offer at a bridal store. If you have less than six months, it’s likely that you’ll have a limited selection to choose from and you may have to pay a ‘rush fee’ in order to get your gown in time. You might also have the option of selecting a ‘sample’ gown in which you will then also be limited by the sizing of the samples.
I would always suggest making an appointment, most bridal studios are by appointment only. We are and the main reason why is because when we’re not seeing clients we are actually in the studio bringing our client’s wedding gowns to life. We need to manage our time very effectively to ensure we keep up with our busy workload.
I would suggest visiting a max of 2 bridal stores in one day. Any more than that and it’s likely you’ll forget what you’ve tried on and feel overwhelmed by the choices.
In terms of who to take, you need to think about who is going to listen to you and be supportive of your decisions. You don’t want Aunt Betty picking on your posture or your sister-in-law comparing every gown to her own wedding gown. I’ve heard it all! This day is all about you as cliché as it sounds and you want to enjoy the process. Your best bet, is your Mum, sister or best friend. If I was to be really honest, I’d limit it to a max of 2 people. Once you’ve made your decision, then bring along the entire bridal party if you wish.
I think ultimately the key to the whole process is keeping it as relaxed as possible. Make sure you feel good (do your hair and make-up), put nice neutral underwear on as it’s likely you’ll be trying on gowns, make arrangements for lunch or afternoon tea with whoever you take with you. It’s much more fun if you make a day of it and have a bit of fun! You might even want a glass of sparkling to celebrate along the way!
You don’t hear this very often but I really do believe that every bride knows what suits them, they might need some guidance but usually they’re on the right track. I suggest brides have a think about their own personal style… are you relaxed & bohemian? Pretty and romantic with a love of vintage frocks? Clean and minimal? Each time I meet a bride I observe their personality and ask a lot of questions about their wedding to get an idea of their style.
Obviously it’s always a good idea to try on some gowns and make sure it suits you but if you’re not able to, enlist the help of an expert and they’ll be able to guide you through the dress design process.
Eeeeep, this is a tricky question! (And yes, we get asked this all the time. For us, we ask our brides to talk to us about the intentions so we can schedule their fittings accordingly. As I’ve mentioned before, we start on our brides gowns six months before their wedding and we ask that our brides are within a couple of kilos of their goal weight by their second fitting. The reason why is that the moment the boning and the lace go into their gown, it becomes very difficult to alter their gown. Ultimately, if you’re planning on losing weight, try and get to your goal weight before you start the process of a made-to-measure gown or your alterations appointment if you purchase a gown off the rack.
So important! We encourage our brides to ensure they have a good strapless bra or torsolette from the very beginning. For bride’s with low backs or plunging necklines we’ll add bust cups. Changing your underwear half way through the process can change the fit of your wedding gown. We provide a lot of advice to our brides and ask that they bring their underwear and shoes to their first fitting.
It really depends on what style you’re after and where you purchase your gown from. If you opt to buy a gown online or buy a designer gown (that’s not essentially a wedding gown) from Myer or DJ’s, you can expect to pay up to $1500.
Low-end, mainstream bridal stores will offer a range of off-the-rack gowns from $1500 to $3000.
Mid-range bridal stores and made-to-measure bridal designers will offer gowns from $2,500 to $5,000.
High-end bridal stores and couture bridal designers will offer gowns from $5,000 to $10,000.
Just remember you need to allow for alterations when you purchase off-the-rack.
It depends. If it’s direct from China, probably not, you don’t know what you’re going to get. But look, if it’s a steal and you don’t mind taking a risk, go for it! If it’s a reputable brand that has an Australian head office, it’s probably a bit more trustworthy but I guess like all things, it’s so much better if you can touch and feel what you’re purchasing. If you buy something online, be prepared to get it altered and I know a lot of dressmakers that won’t touch gowns from China because they are bad quality and more trouble than they’re worth.
I’ve had a few brides that have bought a gown online and then given up and come to see me. They will often show me pictures of what they thought they were buying and what they ended up with. The bonus is, when they come to see me, they feel our fabrics, try our gowns on and they can see the quality of their work so they know it’s worth spending the money on having a gown custom made to suit them.
Yes, we do. We often make veils and lace headpieces to our brides requirements. We’ve even made flower girl dresses to match our bride’s gowns.
We had a wonderful day at the recent Perth Vintage Bride Fair at Perth Town Hall. Bride-to-be’s were able to take a look at our sample gowns and have a chat with our team. The response was fantastic!
We also had three of our real brides (Ashleigh, Naomi and Kate) slip back into their wedding dress for the event! We had the lovely Chloe from Milla Makeup do their make-up and Bianca from B. Hair create their gorgeous hair-do’s. We completed their outfits with beautiful flowers by Ruby Tree Creative.
The folk at Vintage Bride sure know how to pull together an eclectic fair that’s perfect for the bride looking for something different! Thanks for having us!
Images of our models by Peggy Saas Photography Make-up: Chloe for Milla Makeup Hair: B. Hair
Flowers: Ruby Tree Creative
Following images by Sarah O’Flanagan
We’ve been doing Wedding Upmarket since the very beginning in 2011. We just love meeting bride-to-be’s in the relaxed environment this alternative bridal fair provides.
This time we worked with Pretty Willow to create our stand. We opted for pretty pastels and vintage props, it worked perfectly with our gowns!
We had two real brides model their wedding gowns, Gaenor and Lisa. A big thank you to Greasepaint Artistry for their make-up, Kirra’s Hair for their hair and Botanica Naturalis for providing their stunning bouquets!
Images by Jason Tey Photography
And some snaps from our Instagram account, for more follow @elvidesign !!
We took our next 2015 collection ‘Bloom & Revel’ to Perth Town Hall as part of the Vintage Bride Fair. It was our first fair for the year and we had a great day meeting with bride-to-be’s and catching up with fellow vendors.
We had three Elvi brides – Hannah, Emily and Jaymie, slip into their wedding dress again and they were a huge hit with the visitors at the bridal fair. They each received so many lovely compliments and looked absolutely gorgeous thanks to Lisa from the Milla Makeup team. Their outfits were completed with fresh blooms by the clever girls at Rose & Bud.
Our beautiful stand was created with props from Curio Warehouse.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped out, our beautiful models and of course, those of you who visited us!
Images by Christine Lim Photography
A few snaps from the Elvi Design Instagram account, click here to follow us…
The August Wedding Upmarket was one of the best and that’s saying something because we’ve been doing this bridal fair since 2011! It was such a great day meeting with lots of new brides and catching up with so many talented local wedding vendors. My little set-up was styled by my dear friend Jess from The Butcher, The Baker, The Stylist & Creator, vintage props by Curio Warehouse and made pretty with blooms created by Jane at Ivy Flowers. Our delicate lace gowns looked so pretty with the light behind them. Thanks for the top spot Wedding Upmarket!
We also had two lovely models wearing our gowns for the day, thank you Davina (a past Elvi bride) and Michelle. It was great to catch up with you both! There is a lot of work involved in preparing the models, so I’d like to thank the wonderful hair and make-up stylists involved Make Up By Kristy and Margareth Hair & Make-up, Willie Creek Pearls for providing the jewellery and Botanica Naturalis for the dreamy bouquets.
If you didn’t make it to this event, keep an eye out, Wedding Upmarket is sure to host another event next May!
Images by Jason Tey Photography
We had such a great response at the recent Wedding Upmarket. If you couldn’t make it, here’s your chance to experience some of the action! We had two of our real brides, Kate & Carmen, and model Michelle on the runway wearing Elvi Design gowns, Olive Farm Design headpieces and Ivy bouquets. The crowd were in love with the beautiful lace work and the soft, romantic feel of the gowns.
The girls were ‘prettied up’ by a team of hair and make-up artists. Hair by Lana Smith of Atelier No. 25. Make-up by Cherie Nicole and Emily Moore. It was a busy day for our models because they also had the chance to take part in a mini photoshoot by photographer Hannah of Lola Images. Take a look below to see the final images!
Whilst there was so much action on the catwalk, we also had a stand at the event where we could ‘meet and greet’ brides. It was so lovely to catch up with some of our previous and current brides, not to mention meet new brides as well! We were a part of the ‘Coastal Collaboration’ which was captured by Jason Tey Photography. We shared a space with Olive Farm Designs with the aim of creating a creative bridal wear space. It came together beautifully.
We hope to see you at the next Wedding Upmarket in August!
We are oh so excited about our first bridal fair for the year! Not only are we teaming up with Olive Farm Designs to create a beautiful bridal wear space, we will also have two real brides on the catwalk wearing their own Elvi Design wedding gowns!
It’s such a great opportunity to pop by and say hi. In fact, we have a special offer just for Wedding Upmarket attendees, so make sure you grab a card!
You can view the full exhibitor gallery here.
