Shopping for your wedding dress is an exciting task, but it can also be stressful! Going from one bridal boutique to another, browsing through hundreds of different style dress trying to find ‘the one’. Having your wedding dress made especially for you eliminates a lot of this process. Have you always had a picture of how your wedding dress will look in your head? Well then why not create it with the helping hand of a wedding dress designer! Charlotte Wilden of Wilden Bride London can help you do just that…
1. Charlotte, How would you describe a Wilden London bride?
A Wilden Bride is somebody who doesn’t fit into the bridal mould, she is unique and dares to be different – to be herself!
2. What is the process in a bride having a bespoke wedding dress made by you?
At the first consultation with me, we’ll look through a scrap book of ideas that I will ask a bride to put together – these can also be shared online so I can accumulate some ideas before we meet. We will discuss inspirations, silhouettes, fabrics, embellishments and costs. I will then hide away and sketch some initial ideas to help the bride visualize the dress designs I am proposing. Measurements will be taken and drafting the patterns will begin. Up to a certain point, ideas and designs can be further built upon, the great thing about a bespoke dress is that it evolves, and really brings out the creativity in the bride. Depending on the style of the dress two or more fittings will be required. A mock of the dress will be made to check fit, and establish design features and their positioning, before being cut in fine fabrics.
3. How did you stumble upon dress designing?
I trained in costume design, and while being able to create wonderful things – they were quickly discarded for the next costume. A bridal gown is treasured forever!
4. What would be your one piece of advice for a bride when choosing her wedding dress?
Don’t worry about being timeless, because timeless is impossible. Every dress has it’s era, and it’s great to show the age that you lived and loved in. Be yourself, and show off your personality.
5. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I rarely have free time (but I don’t mind because I love my job), but when I do, I try to go to dance classes. I used to dance when I was younger, so take classes in latin and ballroom. I like to try out styles that I didn’t do too, like tap dance.
6. The place you most love in the world would be?
I was grew up in Suffolk in the UK, and it really is my true home. It’s so familiar, yet when I visit I realise how pretty it is! But it is very quiet, and I wouldn’t have the opportunities to make bridal gowns in the same way that I do in London.
7. If you hadn’t become a designer you would have been…
I nearly became a radiologist, but I hated the way in which the hospital departments were run, and the teaching that you receive is enough only to tick the boxes. I felt that I could not be a part of that. I also realised that I would never be happy if I wasn’t able to focus on being creative!
8. A bride should never….
Choose a dress because it makes her look skinny. It’s true that there are shapes and designs that can be more flattering for one bride than the next, but this comes from RTW dresses, which come in standard proportions. It is my theory that in having a bespoke dress, any style can be tailored to suit any body shape, with just a few additions or changes. You can have anything you want.
Charlotte is the lady behind Wilden Bride London a bridal wear designer known for her intricately-made bespoke creations, combining her experiences in costume with high fashion to create a style which is fashionably quirky and elegantly glamorous, inspired by vintage and historical influences. Charlotte is able to make your bridal experience effortless and exciting.
