The AH team have always been big fans of Elizabeth Lails work and were absolutely thrilled when Elizabeth started to follow us on Instagram. Despite the distance, with us being in London and Elizabeth in New York we knew we would absolutely love to create a beautiful dress for Elizabeth’s special day. Andrea reached out […]
The AH team have always been big fans of Elizabeth Lails work and were absolutely thrilled when Elizabeth started to follow us on Instagram. Despite the distance, with us being in London and Elizabeth in New York we knew we would absolutely love to create a beautiful dress for Elizabeth’s special day. Andrea reached out on Instagram and our journey with Elizabeth blossomed from there!
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“I had been following Andrea on Instagram, admiring her work when she reached out to me. I took her reaching out as a sort of sign. Her energy was so supportive, and she made it all happen an ocean away. All of her dresses were so beautiful.”
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The Initial Meeting…
Zoom became our best friend over this time, we had our initial video consultation to discuss designs and details that Elizabeth liked. From here Andrea, Elizabeth and our team choose some collection pieces to send to Elizabeths home in New York to try on. This allowed Elizabeth to try our beautiful silks and try a variety of shapes, necklines and details helping to curate our ideas for a bespoke piece.
“It was such an exciting process—a load of dresses would arrive at my door. Andrea would also send over British tea so I could pretend like I was in London at her shop”
Design Meeting…
All of our video meetings with Elizabeth were so much fun and we instantly formed a natural connection. We admired Elizabeth’s clear vision for her wedding dress design. The aim was to create a dress that would make Elizabeth feel at ease, grounded and joyful.
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“As I started looking [for dresses], I realized that a sense of comfort and ease was most important to me. I wanted to feel joyful and grounded so I could connect with my loved ones”
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Our ‘Wallace’ dress from our Identity Collection had many features that Elizabeth loved. We worked with elements of this style to create a fully bespoke made to measure design with all fittings to take place remotely over video call with our talented team.
Measuring & Toile Fittings…
Whilst our remote fittings were somewhat unconventional we made sure each fitting felt incredibly special and just like Elizabeth was with us in our London studio. Elizabeth had wonderful friends and family on hand to help with measuring, pinning and fitting with the full guidance of our pattern cutter and fitter Laurie over video call. There were also a few furry helpers along the way…
“Fittings were often taken over by all of our cats! Both myself, Laurie (our pattern cutter), and Elizabeth have cats who were very interested in fitting calls! An extra challenge? Measuring with a cat in the way!”
Initial measurements were taken and Elizabeth’s dress pattern was made to measure. Our production team Laurie, Rebecca, Beata & Sophie made a toile (cotton prototype) which we sent to Elizabeth to try on. This allowed Elizabeth and our team to assess shaping, fit and details such as neckline height. The toile fitted beautifully and we were all so excited to see the design take shape.
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Silk Fittings…
The next step was to make Elizabeth’s beautiful design in her chosen fabric – a matte sand wash silk, a gorgeous heavy weight silk that flows effortlessly over the body. Elizabeth received her dress at home and we proceeded to carry out silk fittings guiding over zoom, we finalised the hem with Elizabeth’s shoes and checked the final fit throughout. The dress was then finished with delicate handmade silk buttons which were a key element to the design.
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The Wedding Day…
Elizabeth’s dress was finished to perfection, pressed and packaged beautifully and shipped to New York ready for their special day. A heavy weight matte silk bespoke wedding dress with handmade buttons, deep v-neckline and elegant three quarter length sleeves. We just loved the addition of a centre split for some playful movement! Elizabeth looked absolutely stunning and we could not have been happier to work with such a trusting, creative and talented bride.
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“There was an ease that came with the dress, it was important for me to still feel like myself. It made me feel like the woman I am becoming.”
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Elizabeth and Nieku married on the 24th April 2021 at the stunning Hasbrouk House in Stone Ridge, New York. A very nostalgic and special venue for the couple who spent their first anniversary together at the venue.
Their day was a dreamy romanic spring wedding with close friends and family, it was captured by the extremely talented photographers Forged in The North.
Congratulations to the beautiful couple and thank you Elizabeth for choosing to work with us on your dress, we absolutely loved our journey together!
To find read more about Elizabeths dress making process head on over to Brides – Behind the Scenes: Elizabeth Lail’s Wedding Dress Came to Life on Zoom Thanks to Andrea Hawkes
If you’d love to see more of Elizabeth & Nieku’s wedding day you can see more on Brides – Actress Elizabeth Lail and Partner Nieku Manshadi’s Intimate Spring Wedding
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Start your AH Journey Now
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Whether you are able to visit our showroom or live an ocean away our team are here to help you find the perfect design for your special day!
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