Real Bride: Luciarna’s Designer Inspired Custom-Made Wedding Dress

When you’ve found the dress but the price is out of reach, it can be hard to let go. But what if you could recreate the look you love and make it your own?

The designer gown you can’t stop thinking about doesn’t have to remain a dream. Discover how a custom-made wedding dress can bring your favourite design to life—without the designer price tag.

How It Started

For Luciarna, finding the right wedding dress she loved was particularly important. Having been married before, she remembered all too well the disappointment of her first wedding dress and the regret of settling for something she didn’t truly want.

“I hated the wedding dress I had when I was young and I regret not picking what I wanted and settling.” — Luciarna

This time, she was determined to get it right. She had discovered a designer wedding gown that she instantly fell in love with—it was the one.

But there was one major obstacle: the designer price tag was far beyond what she could afford to spend. With couture wedding gowns often costing tens of thousands of dollars, Luciarna began looking for another way to create the dress she had always wanted.

Her answer was a custom-made wedding dress.

In June 2022, Luciarna contacted us about creating her dream gown. However, there was an additional challenge—she was six months pregnant, with her wedding scheduled for March 2023.

She wanted a fitted silhouette and was understandably concerned about having her measurements taken while pregnant, then achieving the right fit after giving birth.

Luciarna’s baby was due in October, and ideally, she hoped to have her measurements taken in January 2023. However, waiting until then would leave insufficient time to create a highly detailed custom gown, which is made from scratch and involves extensive hand craftsmanship.

We generally recommend ordering a custom-made wedding dress 6–8 months before the wedding, although some designers and dressmakers may require up to 12 months.

Fortunately, Luciarna typically wears an Australian size 10–12 and knew from her previous pregnancies that she typically returned to her pre-pregnancy size within a few months. Taking this into consideration, we recommended ordering her gown one size larger. This provided some flexibility for any remaining post-pregnancy changes while allowing our alteration tailors to alter the dress down for her final fitting.

When it comes to bridal alterations, it is generally easier to take a dress in than to make a smaller gown larger. For Luciarna, this approach gave her the flexibility she needed while allowing us to begin creating her dream dress within the required time frame.

The Inspiration

Luciarna fell in love with the “Estelle” wedding gown by Galia Lahav, a dramatic and intricately embellished mermaid design.

The original gown features a sheer silhouette with sparkling beaded fishnet, delicate beaded fringe, hand-embroidered floral details, a plunging V-neckline, low back and detachable sleeves. Its combination of sensuality, sparkle and intricate craftsmanship immediately captured Luciarna’s attention.

While we deeply respect the creativity and craftsmanship of the original designer, we do not duplicate another designer’s wedding gown. Instead, we use the design that inspires you as a starting point, drawing on the elements you love to create a bespoke gown that is uniquely yours.

For Luciarna, this meant identifying the features she loved about the original Estelle gown and discussing the changes she wanted to make. Together, we refined the design to reflect her personal style and preferences while creating a silhouette that would flatter her figure, comfortable as well as her personal preferences. 

The Fabric

One of the features Luciarna loved most about the original gown was its distinctive gridded fabric. She wanted a fabric with a similar look and feel for her custom wedding dress, while understanding that sourcing an exact match could be challenging.

We explained that we could not guarantee the identical fabric, but would do our best to find a close alternative that captured the essence of the original.

Luciarna had a very clear vision and had gathered numerous inspiration images to communicate both what she loved and what she wanted to avoid. In particular, she didn’t want glitter or sequins, overly sparse fabric patterns, or a strongly yellow-beige lining.

After considering her preferences, we proposed a beautiful beaded mesh with a distinctive gridded pattern, which closely captured the aesthetic she was looking for while allowing us to create a gown that was uniquely hers.

Main Fabric

Once the main fabric was selected, we chose the complementary materials needed to bring Luciarna’s design together, including the lining, illusion tulle and lace appliqués.

Neckline – Illusion Tulle

A fine layer of illusion tulle was incorporated into the plunging neckline to provide subtle support and stability while maintaining the design's sheer, barely-there appearance.

We selected a “wheat” coloured tulle, a popular choice for illusion necklines, sleeves and backs because its neutral tone blends naturally with a wide range of skin tones, creating a seamless effect against the skin.

Nude tulle for nude illusion neckline.

 

Lace Applique

The lace appliqué embellishes the bodice, sleeves, and skirt.

Luciarna was thrilled with her choice of beaded fabric and floral appliqués and gave us the go-ahead to begin production. With the key design elements finalized, her dream wedding dress was officially ready to take shape. Exciting times were ahead!

In Production Photos

Let’s take a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Luciarna’s custom wedding dress, from the initial preparation through to the finished gown.

Before production begins, we confirm all design details and fabric selections. The process then moves through pattern making, mock-ups and the careful construction of the gown, with progress photos shared along the way so the bride can follow her dress as it takes shape.

The Mock-Up

The first stage of production is creating a mock-up of the gown’s silhouette. This preliminary version allows us to assess the overall shape, proportions and fit before cutting into the final fabrics.

It is an important step in the custom-made process, giving us the opportunity to refine the silhouette and ensure the design reflects what the bride envisioned before moving on to the final gown.

Bodice Fabric Layers

Once the dress mock-up was approved, we presented Luciarna with several options for layering the fabrics. She was unsure how sheer she wanted the gown to be and how different lining colours would appear beneath the beaded gridded fabric.

We discussed the option of lining only the bodice or skirt, but because the outer fabric was naturally quite sheer, we recommended incorporating a lining to provide appropriate coverage while maintaining the desired look.

To help Luciarna make her decision, we created a visual sample of the beaded gridded fabric layered over light ivory tulle. Seeing the combination in person allowed her to better understand the level of sheerness and contrast before we proceeded with the final gown.

Creating the Right Level of Coverage

The original Galia Lahav “Estelle” gown was designed without a lining, creating a much sheerer and more revealing look. For her custom gown, Luciarna wanted a more modest and elegant appearance, so we incorporated a nude-coloured lining beneath the beaded fabric to provide additional coverage while preserving the overall aesthetic.

Luciarna was also unsure how sheer she wanted the skirt to be. To help her visualize the options, we created a fabric sample showing the beaded outer layer positioned over the underlay. This allowed her to compare the different layering combinations and confidently choose the level of sheerness she preferred for her finished gown.

Lace Appliques Layout

Our dressmakers carefully arranged the lace appliqués across the gown and temporarily pinned each piece in place. This allowed Luciarna to review the placement and make any final adjustments before the appliqués were permanently hand-sewn onto the dress.

Luciarna requested a few changes to the placement and removal of certain lace appliqués, which we adjusted accordingly to better reflect her preference.

Once the changes were made, we presented the completed skirt silhouette with the lace appliqués in place for Luciarna’s final confirmation before proceeding with the next stage of production.

The Finished Production Photos

After months of careful planning, detailed discussions and meticulous craftsmanship, Luciarna’s custom-made wedding dress was finally complete.

Throughout the production process, we kept Luciarna involved by sharing progress photos for her review and approval. Once the gown was finished, we sent her the final production photos—and she was thrilled with the result.

Now, all that remained was the moment she had been waiting for: her first fitting, where she would finally see her dream wedding dress come to life in person for the very first time.

The Bride's First Fitting

When Luciarna arrived for her first wedding dress fitting, the moment was finally here. Having given birth just a few months earlier in October 2022, she was amazed by how much her body had changed and how beautifully the gown came together.

Seeing the dress on her for the first time was an emotional moment. What had once been a vision inspired by a designer gown had become a beautiful reality—and Luciarna couldn’t have been happier with the result. It also reminded her of her first wedding dress and reinforced just how glad she was that she had chosen not to settle this time.

The gown was slightly snug in certain areas, so our in-house tailors recommended making a small adjustment to the in-seam allowance for greater comfort and ease of movement.

By her second fitting, our tailors had worked their magic, carefully refining the gown to achieve a comfortable, flattering and beautifully finished fit for Luciarna.

The bride's second fitting after alterations completed: fit to perfection

The Bride's Big Day

Radiant in her custom-made dream gown #WeddingDayBliss

The dress of her dreams + the man of her dreams. Luciarna's happily ever after. 

The Bride's Feedback

"Thank you for your help in bringing my vision to life. Everyone said it was the most beautiful wedding dress!" - Luciarna Cox

Get In Touch

Your Dream Dress Is Within Reach.

Sometimes, the wedding dress you fall in love with is simply outside your budget—but that doesn’t mean you have to give up on the vision.

If there’s a designer gown you can’t stop thinking about, we can work with you to create a bespoke custom wedding dress inspired by the elements you love, while incorporating your own style, preferences and personal touches. Rather than simply replicating an existing design, we create something uniquely yours—a gown that complements you and makes you feel incredible on your wedding day.

Your dream dress doesn’t have to remain a dream.

Let’s create a one-of-a-kind gown that brings your vision to life.

Get in touch with us to tell us about your dream dress and start your custom-made wedding dress journey.