The perfect illusion

Abi fell in love with a strapless gown, but had her heart set on an illusion neckline!  Luckily, our design team came to the rescue…

When you book an appointment at any of our boutiques, the personal bridal advisor you’re assigned has one job – and that’s helping you find the dress of your dreams, even if it’s not already in our collection.

They don’t just know our collection off by heart; they also know each gown, and how our Yorkshire-based design team are able to edit it to create the perfect bespoke gown for a beautiful Elite Bride… like Abi Deighton from York!

When Abi first came to Elite Bridal, she had a strong vision in mind for the dress of her dreams – and it definitely was not strapless.

Abi knew she wanted her gown to be from Elite Bridal, but didn’t expect to say yes to the dress in her very first appointment.

She went in with an open mind but firm ideas, and immediately started chatting to her personal bridal advisor about what styles and materials she liked.  With Abi’s eager guidance, her bridal advisor was full of suggestions!

“I knew I didn’t want a princess style, but I wanted to try one on!” Abi admits.  “After that, I tried various more fitted styles.  With each dress I tried on, I gave feedback on what I liked and didn’t.  And each dress I tried I liked more than the previous one…”

Then Abi’s bridal advisor threw in a curveball.

“The fifth or sixth dress I tried was a strapless gown, which I’d specifically said I didn’t want,” she says.  “But the bridal advisor reassured me, and I tried it on anyway.”

Abi got a bit of a shock when she tried on the gown she definitely didn’t want.  “I absolutely loved everything about it – it fit perfectly and I felt amazing!” she says,  “I loved everything about it… apart from the fact it was strapless.”

With Abi adamant she wanted an illusion neckline, the bridal advisor was quick to explain her choice.

With our design team based right here in Yorkshire, Elite Bridal’s seamstresses could make bespoke alterations to give this strapless gown Abi’s dream illusion neckline, and they would do it using the exact lace from her gown.  It really would be the perfect illusion – no-one would ever know the difference!

“I was so surprised it was possible!” says Abi.  “My bridal advisor used another piece of material to show me what it would look like when finished, and my decision was made – when you know, you know.  I was so excited I even video called my maid of honour in Spain!”

After that, Abi’s fittings were a dream.  She chatted to a member of our design team, who made the custom illusion neckline from pieces of lace to match the original strapless gown, then also added buttons to make Abi’s dream look complete.

Abi had several fittings to make sure she was completely happy with her new neckline and that everything fit her comfortably.  Then she was ready for her simple church wedding and reception at the Pavillion in York!

“Everything about the day went perfectly to plan, and we had the best time,” Abi says.

“The added lace was sewn onto the dress, but you couldn’t even see where it had been attached.  Nobody knew there was extra material added, but I knew my dress was one of a kind.

“I’m so grateful to Elite Bridal for helping me find my perfect wedding dress and making it bespoke to me.  Thank you!”

So if you find a gown you love in any of our boutiques, but find yourself wishing you could tweak somehow… please don’t hesitate to speak to one of our bridal advisors or seamstresses!

To find out more about our bespoke alterations, visit https://elite-bridal.com/design-room/