Why be a princess when you could be a queen?

Beautiful bride Amanda was sure she wanted a princess gown, but after trying on countless gowns she was losing the will to shop…

“In my mind, the dress was always a ballgown or princess dress,” says Amanda.

“Despite trying a million on, I hadn’t fallen in love with anything.  Nothing grabbed me and made me feel special.”

After a long and fruitless hunt across many different bridal stores, Amanda visited one of our boutiques, along with her mum and bridesmaids.

“Again, I tried on princess dress after princess dress… but I didn’t fall in love.

“Then my bridal advisor suggested I try something different.  She suggested a more fitted, mermaid-style dress would fit my figure amazingly.  One of my bridesmaids agreed and instantly chose a dress for me to try on…”

Amanda stared at the gown on the hanger, and wasn’t at all sold.  “Initially I hated it to look at,” she admits.  “I didn’t like the colour – it was blush – and I didn’t like that it was strapless.  But I agreed to try it on, just to keep them quiet!”

No sooner had Amanda slipped into the mermaid gown than she realised she couldn’t have been more wrong – the dress was everything she’d been looking for – even though it was nothing she’d been looking for!

“It fit amazingly.  I felt like a queen.  I felt beautiful.  And I was beaming,” Amanda remembers.

“I came out of the changing room to show everyone, and they could all see by my face that I’d found the one!”

To complete the moment, both Amanda’s mum and her maid of honour immediately burst into tears.

Amanda felt incredible in her dredss – so much so she didn’t want to take it off.  But there was still one problem…

While she’d done a U-turn on the silhouette she wanted, there was part of the original dream dress Amanda wasn’t ready to forget about.

“I had my heart set on a keyhole back, but the dress I’d now fallen in love with didn’t have one,” Amanda explains.  “It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline.”

Our bridal team were quick to put Amanda’s mind at rest.  Because Amanda’s dress had been designed by our own in-house design team, our seamstresses had access to the exact lace that made up the rest of the gown and offered to make Amanda a special bespoke addition to her bodice.

“She told me I could purchase the matching lace and have a custom keyhole back put in!” says Amanda.  “Once I knew that, my mind was made up!”

But Amanda’s dress stresses weren’t quite over yet.

“When I came for my first fitting, I was devastated – I’d lost too much weight!  The dress no longer fitted me snugly, and it no longer flattered my figure.  I’d lost so much weight, in fact, that I needed the dress resizing from a size 16 to a size 12.”

Amanda started to panic, but her seamstress came to the rescue.

“She was so honest with me,” says Amanda.  “She told me that to have her alter the dress that much would cost a fortune, and that it would be much more sensible to swap the dress for an actual size 12 – which I did right away for just the small restocking fee.”

Once Amanda had her dress in her size, the seamstress started her work right away.  Amanda returned for two more fittings to make sure the bespoke alterations were perfect.  By her final fitting, the keyhole back was complete!

“The seamstress was really professional, friendly, and most of all made me feel completely at ease,” Amanda recalls.

At her final fitting, she finished her gown off with the perfect accessories – a tiara, a veil, and even a custom sparkly belt.

“I cannot express how much I fell in love with my custom dress – and with all the accessories too,” says Amanda.  “I was so happy and excited that I had butterflies.  It honestly was just perfect – not only the dress, but the service I received was outstanding.”

Amanda simply couldn’t wait to wear her perfect bespoke gown down the aisle.

“On my wedding day, I can hand on heart say I’ve never felt so beautiful,” she says.  “My dress is one of a kind, and that magical seamstress truly made the day.”

If you find a gown you love in any of our boutiques and are interested in bespoke alterations to really make it your own, please don’t hesitate to ask a bridal advisor or seamstress.  The fact that every gown you’ll try at an Elite Bridal boutique was designed by our own amazing team means there are some amazing possibilities – and more than anything we want you to feel like a queen on your big day!

To book an appointment at any of our stores in Hull, Castleford or – as of the 21st – our brand new Brighouse boutique, visit https://elite-bridal.com/booking/