Designer Clothing Fabric & Dressmaking, Couture: Italian Material, French Lace

Our expert bridal couturiers are available upon request to create the ideal bridal gown/wedding dress you've always dreamed of - or should you need assistance with the design, one developed to suit your individuality and flatter your figure - because on your wedding day you are what is most important...you are The Bride!

We take our part in your wedding very seriously. Your bridal gown and how you feel on the day wearing it are the most important things, so nothing can be left to chance. The combination of the most beautiful silks and French laces in the world, made by trusted and highly trained bridal couturiers guarantees that you will shine on your wedding day - confidence radiating from within, because you are looking your loveliest.

Only three of our seven seamstresses qualify for bridal couture. All three have worked for a number of the top bridal houses (mostly the exclusive ones found along High Street, Armadale), and are so talented that as a result they are able to work full-time, independently. There is a high level of technical expertise required to work competently in the areas of lace work, beading, embroidery, drapery, couture pattern-making and corsetry, which only years of hands-on experience can afford a seamstress. This, teamed with a love for delicate work and superfine finishing techniques, defines a true bridal couturier. d'Italia is proud to have on-hand three talented ladies who are extremely competent and professional, to guarantee your gown is exceptional, unique and perfect for you.

As you may have already found, most things wedding-related are booked up to one year in advance. Excellent bridal dressmakers are no exception. It is not uncommon for brides to book our bridal couturiers 12 to 18 months in advance of their wedding date, to ensure that nothing is left to chance. This does not mean that their gowns are started on straight away - it is simply a precaution to ensure that their names are in the seamstress' diary for when they need the gown finished - when the gown is actually started is up to the bride. Furthermore, seamstresses will only book in four or five brides to be finished in each month, so it is not uncommon for a seamstress to stop taking advance bookings once a month is "fully booked" with four or five finish dates. As such, if your wedding falls anywhere within the next 12 months we strongly recommend that you consider booking in with a seamstress for the month of your wedding, just to be certain you are "in". Then you can relax in the knowledge that you are in good hands (literally!).

We strongly recommend you take the time to visit some top-end bridal boutiques to try on different styles before you come to us, for the following reasons:

• to be sure that the style you had in mind does in fact suit your body shape
• in case you might see some other styles you had not considered, which you should try on in case you end up liking them better
• to compare the feel of different types of fabrics, such as soft, flowing crepe satins or stiffer, firmer dupion or duchess satins
• to literally move - and we mean MOVE!- around in the styles to be sure you will be comfortable sitting, dancing, getting in and out of cars, etc...this is most important
• to experience what it is like to wear different lengths of trains, as you may decide afterwards that you would prefer not to have one at all
• to see what different shades of traditional bridal colours actually look like on your skin - such as white, silk white, ivory, champagne, oyster, etc.

We suggest for comparison sake that you visit the boutiques situated along High Street, Armadale because - although most of them won't literally make a gown from scratch to fit you perfectly - the quality of their work, fabric and laces will be close to what you would have through us...except that a gown made with your own seamstress will always fit you perfectly as it was custom-made just for you. Importantly, we would like you to take note of the price tags in those boutiques, because - despite the fact that a gown made with us would be superior for many reasons - it is almost always less expensive...!

Some brides come in to us with pictures of the exact dress they want, or they have a few different pictures but are not really sure. Or, they have a picture of a dress but would like to change the style in some way. We like to spend time discussing the style with each bride, to offer our advice about what we believe would be the most flattering, and to show the bride which silks, laces and/or beadings would replicate the style optimally. Once the fabric is selected, we put together a quote on the spot which details the amount of each type of fabric required and a ballpark cost of the couturier's work. Once agreed to, a deposit is expected on the fabric for a formal referral to be given to the seamstress who we assess is fully capable to not only create your gown perfectly, but also suit your personality (and location, where possible).

This process is usually a lot of fun, but it does take time...and we like to be able to focus on you with as little interruption as possible from other traffic through the shop. As such, we ask you to call us to enquire about a personal booking. Bookings are available throughout Monday to Friday, from 10am to 5pm - or afterhours, if regular trading hours are simply not possible for the working bride.

We at d'Italia love romance, so we love anything bridal. We would be so pleased to assist you in creating your beautiful gown, so that your day will surely be the most wonderful day of your life...