I was determined to have some purple in my wedding dress, but I couldn’t find a bridal shop that would sell me anything but plain white! At my friend Antonia’s wedding, as the bride sat in her stunning custom-made gown, I got talking with her dressmaker, Jocelyn, about what style dress I should wear for my wedding day. Jocelyn suggested a long, floaty gown with an high waistline and long layers of silk. When she offered to make it for me I felt so lucky to know someone who could make a bespoke dress for me. Designs were emailed back and forth and I was able to contribute to the designing process to get exactly what I wanted. The purple was matched to the colour I had envisioned, and samples of screen printed silk were sent for me to look at so we could get the pattern right too. It was difficult arranging fittings as I live in England, but luckily I was able to visit Carla in London to have a mock up of the dress fitted. The dress was perfect on the day. Everyone commented on it’s uniqueness. It was wonderful to wear such a beautiful and well made dress that I had helped to design and that was individual to me.