Jayzee and Jim real-life covid wedding dress at Larkbeare house.
Preparations for a real-life covid wedding dress
Jayzee had planned her beautiful wedding around a beach theme, she is a stickler for detail and had everything set out and prepared for their wedding day in June 2020, then covid lockdown #1 hit and they waited as long as they could in hope that they could hold the event on the day with a large number of friends and family.
In January, Jayzee and I had been to look at dresses and she had fallen for a designer dress that nearly fitted her so she bought that (I was pregnant due in September and worried about timeframe) and we discussed making one for the evening event.
At the last minute real-life covid wedding dress and organisation reality kicked in and the prospect of them being able to get a full refund within a certain time frame of the wedding date they decided to cancel. The stress of not knowing when restrictions would be lifted, having been in lockdown for months left Jayzee and Jim exhausted and stressed, not knowing when to rebook, (should we book in for September or wait until spring 2021).
Wanting to start a family and become Mr and Mrs Boyne, they then forged on and set a date for late September. The number of guests was causing havoc with plans as they had set for 30 in a private venue and covid restrictions kept changing from 30 to 6 to 15 guests. As the day grew closer the worry was that they would have to cut the numbers in half but thankfully this was not the case as the guidelines changed the following Monday. PHEW!
So having planned for an early summer wedding and now being faced with an autumn date we had a few last-minute changes to the wardrobe. An addition of a sheepskin coat was dropped on me last minute.
The real-life covid wedding dress and minor adjustments.
The wedding dress was refashioned to suit Jayzees slim figure from a wide strappy plunging v-neck to a more strappy silhouette, I also opened the back up with a curving v neckline to show a bit more flesh. She loved the low back detail.
The hem needed shortening and the hips bringing in slightly but other than that it was perfect. Her real-life covid wedding dress was ready for the “big” day.
The beautiful evening dress custom made from scratch.
The big job was the evening dress. The stunning beaded fabric Jayzee originally bought was still boxed up but she knew she still wanted it. So I drew a couple of sketches and it was decided to keep a similar shape to the top of the wedding dress, as this was most flattering on her frame but create a drapey skirt which hung so well in the heavy beaded fabric. Producing a toile eased her mind on design and draping the beaded fabric around her body showed Jayzee what the fabric would do.
Starting work on the dress, I then realised that I needed an extra 1.5 metres, so after a frantic email to The Berwick street cloth shop (one of my favourite fabric shops) in hope that they had the same batch and thankfully they sent another piece to allow me to finish the beautiful evening gown.
On to the Jacket. And who doesn’t love a bit of sheepskin!
The jacket that Jayzee bought had some interesting brown piping which had to be removed and the lining too which was in need of repair. I reshaped the front neck removing the lapel to give it a more simplified design and allowing the centre fronts to meet. Jayzee wanted to add some more texture in the form of other sheepskin offcuts. So I cut and re-worked the jacket in the style required. Tbh, it wasn’t the easiest fabric to work on but both Jayzee and I were pleased with the outcome. It was going to keep her cosy on a cool Autumn evening.
The real-life covid wedding date came 26th September and preparations were in full flow. Everyone was relieved that things were finally going ahead and The ceremony was held at Larkbeare Manor in Exeter, a civil service and pretty little venue which held 15.
Then the bride and groom went down to Sidmouth seafront to have some stunning shots taken by her photographer, Emma Stoner from Totnes.
The wedding party was held at a local venue where the 30 guests wined and dined and enjoyed the speeches. The bride, groom and bridesmaid all set up the evening decorations in the hired marquee from Taddle farm tents. It was a truly magical setting. The sides of the marquee were left open to allow for safe social distancing as everyone mingled. The food was delicious and courtesy of Posh Nosh, a devon based outside catering company who managed their real-life covid wedding restrictions excellently.
I was lucky to be part of the day being the bride’s sister in law and felt privileged to create a beautiful dress admired by many.
Click the link to view some more creations designed with customers by me in my studio in Sidmouth Devon.
All enquiries into having a fabulous frock made get in touch via my contact page.
Lynsey at County Couture made all my wedding dress dreams come true, after trauling the Internet and shops (pre covid) for my perfect dress Lynsey made my vision come to life. She customised a Sassi Holford silk dress for me for the day, adding spaghetti straps and lowering the back to make it more me. She also made me a bespoke sequin dress for the evening that I’m hoping I get an excuse to wear again as it made me feel a million dollars. Lynsey was patient and helpful with making my visions come to life and I couldn’t be happier with the dresses. I had lots of lovely compliments from our 30 guests as well. Highly recommended. Jayzee (Mrs Boyne)