I had a new bride come in , with her friend who was getting married on the weekend.This newly engaged bride wanted a sale dress, as she had a very strict budget. This is always totally fine by me! But it also meant that I would need to find her a dress that was as close to her size as possible so that the alterations are of a minimal cost.

While the bride was trying on a dress she loved, she asked for an approximate price for the necessary alterations. I gave her a price, and her friend immediately said ‘Wow! I paid $600!’ I was shocked and asked her what she had done. She said that the dress was a size 14 - I looked at her and to me she looked like a size 6/8. I said, ‘Fair enough, but there’s no way I would have sold you an off-the-rack dress that was way to big for you. But I don’t want to bag any shop.’

And THEN she said it arrived late! I looked at her in horror. ‘They ORDERED you a size 14?!’ She said that dress arrived late, and when she tried it on it fell down. She had seven fittings in all, and didn’t know any better to question the sizing.

I turned back to my bride, and showed her how the alterations would work. As I was putting bust cups in to show them what a difference it makes, her friend asked where she could buy them from. I replied ‘Didn’t you get it altered with the bra cups in?’ She complained that her dress was still not fitting well, and I explained that was because it was too big a size to make smaller, unless it was unpicked and completely regraded. I felt so sorry for her and gave her a pair of cups from my boutique. I just don’t know how people sleep selling a dress that’s so completely the wrong size.

The bride who was buying her dress said ‘I have been following Connie for 18 months and I know I can trust her to find and fit my dress.’

Connie xo

This is a story about a bride having trust in me.

This bride was back in for a second consultation. She wanted to try on the dresses she had already tried on, but also wanted to know if there was anything new - she’d liked the previous dresses but none had really spoken to her heart.

As we get to about half way through the consult, I start to get a very clear idea of what it was she was looking for!

I said to her “I have the perfect dress for you, but I don’t have it in your size so you are going to have to trust me.”

I held the Martina Liana 984 against her, and explained how Martina Liana accept custom changes to dresses at the time of ordering. For this bride, I suggested we continue the lace up over the shoulder so we can insert a bra, and sent a diagram to the designer showing where I wanted extra boning put in. We also requested no netting in the underskirt, because the bride wanted a softer look the the skirt drape.

The bride had so much trust in me and could visualise what it was I was suggesting so said ‘Let’s do it!’

The bride is a size 28 and this dress has the Wow Factor that the other dresses didn’t have.

Connie xo

This dress is a great example of some of the small changes we can make in the boutique.

Sometimes the volume of a skirt is too much for the height of the bride. An easy way to fix this is to remove some of the lower layers of netting from the underlay. This makes the skirt lighter and more drapey.

To help you visualise what it could look like without the netting, I get you to tuck it all between your legs. This then shows how the skirt would fall at the front and sides.

Hi Brides.

We had a bit of a state of emergency in the boutique a few weeks ago. I had a bride who had ordered a custom design gown - a design from a designer with a bunch of agreed-upon changes made at the cutting stage. She came in for her fitting to see what alterations to bust and hem-length would need to be done, and we could both immediately see that the dress was significantly too big for her. Her weight loss had been minimal since ordering the dress (she didn’t need to lose weight!) but I thought I had better take her measurements and compare them to the measurements I had recorded and provided to the designer. Yes, just as I thought, only an inch off her waist and and inch and a half off her hips - not enough to impact the dress sizing this dramatically.

I could tell we were both getting worried at this stage, so I suggested we hold the size 12 dress up against a size 14 we had in the store. Lo and behold, it had been cut at a size 14! No wonder it was so big.

I took photos and videos and immediately contacted the designer - her wedding was just five weeks away. At first the designer hinted at grading the dress - this is where you recut the dress from the existing fabric, running it in here and there, to ‘make it fit’. It’s never going to give a perfect fit. I refused to consider that and express shipped the dress that afternoon so that they could confirm that it was, in fact, incorrect.

The got to making the new dress immediately, and with a bit of trust in the couriers, we were able to have it ready *just* in time for her wedding! It was very stressful for both my bride and myself, because I really hate seeing my brides upset.

Now that it’s all sorted, I can definitely sit back and say that yes, we are all human and it was just a mistake in the cutting room. The designers were very helpful in getting it remade in time. But what DOES worry me is if I hadn’t been a seamstress in my former life, there’s every chance that the mistake wouldn’t have been picked up on and the bride’s weightloss would have been to blame for the poorly fitting gown. Definitely make sure you know what and who you are buying from before you commit all that money!

Connie xo

Hi Brides

One thing that seems to be very common in the bridal industry is the idea of having to wait such a long time for the dress of your dreams or the one that fits you. As a lot of my gowns are imported from Europe,and local designers,these dresses I have in store at Accapella Bridal ready to be purchased off the rack or for budget concise I have a sale rack These gowns are hand selected by me, so whether your wedding is in two years, two months, or two weeks, you can be assured they are of the highest quality and that you will not be compromising on design.After 28 years of fitting gowns for brides, I can help you choose a gown that will be the perfect fit in every way. Looking forward to seeing you soon,Connie xx

Connie xo

Hi Gorgeous Girls!

The first of the new collections from my shopping spree in Barcelona has arrived!

Lanesta and Armonia are Ukraine designs and are a really wonderful blend of euro styling and more non-traditional cuts.

The dresses are affordable and the fabrics and embellishments are of excellent quality. They are infinitely modifiable, and...wait for it...the turnaround time is just a mere six weeks from ordering! This is fantastic news for pregnant brides, girls who change their minds and last minute weight loss plans!

The dresses range from $1890 - $2700 but from now until the end of July I will offer a further 10% off any dresses purchased from this collection.

Call or message me to book in for your consultation.

Connie xo

Ending 25th May 2019

Connie xo

Well, that’s a wrap for Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week!

Connie xo