I fell head over heels in love with a very expensive Inbal Dror wedding dress, priced way above my budget. In typical fairytale fashion and as fate would have it, after searching Google for a dressmaker anywhere in England that could make a similar dress, I found one. And she happens to live in the street behind my house!

My fairy godmother dressmaker is Rae from Ashley Sims. When I walked into Rae’s house she had a few dresses for me to try on so I could see her work and decide if I wanted one made.

There, elegantly hanging on a mannequin, was a dress in the exact style of the Inbal Dror dress that I fell in love with. Fate.

I tried the dress on and knew instantly it was the style that I loved. It was a fitted fishtail design with beautiful detailing, amazing workmanship and soft lace – I felt like a princess with the long train.

However, I didn’t want an exact replica of the dress so I worked with Rae to bring all my ideas to life.

I loved the shape of this Inbal Dror dress but I didn’t like the transparent backless design and I felt the front looked a little too much like lingerie (not ideal when we were having a religious ceremony). I also wanted a fuller and thicker train and the dress to be made from French chantilly lace, silk and tulle.

I took ideas and inspiration from Yaki Ravid, Galia Lahav and Inbal Dror to create my perfect wedding dress and here it is:

The dress has a very long cathedral train in layers of tulle and lace. The shape is similar to the Inbal Dror dress only the train is fuller with an additional lace layer. While the lace design on the front is the same, it has a more structured bodice.

Rae listened patiently, answered all of my questions and made my dreams a reality. If you are looking for an affordable but exceptionally well-made dress in the style of Inbal Dror, Berta Bridal or Galia Lahav, do contact Rae. She is based in Royston and her details can be found at www.ashleysims.co.uk. Rae also made my stunning backless reception wedding dress which was in the style of Berta Bridal (I’ll blog about this later).

Rae also made me a mantilla cathedral length wedding veil with the same chantilly lace trim as my wedding dress. My husband was speechless and absolutely loved the veil. To ensure the veil stayed in place all day, I had a corn row sewn in and the veil clip slotted into that.

I always had a dream to walk down the aisle in Jimmy Choo’s. I coveted these shoes for a very long time so it was absolutely wonderful to actually wear them on my wedding day. They are the Champagne Glitter Fabric Peep Toe Jimmy Choo sandals that come in a beautiful lace design; sparkling, pretty and actually quite practical. They are comfortable to wear with the ankle strap but I am not sure I will be able to wear them again as the fabric took a few knocks throughout the day!

For accessories I wore my staple pearl earrings with a matching pearl bracelet.

My ‘something old and blue’ was a blue heart from my Grandad’s shirt sewn in on the inside of my wedding dress. This is a lovely way to remember someone you love who has passed away. It made my dress even more special.