Dear Gwendolynne and the rest of your fantastic team,

Just wanted to email you to say thank you for the exquisite gown I was able to wear a little over three weeks ago. I am still thoroughly impressed with how you managed to fit, construct and fit again such a thing in under three months. You all truly blew my expectations out of the water.

A little under three weeks until our wedding, my dear Father had a major health set back. This put wedding planning on the back burner. Thankfully I went with the Gwendolynne team for my gown as it was by far the least stressful aspect of my wedding, and was all done and dusted and safe in its bag as our family tried to keep it all together in the lead up to our day. I know this may seem silly to an outsider, but knowing I had that dress did lighten the heavy load a little and kept some of the stress at bay. This stress was also compounded with a large contingent of people travelling from the UK, plus the heavens opening up on the wedding day, showering everyone with freezing cold rain and wind from dawn until dusk.

But you still couldn’t wipe the smile off my face once that dress slipped over my head. All day the compliments kept coming ‘that dress!’, ‘that is Australian made and designed? Just WOW’, ‘just stunning’, ’your dress is wonderful!’ ‘You look like an elvish princess’ (my personal favourite haha). Even though it was so delicate, it was incredibly comfortable and I forgot just what a piece of art it was as I danced the night away! My only regret in choosing a Gwendolynne gown is that it now will be dry cleaned, then put away in a box and I don’t get to wear it EVERYDAY.

I just had to share my photographs with you to show just how happy I was that day and how great I felt in that beautiful gown regardless of the circumstances and weather. They were taken by our amazing photographer Rachael Muller who did extremely well considering the constant freezing cold wind and rolling storms and low light conditions

On another note, as a plus size woman, shopping for wedding gowns left me feeling deflated and despondent about the whole wedding process. Plus size women only usually have one or two styles they are ‘allowed’ to wear and leave you feeling frumpy and even bigger than you are. The images shown to brides-to-be and society at large show young, very thin and white women in gowns that only look good on young, very thin and white women’s bodies. Plus size women are often made to feel like we can be ‘sassy’ or ‘voluptuous’ and that’s it. We aren’t shown to be elegant, ethereal, timeless, classic beauties or on trend. In addition, you’re made to feel that it’s your body that has distorted the design to look odd or your body skews the length (being 6ft 3 this was a reoccurring comment, ‘you are just too tall for this dress). But Gwendolynne’s designs changed that for me. From the moment I stepped foot into the Gwendolynne studio I felt welcomed, embraced and even celebrated. The whole team were able to craft a dress that made me feel elegant, ethereal, timeless and on trend at the same time. And to top it all off, in the words of my new husband it ‘took my breath away’ which pretty sure every bride wants to hear! So if you know of any larger framed women who would think that your designs are not suitable to their body types, please let them know that your designs are made to fit their fabulous bodies, and not the other way round!

So truly thank you, from the bottom of my heart. You made this plus-size lady feel on top of the world, regardless of cold rain, family tragedy or worrying about overseas travellers enjoying themselves. I have honestly, never felt more beautiful.

Warmest Regards

Shona

Gorgeous Shona wore our Sabine gown. We digitally laid out the beading on her own unique pattern as we craft all our gowns individually so we can easily accommodate different shapes like Shona's 6ft 3" frame. We generally require six months for a smooth schedule to craft a gown but at times we can work a little faster (especially if it is off peak season) so it's always worth asking if we are able to work to a tighter time frame.

It is a blessing to be able to create pieces for girls like Shona and to receive such beautiful letters and amazing pictures after is so rewarding and meaningful.

Photographer | Rachael Muller

Bridesmaid Dresses | The Pretty dress Company

Make up | Christina Clealry

Hair | Tina Cervello at Tivello Bridal

Gown | Gwendolynne

Flowers |Sweet Pea and Honey Bee

Earrings | Stephanie Browne

Veil | Richard Nylon Millinery

REAL BRIDE - "You made this plus size lady feel the top of the world"