How do I go about having my wedding dress custom-made?

Getting a custom-made wedding dress  starts the same way as buying or borrowing one. Using the vision of your ideal wedding gown you have in your head, get some paper and a pencil and put into words what you absolutely do not want in a gown (for example, short sleeves, a full skirt, or beading). Search for skilled seamstresses or stylists (one may not be proficient at both designing and sewing, so make sure you ask) in your area, and meet with them to look at their portfolio and discuss your perfect wedding dress. Have them draw a sketch of your dress and get their ideas. This isn’t the kind of thing you want to get wrong, so listen to the advice of someone with years of experience.

Bear in mind that having your wedding dress made from scratch can be very expensive due to the cost of fabric, labor, detail work, and skill. Think you've found someone to create your wedding gown? Have her make you another dress -- a shift for work, maybe -- so you can see her final product and how you two get along before you entrust your wedding dress to her. Aug 05, 2009