Since she was just ten years old, Nia Budzejko had dreamed of designing, making and wearing her own wedding dress. She recently fulfilled her dream and, having enjoyed the process so much, is now headed to fashion school to start her journey to becoming a fully-fledged bridal designer and seamstress! As you can see from these stunning photos, she is certainly destined to be a big success.
Nia admits to carrying out an 'embarrassing amount' of research, spending many happy hours creating a shortlist of wedding gowns that had all of the elements she was looking for. Full of ideas, she hit her sketchbook and produces dozens of designs, gradually honing in on the exact look she wanted. Then it was time to start looking at fabrics...
After searching 'bridal fabrics' on Google, Nia found the BridalFabrics.co.uk website. Though she looked at a couple of other bridal fabric suppliers, the immense variety at BridalFabrics.co.uk kept her coming back, certain that the extensive collection would contain exactly what she was looking for.
When Nia discovered 'Caroline' lace fabric on our website, her ideas on the style of her dress began to change. "That was when I learned the lesson that fabric should always be chosen first," she told us, "...just like an artist cannot create a masterpiece without the correct materials available to them, a designer cannot design a masterpiece without the fabric in mind. Fabric is our medium."
To be certain that Caroline ivory embroidered lace fabric was the design she wanted to use, Nia took advantage of the free sample service from BridalFabrics.co.uk. "Seeing and feeling a lace with your own eyes and hands is absolutely essential prior to making a choice," said Nia, "because you can only get so much of an idea from a photograph. I ultimately chose the Caroline lace due to the beauty of the design, the ease of application, and the fact that the design had mirrored appliques within it."
Nia's favourite part of her gown (though we don't know how she chose a favourite part as the entire dress is so breathtakingly beautiful!) was the train. Originally the dress was to have had buttons down the back but Nia found that she had so much leftover lace that it couldn't be wasted. Her creative side took over and she hand-sewed no less than 84 pieces of leftover lace onto the train. She also loved the neckline of the gown, which we think is absolutely unique. Look out for more from the trendsetting designer soon!
Want to see the beautiful lace that inspired Nia? Check out the product page.
