Cass and Rich finished their legal ceremony and headed straight for the bumper cars. Still in their wedding outfits, which for the bride was a suit from ASOS, they spent Friday at the funfair outside the register office before going for drinks. Then, the next day, they took over Crookes Social Club for a big party with a £10,000 budget, a ceiling full of tinsel and a vision of a camp music video.

The working men’s club had a stage backed by red velvet curtains, giving them a ready-made setting for the ceremony and the party. Bunty Decor dressed the ceiling with streamers, while custom beer mats, heart-shaped place cards and signage carried their ideas through the room. Cass wore a dress bought on Vinted for £90 with a custom-made cape.

With the paperwork sorted the day before, they could write Saturday’s ceremony themselves and have a friend lead it. Guests arrived, got a drink and chose somewhere to sit, cabaret-style, facing the stage. At the end of their vows, Cass and Rich fired money guns into the crowd, blasting out notes printed with their own faces.

“We wanted friends involved as much as possible,” they explained. “As we’d already had the legal ceremony, we were able to get a friend to be the celebrant on Saturday which was lovely and personal. We then had a roster of friends doing various different DJ sets for the reception, and Fun Again designed a custom poster for them which we printed loads and stuck all over the venue.”

The couple wanted to invite “basically everyone we know”, so they kept the food and seating flexible. Sharing platters came out after the ceremony, catering for everyone’s dietary requirements, and guests could tuck in, move around and catch up. There was no seating plan or formal sit-down meal to organise, and the venue was free to hire because of the money taken behind the bar. Later into the evening they had woodfired pizzas come out.

“Whilst the main thing is obviously getting married, for us the party was really the centre of the whole thing,” Cass said. “We’re both very social people and love a party so it was important to us that this went off!”

When asked which wedding rule they would change, Cass replied: “That they have to be formal – absolutely fine if that’s what you want, but don’t be afraid to have fun and be silly either. I also spent a lot of time on various wedding planning Reddit and Facebook groups and I personally would like to ban plastic tat from Shein with circuit stickers on in that same italic wedding font. Nobody needs flip flops from your wedding!”

If you have a clear idea of what you want to wear, commissioning a wedding dress gives you a say in everything from the silhouette to the last stitch. A bespoke studio develops the design with you, then builds it around your measurements over a series of appointments.

It’s a commitment of time, money and creative energy, so knowing how the process works helps. From decoding the terminology to finding a studio that gets your ideas, here’s what to expect.

What Does “Bespoke” Really Mean?

Bridal terminology can get confusing fast. Before you book, ask the studio exactly what it offers and how much input you’ll have. These are the main distinctions:

Made-to-order: You choose an existing collection style, which is then made for you in a standard size, which you will then have altered so it fits you perfectly. You know the design you’re getting from the outset.

Made-to-measure: An existing collection style is made to your individual measurements. This is also a form of made-to-order.

Fully bespoke: The studio creates a design for you from scratch, developing it through conversations, sketches and fittings.

These services involve different levels of design work, so understanding which one you’re paying for matters. If you love a collection dress and want a few changes, customisation may give you what you want. If you want to develop the design itself, ask about full bespoke.

Know What Happens at Each Appointment

Every studio has its own approach, but most bespoke commissions follow a similar process:

1. The first consultation. You’ll talk about your wedding, the clothes you feel good in, fabrics you like and the mood you’re after. This is the time to explain what comfort means to you, too. The designer needs to understand the person who’ll be wearing the dress.

2. Design and sketches. The team turns those conversations into sketches and fabric proposals. You’ll work through the options together and refine the design.

3. The first fitting. Many studios make a toile, a test version in inexpensive fabric. This lets you see the shape on your body and make adjustments before anyone cuts into the final material.

4. Further fittings. Across several appointments, the team adjusts the fit and works through the details. This is where you see the design take shape on you.

5. Final fitting and handover. You’ll check the finished gown together, then take it home or arrange delivery.

Expect the process to take several months. Booking early gives you time to consider decisions and attend the fittings.

Find a Studio That Fits Your Ideas

If you’re looking for somewhere to start, these studios are all set up for design-led, made-to-order and custom work, each with its own strengths.

Danielle Frankel

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Danielle Frankel offers several ways to commission a gown. You can order a style from the collection, either in a standard size or made to your own measurements. You can talk to the team about customising an existing style, which is considered case by case, whether that’s a different neckline, hand painting, a lace hem, a bubble hem, or lace appliqué. Or you can work with the Danielle Frankel design team on a full custom gown, developed through sketches and fittings. Every gown is made by hand in New York City, and the atelier designs and develops each one. Alterations are offered in-house, made-to-order pricing is published by style, and full custom is quoted at your consultation.

Order a collection style in a standard size or made to your measurements
Customisation considered case by case, from a new neckline to hand painting, a lace hem, a bubble hem, or lace appliqué
Full custom developed with the design team through sketches and fittings
Made by hand in New York City, with the option to do alterations in-house
Made-to-order pricing published by style; full custom quoted at consultation
Appointments in New York and Los Angeles, plus virtual consultations

Visit Danielle Frankel

Phillipa Lepley

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The London couturier has been making true bespoke gowns since 1986, working from her Chelsea studio with a signature focus on corsetry and internal structure.

Genuine bespoke couture, made in London
Renowned corsetry and hand finishing
A long-established, single-designer studio
Based in Chelsea, London

Visit Phillipa Lepley

Ines Di Santo

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The Toronto house is known for glamorous, ornate couture, and it offers customisation on its designs through a network of retailers and trunk shows.

Glamorous, detailed couture gowns
Customisation available on many styles
A flagship in Toronto
Available through stockists and trunk shows

Visit Ines Di Santo

Anne Barge

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With flagships in Atlanta and New York, Anne Barge offers classic, elegant gowns with room for customisation, and pricing that starts more accessibly than much of the couture field, from around $3,700.

Classic, refined design with customisation options
Flagships in Atlanta and New York
A more accessible entry price for couture-adjacent work
An appointment-based experience through the flagships and stockists

Visit Anne Barge

Sareh Nouri

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The New Jersey atelier makes romantic, made-to-order gowns with a signature use of bows and delicate detailing.

Made-to-order gowns with a romantic sensibility
Signature bows and fine detailing
A dedicated New Jersey atelier
Sold largely through stockists and trunk shows

Visit Sareh Nouri

Go to Your First Appointment Prepared

You can arrive with half-formed ideas. The first consultation is a chance to work through them with someone who knows how to turn them into a dress. A little preparation will help you get more from that conversation:

Book early. Bespoke and made-to-order dresses usually take several months, and studio diaries fill up.

Bring references. Gather images that capture the feeling you want, along with any fabrics or details you love. References from your everyday wardrobe can help explain your taste, too.

Think about wearing it. Your venue and plans for the day will influence the design. Tell the team how you want to move and what you need to feel comfortable.

Set your budget. Be clear about what you can spend and ask how alterations, customisation and extras are charged.

Choose your company carefully. One or two people whose opinions you trust can be helpful. Keep the focus on what you want to wear.

Ask Questions Throughout the Process

A bespoke commission involves plenty of decisions and you should feel able to ask questions, flag concerns and say when something feels wrong. A studio that listens gives you the space to develop those ideas together. These are some of the practical questions worth getting straight before you commit.

How long does a bespoke wedding gown take to make?

Most bespoke commissions run somewhere between six and twelve months, depending on the design and the studio’s schedule. Starting early gives you room for the design stage and several fittings.

How much does a bespoke wedding dress cost?

It varies widely by studio, fabric, and the amount of hand work involved. Bespoke sits at the higher end, and most studios quote at consultation once they understand your design.

How many fittings will I need?

It depends on the studio and the design, though two to four is common for made-to-measure and bespoke work. The fittings are where the fit is shaped and the details are finalised.

What should I bring to my first appointment?

Images that capture the feeling you’re after, any fabrics or details you love, and shoes at roughly your wedding-day height. It also helps to have your venue and date in mind, since both shape the design.

Can I adjust the design partway through?

Studios expect a bit of refinement as the gown takes shape, and small changes during fittings are normal. Bigger changes are easiest early on, so it’s worth sharing any second thoughts as soon as they come up

Sammi and Anton were married in London, where they live, but flew to the Philippines for their big gothic fantasy beach celebration. Describing the vibe as “beach goth” or “goths on the beach”, Sammi and Anton wanted their wedding to subvert expectations. The bride wore black, the groom donned a red and black suit, and the décor was like nothing their venue had ever seen or done before.

“Our wedding is proof that you can work with traditional wedding vendors to help create your non-traditional wedding day, but it requires a lot of communication and openness,” Sammi explained. “This is so they can have a clear understanding of your expectations, since it is easy to default to what is traditional. Our wedding planner at the venue wasn’t great at communicating, which was stressful at times, especially as it was a destination wedding, but luckily it all worked out in the end.”

They skipped a lot of traditions and rewrote others to suit them. The groom walked down the aisle with his parents, giving him his own moment rather than reserving it for the bride alone. The bride walked down the aisle with both of her parents too.

At the ceremony, the couple read handwritten vows filled with inside jokes, rolled into parchment-style scrolls. The entourage entered to Apocalyptica’s version of Nothing Else Matters. The couple met while studying video game design at university, so the groom walked to Nerevar Rising from The Elder Scrolls, and the bride arrived to The Power from Baldur’s Gate 3.

At the reception, their florist and venue took the fantasy theme and totally nailed the brief. They even hung a giant crystal chandelier from a tree. The cake featured a dragon, complete with a glowing mouth. It started as an idea they thought was probably unrealistic, but it ended up as a real centrepiece. Their custom cocktails included ‘The Daedric Prince’, inspired by The Elder Scrolls, and ‘AK32’ for Anton, referencing his initials and age. Sammi’s were ‘Vampire’s Margarita’ and ‘Sammi Special’, named after the one drink she reliably orders.

Sammi and Anton took dance lessons and opened the evening with a first dance to Faith Hill’s This Kiss. Sammi changed dresses for it, switching out of her black gown and shoes for the white dress she wore at their earlier legal London wedding so she could move and dance freely. Anton wore a Barong, traditional Filipino formalwear, for the moment. The dance then led straight into a traditional Filipino money dance. Guests pinned money to sashes and clothing as blessings. Fire dancers then closed the night.

Looking back, they do wish they had planned a clearer backup system. When things went wrong, they felt responsible for fixing them in the moment instead of handing that stress to someone else. Their advice to other couples planning something non-traditional is practical. “Work with vendors who understand what you are asking for,” Sammi said, “or be prepared for extra communication if they do not. Traditional suppliers can help create unconventional weddings, but clarity and patience matter. Planning a non-traditional destination wedding in a country that isn’t the most culturally progressive was tricky at times, but oh my goodness it was so worth it.”

Hands up who’s currently trying to plan a wedding with financial limitations, no rich relatives to help, while working full-time yet still being unable to afford those weekly treats you used to take for granted! Then read on because once you’ve looked at a few venues and discovered how much it costs to hire chairs, eloping might be starting to become very appealing.

It is possible to have the wedding you want, while not sacrificing your personal style and personal finances. Here’s how to do it:

Decide What You’re Up for Spending

Have the money conversation before you start booking things. Work out what you have saved, what you can realistically put aside and whether anyone else has offered to contribute. Your rent, bills, food and everyday life still need paying for throughout all this. You can get a rough idea of the average cost of wedding things in 2026 here!

Choose a total you both feel comfortable with. If reaching it means spending the next eighteen months stressed about every supermarket shop, you might want to revisit the number.

If you are having family contributions, find out whether an offer comes with expectations about the guest list, venue or ceremony before you accept. “We’ll pay for dinner” can get complicated when it turns out dinner must include thirty people you’ve never met.

Pick Your Priorities Before Pinterest Picks Them for You

Think about the weddings and parties you’ve enjoyed. What made them good? Having time to talk to everyone? A dance floor that stayed busy? Eating something excellent at midnight? Use those answers to choose a few priorities together. You might want a photographer whose work you love, plenty of food and a DJ who understands exactly when to play My Chemical Romance. Someone else might put their money into an outfit, a restaurant booking and an intimate ceremony. Give those things the most room in the budget.

For everything else look at cheaper options or ditch them entirely. Remember, most things at weddings (other than the legal bits) are optional!

Be Honest About the Guest List

Every extra guest can mean another meal, more drinks and additional furniture or space. Large guest numbers is the fastest way to make your budget balloon out of control.

Start with the people you actually want to spend your wedding with. Then look at your budget and the kind of celebration you’re planning. A smaller group might let you book your favourite restaurant or spend more time with each person. A bigger party might mean choosing a simpler menu or a different venue.

Agree on how you’ll handle extended family, colleagues, children and plus-ones before invitations go out. A consistent approach makes those conversations much easier.

Compare the Whole Bill

A cheap venue can become an expensive empty room once you’ve added tables, chairs, lighting, toilets and someone to clear everything away.

When looking at venues, ask what’s included and what you’ll need to arrange yourselves. Check hire periods, corkage, cleaning charges, staffing and any restrictions that affect your plans. Get quotes with those details included so you can compare them properly.

Pubs, independent restaurants, community halls and working men’s clubs are all worth investigating and can be a lot cheaper than fancy wedding-specific venues or hotels. Look for somewhere you already like the look and feel of, you can then save you the money and effort of trying to transform it with lots of additional décor.

Ask about different dates, too. Weekdays and quieter months may be cheaper, although you’ll need to consider travel, accommodation and how easily your guests can get time off work.

DIY Isn’t Always a Money Saver

Before you commit to making 80 favours, ten individually designed centrepieces and all the bouquets and buttonholes, consider exactly how much the materials will cost. Do you have the tools? Where will you store them? Will you enjoy doing it? Then think about who’s transporting everything, setting it up and taking it home.

DIY can be a brilliant way to bring your personal style and interests into the wedding. If you love sewing, collecting second-hand treasures or designing stationery, go for it. Be sure to choose projects you have the time and inclination to finish!

You’re also allowed to abandon an idea when it becomes a pain in the arse. Buying something ready-made or leaving it out altogether are totally valid options.

Keep Track of the Boring Bits

Choose one place to record your spending. A spreadsheet, shared document or finance tracker can help you keep wedding purchases visible alongside your usual household expenses.

Record the full cost of each booking, what you’ve paid and when the balance is due. Include the smaller purchases, too. Six months of “it’s only £20” can take a decent bite out of your budget.

Leave some money unallocated for unexpected costs. The amount will depend on your plans, but having a buffer gives you room to deal with things like extra alterations or a last-minute delivery charge.

Question What’s Expected

Some of the most effective ways to save money involve questioning traditions rather than simply searching for cheaper versions of everything.

Before committing to a venue, photographer, or caterer, compare several options and consider how each expense fits into the overall budget but also ask yourself “do we actually want this at our wedding or are we only having it because someone told us we were ‘supposed’ to?“

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers practical guidance on setting priorities and managing expenses through its Your Money, Your Goals toolkit, which can help you approach wedding costs as part of your wider financial plans.

Tell Suppliers What You Can Afford

Because all weddings are different, it is a frustrating fact of wedding planning that you will very likely have to send individual enquires to get an idea of costs from some wedding suppliers Take some time to write a brief about your wedding to send everyone you reach out to. Let them know things like location, date and guest numbers as soon as you reach out to avoid lots of back and forth.. Don’t be shy about being clear about your budget when you enquire either. Suppliers can tell you what’s possible and whether there’s a version of their service that fits.

A photographer might offer shorter coverage.
A florist could suggest concentrating your flowers in one area.
A caterer may have a different serving style or menu that brings the cost down.

Know When You’re Done

Budget planning can become an endless hunt for something cheaper. At some point, you need to cut yourself off! Once you’ve found something you like at a price you can afford, you can book it and close the tabs. Schedule time to deal with wedding admin, share the work and keep some evenings free of it entirely.

In the end, the unforgettable wedding is not a race of lavishness and excessiveness. It is an event that honours a relationship in a true-to-life, happy, and comfortable way. Make the choices that are right for you and your budget and you’ll have a fantastic day! .

You’ve asked AI to design your engagement ring. A few prompts later, you’re looking at your dream ring with a sculptural setting, an unusual arrangement of diamonds and the exact mix of influences you’ve struggled to find in a shop.

You contact a jeweller, who zooms in and immediately realises what you’ve mocked up is actually not impossible to make in the real world! Maybe there’s nothing holding that diamond in place, maybe the stone is so massive it would cost £100k alone, or maybe the band is too delicate or intricate and wouldn’t be practical to wear everyday.

There’s no denying that couples are using AI to mock up lots of their wedding ideas, from ceremony backdrops to their outfits. But the fantasy ideas have to match up to reality to actually get off the screen and into your actual wedding. A convincing AI generated image can disguise some fairly fundamental problems.

How one jeweller is embracing AI design

At Christopher Fine Diamonds in Chandler, Arizona, customers started arriving with AI-generated rings they wanted to commission. But instead of fighting it, they wanted to use AI in a way that would help, not hinder, the design process.

When Chris Uptain founded his company in 2003, he would sketch customers’ ideas on paper, sometimes even just on a napkin, before carving designs by hand in wax. Introducing computer-aided design, or CAD, allowed the team to build precise three-dimensional models and produce physical wax models for approval. But customers still had to describe an idea, wait for an interpretation and explain what they wanted changing.

Then, in 2024, the business introduced an in-person interactive CAD design experience. Customers could sit directly with a designer and watch their custom engagement ring design develop in three dimensions, discussing adjustments as they happened.

“Today, we have approximately 50 to 60 customers visiting our Chandler showroom every month specifically for this design experience”, Chris told us. “Over our 23 years in business, we’ve created more than 15,000 custom jewellery designs, and we’ve never been busier. For a while, I really thought we had solved one of the biggest challenges in custom jewellery design.”

Then along came artificial intelligence.

Now, Chris and his team actually use their own AI concepts as part of the design and engineering process.

AI should only be a starting point

An AI image captures one angle at one moment but your engagement ring will spend its life on a moving hand. That makes everyday wear part of the design brief. A setting can look spectacular on a screen while containing elements that are vulnerable once you start wearing it.

Their advice? Only use AI as a starting point. Talk to your jeweller about how you expect to use the ring. Do you want to wear it daily? What does your routine involve? How much care are you prepared to give it? Ask which details the jeweller considers fragile and why. Get them to explain the implications of the setting height, proportions and finer elements in your proposed design.

You can then make decisions with a clearer sense of what owning the finished piece will involve. That’s especially useful when your reference image presents every elaborate flourish as equally achievable.

“I have to admit, some of these AI designs people come up with are spectacular”, Chris says. “People are creating things that don’t look like anything you’d ever find in a traditional jewellery store. Intricate vintage-inspired settings, wildly imaginative diamond arrangements, unusual combinations of shapes and metals, and designs that look more like tiny works of art than engagement rings. For someone who has never felt drawn to traditional engagement rings, this technology can be incredibly liberating. Except there’s one rather significant problem. Just because AI can draw something doesn’t mean we can actually make it.”

Being open to changes makes all the difference

Communicating a ring idea has challenged jewellers for much longer than AI has existed. Whether you’re explaining your ideas with words, a sketch or AI, not every idea will be possible.

And this is exactly what underpins Chris’ newest venture, Diamond Consulate, an appointment-only Oklahoma City studio scheduled to launch in November 2026.

“Diamond Consulate is a hybrid from our first model, in that we are exclusively an appointment-only studio. We offer the experience above full in-person CAD design in a locked studio with no distractions.”

So is AI all bad for the jewellery industry? Chris doesn’t think so. “I don’t think AI is a bad thing for our industry. Quite the opposite, actually. I think it’s going to encourage more people to imagine engagement rings that are completely different from anything they’ve seen before. But perhaps the most surprising thing we’ve learned is that the more advanced the technology becomes, the more we appreciate the importance of the person behind the design. Because ultimately, an engagement ring isn’t just a beautiful object; it’s a piece of someone’s story. It should reflect who they are, what they love, and what makes their relationship unique. And after 23 years of making them, we still believe the best way to create something that personal is for two people to sit down together, share ideas, and bring something extraordinary to life. Even if the process no longer starts with a napkin.”