The couture experience

Words by Lauren Marks Crennan

A handsome prince, a white horse, and a princess waiting to be swept off her feet … we have all grown up with the magic and charm of fairytales. Somewhere along the way the underlying morals and motives of these fanciful stories became goals, however subconsciously, for generations of women all over the world. So now that you have found your handsome prince and are engaged. sans white horse (but who needs a white horse anyway?), it is time for the princess part.

No longer just a tale, the wedding day is often the acting out of all of our hopes and dreams, and perhaps one of the few times that an ordinary woman can feel like a princess for a day. Again thanks to fairytales, we often associate ‘feeling like a princess' directly with what we are wearing at the time – a fabulous frock!

An event of fairytale proportions, otherwise known as your wedding, deserves a gown of pure enchantment and so the quest for the perfect wedding gown begins. Truth lies in the adage that the gown you thought you wanted probably won't be the one you finally choose. Many brides-to-be have a reasonably clear view of the shape, colour and style of the wedding gown that they want to wear but often, after having tried on a number of styles, come to the conclusion that sometimes what they want and what they need are two different things altogether! (Remember the white horse?)

Essentially when it comes to choosing your wedding gown there are two options; couture (made-to-measure by a couturier) and ready-to-wear (purchased as is), both of which have their own advantages. In this feature we explore the experience of couture, because that is what it is, an experience.
For more of this article see issue 2.