There’s a certain song that springs to mind when I think of the relationship between LOVE and Made with Love…’we go together like birds of a feather’. It’s so true!! Made with Love dresses have been wowing our brides since we started stocking them (we’re the only Northern stockist of this incredible brand don’t you know!), their aesthetic speaks so loudly to LOVE brides that we tripled our order of sample gowns in just the first few months.

So, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that an interview with Made with Love for this week’s blog would be something LOVE brides would instantly devour.

I hope you enjoy!

Emma xoxo

Thanks so much for taking the time to chat to us. Can we start by asking you to tell us the ethos behind Made with Love and what the brand represents?

Made with Love’s (MWL) aim is to make sure our brides’ natural beauty takes the spotlight on their big day, we design dresses that contribute towards that beauty. We figure if a bride feels comfortable and beautiful in her skin and dress, our job is done!

We are a hard-working, family business. Our name comes from the idea of making each dress with love and care, and even though we’ve grown from our early days of having one boutique, the ethos is the same: made with love.

What kind of girl wears Made with Love?

We think we attract the ‘girl next door’ kind of beauty. We’re not sure how we get so lucky, but seriously, every bride is stunning. We have the kind of brides who climb fences in their wedding dresses and take every opportunity to dance with their grandparents and girl squad.

No doubt because they feel fabulous! How do you want a Made with Love bride to feel?

MWL began because our designer, Carla, couldn’t find any wedding dress designs that reflected her personality – all the wedding dresses at the time were traditional for the sake of tradition. Carla eventually designed her own dress, and it was this desire to reflect personality that has made MWL what it is today. We want a bride to feel like herself, as if the beautiful dress she has chosen exudes the confidence and self-assurance she already has.

And what is it about your designs that make them feel that way?

Every element that goes into a MWL dress, from the fabrics, the details and the overall silhouette, all contribute to the way a bride feels in that moment when she sees herself in her perfect dress for the first time. The butterflies, the tears, when it takes everyone’s breath away and she thinks ‘this is the one, I can feel it’. So much consideration goes into choosing our beautiful laces and fabrics and we really focus on the clean-cut patterns of our dresses that make them so flattering. It’s this combination that makes our brides feel so sexy and beautiful, but also knowing that the team put our heart and soul into the dress (well the name gives it away really!) and that every MWL girl, every dress, is special to us.

Talk to us about your design process?

We work a little differently to other bridal labels in that we don’t bring out annual collections. Instead, we release a new design every few months and it comes purely from sudden bursts of inspiration in the moment. When this happens, a new dress is tested in our Gold Coast boutique in Australia and a lot of time is spent by the team to develop and refine the details until the design is perfected. We think this keeps our designs exciting and fresh.

One of our newest dresses is called Riley. She has a low V front and back and her fitted form eases at the thighs to flow beautifully into the train. Riley comes in either ivory or pebble luxe lace, and a choice of two laces, and we are obsessed with all of them! What makes Riley so special is that she comes with detachable tulle wings that are attached at the shoulders for a veil alternative. The team are so happy with the way she has turned out – you have to see her to believe her: she is elegant, her wings make her angelic, she is just stunning!

The fabric used for Made with Love dresses is so beautiful and unique. Can you tell us more about how you choose your fabrics?

Fabric shopping is one of the most important stages of the design process. It takes our team hours of sampling, development and consideration to find the right fabrics for a dress. There are so may beautiful fabrics to choose from! We like to make sure we find lace that is unique and that we feel represents Made with Love perfectly; feminine, elegant, even a little bit out there and daring.

What are your trend predictions for 2019/20?

We hope that the low back stays on trend because it is a MWL favourite! We are so happy brides have returned to wearing veils because alternative veils are becoming a trend, just like our new Riley dress with wings for example, our brides are loving them!

Can you share some examples of how Made with Love brides have styled their dresses in various, fabulous ways?

We absolutely love seeing brides put their own twist on our dresses! We get a lot of brides adding sleeves, especially with our Frankie dress and we were absolutely obsessed with a bride who created angel sleeves for her Sasha dress! Slits are a feature our brides love, and many add their own in the position they choose. The newest customisation we have seen is a bride using two of our Stevie veils as wings, like on our Riley dress, and they were just beautiful!

What is the best advice you can give a bride on the journey to purchasing the dress of her dreams?

Go to people who have your best interest at heart, who understand your style and your personality. We ensure that all our MWL stockists understand our brides’ needs and provide the best assistance in picking the perfect dress. Above everything, girls, always remember that this time is about you, about being who you truly are and having a dress that makes your personality shine. Choose what you love and remember this is a time to enjoy the experience, not fear it, stay true to yourselves and pick something you love (not something your mother-in-law loves).

What makes Made with Love and LOVE Bridal Boutique such a good fit?

Well Emma is such a legend, isn’t she!? We love how she captures the fun-loving and warmth that MWL is all about. We have built an incredible relationship with LOVE Bridal – she is a treasure to us here at MWL.

Aw shucks *blushes*. So what has been a Made with Love highlight this year?

That’s a tough one, there’s so many to choose from! The release of our Harlie with tulle skirt is one to remember. Words cannot describe how much fun we had on that shoot around central London! From the dress to the team, our models truly represented MWL, every smile was genuine, it was perfect!

What does Made with Love still dream of achieving?

We don’t want to get bigger as such, but we want to get better every day. Our network in the UK has become life-giving, and we have more expertise on board than we’ve ever had. #watchthisspace

Thanks so much for your time, we know our brides will be fascinated. Any final words of wisdom?

Don’t leave dress shopping too late! Most of our stockists recommend ordering your dress more than a year in advance, to account for holidays, delays, alterations and unexpected changes (like Brexit!). Things can wrong or not as planned, so it’s best to be organised and prepared.

Also, choose the friends and family you take to appointments carefully. We’ve heard about so many disastrous appointments, where the bride has bought the dress to keep her mother happy or come back alone for a peaceful wedding dress shopping experience! Which leads us to our last point: choose what makes you happy and feel good. You’ll be radiant that way. 😊

 

Wow! You can just feel how much the MWL love the work they do, and that pride, passion and care is evident in every gorgeous dress they make.

If you want to be a #mwlgirl then email hello@lovebridalboutique.co.uk to make your appointment, although how you’ll narrow it down to just one of their beautiful dresses is beyond me!