Where the Dream begins...
"Embracing the beauty of an exclusive bespoke wedding dress is an empowering opportunity to embrace one's personality & shine. I’ve been bringing dreams to life through exquisite couture gowns for 40 years.
From celebrities to luminaries, my services are highly sought after by those who desire the very best"
The Bespoke Bridal Atelier Experience
Stage One: How The Bespoke Process Works
Unlocking the vision you hold begins with a series of consultations. From the initial consultation to the final fitting, we are constantly learning together.
We learn all the things that keep you awake at night and find the best creative solutions that add value and impeccable style solutions that are unique and important to you.
The journey begins with sketches that are matched up with fabrics that tell your story and meet your budget. We then move on to sourcing the perfect trims, and design details that align - instilling you with confidence and the assurance that you have made the right choices.
"Cynthia has designed and participated in over 45 published shoots for the wedding and fashion industries.
She knows what it takes to create the most memorable events."
Stage Two: The Design Process
Designing a dress with Cynthia Grafton-Holt is nothing short of a sumptuous affair with a personalised and distinctive service that is unhurried, highly skilled, and exclusive to every client.
Brides are given complete carte blanche to choose and personalize every single element of their dress from a wide collection of possibilities.
We invite you to bring images that inspire you or, customize the bridal gowns in our collections. You can then choose fabrics trims & laces you love and develop unique silhouettes to flatters your shape.
MODESTY & CONFIDENCE - we work together until the final design is one that will fit you to utter perfection.
WEIGHT – we create a timeline that is closer to the date of your event and remain flexible about the design for your peace of mind!
CORSETRY - Every girl needs a little help! From full-skirted ball-gowns to body-sculpting mermaid designs, our discreet internal corsetry cinches and reduces the waistline by up to 2 " and can be overlaid with oplulent embellishments too; in fact, we will be joined at the hip, co-creating together until that vision of perfection emerges.
Stage Three: The Magic Begins...
A Cynthia Grafton Holt Bespoke Couture Dress is created drawing on years of expertise and that of her team of skilled specialists in her atelier.
With her team of fitters, pattern-cutters, seamstresses, embroiderers, and finishers you can rest assured that you are in the safest of hands.
Cynthia and her team are masters in creating epic flattering silhouettes that look deceptively simple, but, in reality, require supreme skill to achieve; and this skill, is the product of a 35-year fine-tuning journey.
Her beautiful bespoke embellishments are a Cynthia Grafton-Holt signature and just one of the main reasons she is the go-to atelier for the bride looking for a one of a kind haute couture gown.
Stage Four: The Toiling Process
The toiling stage begins with a series of mockups in the bridal studio or, with a local dressmkaer/tailor if you live overseas. This fitting is essentially a mock-up of your foundation silhouette where the lines of the dress are defined to complement your body’s curves.
Further toile fitting perfect the shape of the gown before the fabric is cut. Once the dress is cut, there are at least two (2) final fittings - closer to event date to ensure the dress is absolutely perfect.
Don’t be afraid to ask loads of questions during this time to be absolutely sure that your vision is completely understood. You can expect lots of tweaking and suggestions about fit and design during this stage and be prepared to attend additional fittings (if required) to ensure that the silhouette and fit are as accurate as can be.
The Material Selection Process:
Stage five
Finding the perfect fabrics for your Cynthia Grafton-Holt bridal gown, takes place in the background after the initial consultation. Having chosen the design, it is now time to bring all of the elements together.
A selection of swatches will be ordered in from our specialist suppliers around the world. Once they arrive in the studio, we can begin to choose the correct weight and character for the design and also proceed to matching with the perfect trims to complete the story. This process takes a few weeks and requires a trained specialist with extensive background knowledge of textiles and suppliers of the finest fabrics.
After the selection process, a special sample pack of materials and trims is compiled and delivered to your home for final approval. Once approved, the order is placed and delivery to the atelier takes around 7 days.
Once the bridal gown is cut, we send out a second pack of larger swatches of fabrics and trims. This is to assist with shopping and planning other elements of your wedding design such as bouquets, shoes, and groomswear, bridesmaids gowns and overall event design.
The Journey from Dream...to seeing Your Dream Dress
Stage Six:
The journey from dreaming to an actual dress is an exciting one that requires meticulous planning in advance.
In the same way that you plan your daily activities, we plan every aspect of the dressmaking process in advance - which is spread over several months accounting for life events such as holidays - helping you stay on track, plan ahead and keeping you informed of anything that changes - it really is a simple as that!
At each appointment we tend to focus on different aspects depending on where we are in the process; however, as we strive to make adjustments and perfect the fit of your gown, there are plenty of opportunities for you to adjust the details as things progress through the stages towards completion.
Stage Seven: The Final Wedding Dress Fitting
Before you know it, we will be at the point in your wedding dress journey where we begin adding the final touches, finishing the hemline and choosing the veil length that best compliments your chosen design.
As this will be the final dress fitting appointment of the bespoke wedding dress process, it helps to bring someone along to this last fitting who will be dressing you on your big day so they can learn all they need to know and become familiar with details of your gown such as, bustling and fastenings.
You are welcome to take photos throughout the entire process which we encourage you to share on socials after the big day #CGHBrides.
Testimonial
"Cynthia's designs are simply stunning. Her years of experience, passion and love for what she does is so evident. The creativity and attention to detail in each design is second to none. I am so delighted to have had the opportunity to meet and work with Cynthia. After exchanging kind messages on Instagram to phone calls and meeting in person, Cynthia's communication and understanding of a brief surpassed all expectations! It truly has been a wonderful experience working with Cynthia and I very much look forward to working with Cynthia again!" Natalie Stevenson
