Lily’s Bespoke Julita London Wedding Dress | Love My Dress

Some marriage ceremony clothes start with a sketch, a cloth swatch or an image saved months earlier than the proposal, however Lily’s started with a single, heartfelt message. Jo, founder and designer of Julita London, had admired the singer-songwriter and poet behind Ava Lily for years, and when Lily turned engaged to actor and poet Lucas Jones, Jo reached out merely to say congratulations and provide to assist.

What adopted had been months of fittings stuffed with laughter and connection, two inventive girls dreaming up a singular gown collectively, and the end result was a robe that swept right into a dramatic lace practice for the ceremony earlier than being hitched up with ribbons right into a extra playful look Lily might dance in.

Ash of Joy, By Ash was there for Lily’s closing becoming at residence, and her lovely analogue images are so full of heat and tenderness you could nearly really feel the silk and listen to the dialog within the room!

We adore this story as a result of it captures the pure pleasure of getting a marriage gown made for you by somebody who has taken the time to really know you. If you’ve been tempted to make use of AI to image your self in your dream gown, bridal designer Solunah Studio shared a publish this week that’s nicely price a learn, gently explaining how these pictures can set expectations no actual material might ever meet. Lily’s expertise is the loveliest antidote to that, a gown dreamt up via friendship and dialog, draped and pinned on her personal physique, with each seed pearl stitched and each size of lace positioned by Jo with Lily in thoughts.

No AI-anything can substitute that sort of expertise, instinct and care, so in the event you’re dreaming of a gown made only for you, begin the place Lily did, with an actual dialog with an actual designer, a human being who’ll hear, perceive you and produce your concepts to life with their very own two fingers.

When singer-songwriter and poet Lily turned engaged to poet and actor Lucas Jones in 2025, Jo felt compelled to ship her a message. Having admired Lily’s creativity from afar for years, she reached out with no expectations, simply real pleasure for her engagement and a heartfelt provide.

“Congratulations on your engagement! I adore your talent. Been following you for a while ❤️ If you need any help with wedding dresses, or just to connect you with great suppliers let me know. (Just saying, I haven’t reached out to anyone about creating their dress before… but my goodness, how I’d love to create for you!) 🏹”

As destiny would have it, Lily lived only a few minutes away! Their first assembly was meant to be a fast introduction, however three hours later they had been nonetheless speaking about creativity, artwork, music, love and, ultimately, marriage ceremony clothes. It was clear from the beginning that this may be removed from a traditional bridal appointment, and the start of a joyful collaboration constructed on belief, shared creativity and friendship.

When Lily first replied to Jo’s message, she admitted she had no thought the place to start. The thought of designing a bespoke robe felt each thrilling and overwhelming, and Jo’s response gently reframed all the things:

“It always starts with you. Designing a gown is a journey into the essence of who you are, the shapes that make you feel incredible, the way you want to move and feel on your day. Do you dream of something floaty you can dance in? Or perhaps something structured, yet romantic… The tones and textures you’re drawn to, soft blushes, ivories, or something unexpected. It might be a detail from a loved one, a lyric from a song that moves you, a memory you want to carry with you. These are the threads that come together to create something personal. It doesn’t need to be overwhelming, just start with what feels like you and beautiful things will follow ✨”

From that second, the method turned fantastically intuitive. Lily arrived with concepts for her marriage ceremony gown and, as with so many bespoke commissions, the design advanced organically alongside the best way, with each becoming turning into one other dialog and one other probability to refine every element till the gown felt fully and unmistakably hers. It’s this backwards and forwards, the concepts sparked between two inventive folks, that makes working with a designer such a present.

One of essentially the most particular points of Jo’s design was its means to evolve all through the day, in order that as an alternative of becoming a second gown, Lily’s robe remodeled alongside every chapter of the celebration. Detachable lace godets allowed the dramatic ceremony practice to separate into two flowing lace cape wings, which is also bustled on the again to create yet one more silhouette, whereas an outsized lace hood launched a fantastically poetic search for bridal portraits after the ceremony.

Each transformation was thoughtfully thought of, letting the robe transfer from the solemnity of the ceremony to the liberty and pleasure of the celebrations with out ever shedding its romance.

The lace boots had been by no means a part of the unique plan – Jo had discovered them months earlier in a second-hand store for a inventive shoot and, nearly on intuition, provided them to Lily to attempt. They fitted completely, and Jo later customised them utilizing lace offcuts from the robe itself, so that each treasured remnant of material discovered its place and have become a part of the story.

It’s such a beautiful instance of the intuition and generosity a designer brings, the sort of comfortable, unplanned second that solely comes from being within the room collectively.

Ash’s images, shot on 35mm movie (Kodak Ektacolor Pro 400) throughout Lily’s intimate closing becoming at her residence, are a pleasure to look via. The softness and grain of movie go well with this gown so completely, and Ash has held on to all these final treasured moments earlier than the gown left Jo’s fingers: the ultimate tweaks, the cautious placement of each lace appliqué and seed pearl, each ribbon tied, each layer adjusted and each element checked one final time.

There’s one thing particularly poignant a couple of closing becoming that takes place at residence, the place the gown begins its mild transfer away from the atelier and into the life it was created for. Months of concepts, sketches, fittings and handwork all slim into this tender, private second at first modifications, and for Jo it marked a lot greater than ending a gown. It was the shut of a inventive journey that had begun with one heartfelt message and grown right into a friendship.

Bespoke bridal design is about listening, decoding, refining and making a bit that displays a bride’s fashion and her story too, and it may be one of the crucial joyful experiences of planning a marriage. Perhaps that’s what makes a bespoke marriage ceremony gown so extraordinary, as a result of it turns into a part of the marriage day itself.

It gathers the emotion of the morning preparations, the anticipation earlier than strolling into the ceremony, the quiet glances of affection, the vows, and the shreds of confetti that discover their manner between the seams endlessly. It holds the embraces and laughter shared all through the celebration, the sunshine streaming via glass, the motion between gardens and reception areas, the scent of flowers, the enjoyment of dialog and the environment of a day unfolding gently round it, till these reminiscences develop into a part of each seam.

Long after the day is over, it stays an heirloom, carrying Jo’s beautiful handwork and the joyful imprint of a love story lived inside it.

If Lily’s story has impressed you to discover having your personal marriage ceremony gown or look designed, you’ll discover a great assortment of unbiased and worldwide bridal designers in our listing, who create lovely robes and bespoke items with actual artistry and care. Each of them understands that girls come to this second with totally different our bodies, tales and concepts of magnificence, and each certainly one of them would love to start out that first dialog with you and provide help to discover one thing that feels fantastically and truthfully you.