North Yorkshire designer Stephanie Moran offers a unique "mix and match" service to help brides create their perfect wedding dress

SHOPPING for your wedding dress can be a frustrating experience. You try on a rail of gowns and find that you like the skirt of one, the neckline of another, the sleeve of a third and so on.

That's why North Yorkshire couturier Stephanie Moran has launched Bespoke Bride, to help women piece together the different elements of their wedding dress to create the perfect gown.

So how does it work? Brides-to-be who visit the 31-year-old's appointment-only boutique – Stephanie Moran Couture, Kirkgate, Tadcaster – will discover rails of the individual dress components.

Stephanie explains: "Basically you can come into the store and build your own dress! All the components will be here and in terms of the concept, I can't find anyone else doing it in the UK.

"There are skirts and bodices to create your perfect silhouette. These are in plain silk, creating a blank canvas so you can begin to add details. We can then guide you through the stages to help you create your perfect dress: adding lace overlays, sleeves, straps, sashes, lace, appliqués... the list goes on and the choice is yours!"

She adds: "The beauty of Bespoke Bride is you can add and take away components of dresses until you find the perfect fit that allows you to truly be 'the perfect you'."

Stephanie dreamed up the idea after seeing at first hand how difficult it was for brides to find the right dress off-the-peg. "I wanted to give brides more freedom. When they go shopping there was always something to change about a dress. This is the ultimate brides dressing-up experience.

"We have all the main bridal shapes in the shop with matching overlays.

"You can have something simple and scaled back, or go all out with lace or anything you want on it – it is a really good creative process."

Once all the elements are created, Stephanie then makes them into the dress – which the bride gets to name. There is a choice of fabrics and colours too. Such is the wide range of choice, each dress is unique.

Bespoke Bride is one of three ranges Stephanie offers to clients. She also sells her signature collection, available off-the-peg, in sizes 8 to 18, priced from £1,800. And she offers a couture from sketch-to-dress service, with prices from £3,000.

Bespoke Bride, with dresses priced around £2,000, was launched to bridge the gap between the two, she says. "Some people can find the idea of a couture dress quite scary. Working from a sketch to create a dress can be a big leap."

And talking of taking a leap, that is just what Yorkshire-born Stephanie has done by opening her boutique earlier this year after a long spell working as a freelance designer.

An award-winning student, she secured internships with top designers Betty Jackson and Julien Macdonald in London. It was only when her friend Cara asked that she make her wedding dress that Stephanie thought about bridal couture as a career. It was sealed after the experience of her own wedding.

"I want people to have a great feeling on their wedding day. I also feel I can really be me with bridal wear – I can be really creative."

Dresses take at least six months for Stephanie to make, so the message has to be: don't leave it to the last minute!

She adds: "The lovely thing about Bespoke Bride is that you can mix and match your own wedding dress and create your own style."

Thanks to:

Venue: Hornington Manor

Bridal design: Stephanie Moran Couture

Flowers: Fleuradamo

Photography: Sugarbird Photography

Styling: Pamella Dunn Weddings

Cake: Where the Ribbon Ends

Stationery: Raspberry Toast.

HMUA: Paula Marie ltd

Model: Dominika Blonska