Rachel Lamb Bridal Design - Ely

Anna Bird

Rachel is dedicated to her work, and you can feel the love and care that she puts into each dress. At every appointment as we were adjusting small details Rachel would say, “This is so much fun. I’m really enjoying making your dress,” which boosted my confidence and brought so much joy into the process.

As an amateur ballet dancer, the first dance at my wedding was one of the most important parts of the day for me. Shortly after getting engaged, I already had my husband in the studio with me practicing not one, but two dances for our wedding. We carefully curated the pieces for over a year, adjusting choreography and perfecting our technique. Yet my vision for the first dance was still incomplete without the perfect dress.

I searched through hundreds of dresses online, but nothing even came close to what I envisioned. I contacted Rachel with a few ideas and set up an initial appointment. Less than 15 minutes later she had sketched out my dream dress – it was everything I wanted and imagined. She listens thoughtfully and has a knack for understanding your vision.

She carefully explained different types of fabrics, presented lots of options at the high and low end of budget, and highlighted advantages and disadvantages of each. Rachel has a real skill for understanding the flow and movement of the fabric, and in the end, she created a lovely mix of shimmer, shine, texture, and flow by combining several layers of different fabrics.

At my wedding, I received so many compliments on the dress, and I spent the whole night twirling away on the dancefloor.

Adele Pinnock

I cannot recommend Rachel highly enough. At the beginning of my wedding dress search, I tried on lots of dresses which had elements that I liked but fell short in some way or just didn’t suit me quite right. I wanted to amalgamate my favourite parts of dresses I’d tried and to add my own spin. Rachel made this happen, she took time to understand my ideas and came up with a design that was practical but looked exactly how I wanted it and suited me perfectly. Rachel was incredibly organised and approachable throughout the making of my dress, and during design meetings and fittings she made me feel confident and put my mind at ease. Even though I knew what my dress was going to look like, I was still blown away by the end product. It was absolutely gorgeous and made me feel incredibly special on my wedding day. Thanks again Rachel!

Helen Carrier

After failing to find something suitable for my son’s wedding I decided to have a dress made and found Rachel through Instagram.

From the first contact Rachel put me at ease and helped me with the idea in my head to the finished product.

The dress that Rachel has created is more than I could have hoped for. The whole process has been an amazing experience, and I know I am going to feel a million dollars at the wedding next week.

Aodain Fleming

I first made contact with Rachel a year before my wedding and didn’t regret the decision I made for one second. I came with ideas but in actual fact Rachel was flexible throughout the process and we changed aspects as we went along according to how the dress evolved. From the initial design to final fitting Rachel was kind, funny but also very practical which I found helpful. Utterly professional, on time with contact and very reassuring along the way. I’d recommend Rachel to anyone who wants to have a calm and reassuring dressmaking experience. I had so many lovely compliments about my dress on the day itself I felt utterly wonderful. Thank you Rachel.

Dee

From our very first meeting Rachel was welcoming and put me at ease and was able to clearly identify the style I described. My description was just the semblance of a few ideas which swiftly became a sketch of exactly what I wanted ( even though that was not hugely clear to me on the drive over! ) From this conversation we took to choosing fabrics and combining laces for the embellishments and decorations. The design evolved and Rachel and I were always on the same page about the changes as we moved from Calico to the final silk dress from small train to something much more dramatic with more lace. Even if we hadn't been Rachel instilled me with confidence and her judgement was impeccable.
Rachel's dressmaking skills and her ability to bring every element into the design and tweak things as needed made me look forward to seeing the dress on every visit . In fact when I first saw it nearly completed I was speechless for about 2 minutes. I am never speechless .I never wanted to take it off and had the hardest time keeping the details secret from everyone but my daughter's . On the wedding day I felt a million dollars . People that visited me in the bridal suite, like the celebrant , were open mouthed and the gasp I got as I walked into the ceremony room was amazing . Everyone complimented my dress all our guests , the photographer, the DJ and every member of wedding staff came up to me to tell me how much they loved it . Most importantly my groom , Martin, was utterly blown away . In his words he "knew it would be special but he had no idea how special. It was quite simply the most beautiful dress I have ever worn and I would be sad to think that I might never wear it again . However, with Rachel's amazing skills we're going to redesign it so that in some form I will wear it again . Thank you Rachel you made my dress dreams come true x

Jayne Howe

I got married in February this year and having my dress made for me was the only option as I had a specific colour in mind. I couldn't believe how fortunate I was to find Rachel, not only because she was local to where I lived but she made me a beautiful dress in the perfect colour !
Rachel is very easy to get on with, she listens to what you want & picks up on the things you don’t want. I had no one to share this with but trusted Rachel’s view and ability to get the dress I wanted and loved.

Sophie Howard

During lockdown I found two 1930s evening dress patterns online. Having not found anything I liked off the peg for my civil Partnership ceremony, I decided to see if I could have a dress made. I didn’t want a wedding dress, and I loved the front of one the patterns and the back of another. So, after a rough sketch I set about trying to find someone locally who was up to the task.
The moment I saw the range of styles on Rachel’s website, I knew she could do it. Meeting her in summer 2020, I talked her through my ideas and she just seemed to know what I wanted. She helped me choose a gorgeous teal silk and matching chiffon, and set to work on the toile.
Rachel was so patient and flexible as lockdowns shifted and cancelled fittings.
Her attention to detail was incredible, and the end result is a dress that I still can’t quite believe is mine. It was a tricky cut, with a panel on the bias and all in silk, leaving nowhere to hide!
Rachel is a talented and genuinely lovely person to work with, I feel so lucky to have found her.

gahancock

Rachel was a dream to work with. During our second lockdown I was getting increasingly stressed about not being able to try on any dresses and the idea of going dres shopping alone, but then I stumbled upon Rachel's website! She was completely professional but simultaneously so kind and welcoming. My mum was allowed to come along to our fittings, we wore masks and sat socially distanced, Rachel worked around whatever made us feel most at ease and we were made to feel really comfortable - which is not easily done in a pandemic!

Rachel brought my vision of my dream dress to life. My mum and I will forever cherish having such a special experience to reflect back on.