This gorgeous Wendy Makin Ellie gown made me feel like an absolute goddess on my wedding day. Strapless with a sweetheart neckline and lovely soft fishtail shape, it is made of a beautiful ivory French lace and comes with a matching silk sash.

The website below gives you a great sense of the material by allowing you to zoom in, with views from front and back, but it's the plain lace version (http://www.hitched.com.au/wedding-dresses/wendy-makin-bridal-designs/ellie)- I opted for the version that incorporates a sprinkling of pearls and clear sequins to give the gown more dimension and a beautiful subtle sparkle (see attached close-up photo of material).

I looked for ages for the 'right' lace and look and this dress ticked all the boxes for me- I could not have been happier with it. I loved how lightweight and comfortable it was as well.

The gown has a zip-up back covered by looped pearls and a chapel (small) train that bustles as needed. As an alternative to bustling, it's also got a ribbon on the underside that you can loop around your wrist (which I actually found to be more useful as it gathers the dress in a beautiful way and allows you to have the train up or down without anyone having to help you!) The cups sewn into the bust give a beautiful natural shape, but these could easily be removed if you wished.

Alterations include a) changing the back to a slight v-shape rather than a scoop as I found this to be much more flattering (back-view photo attached of me in a hallway shows this) and b) adding some tulle to the inner hem petticoat to give the gown a little kick at the bottom and achieve more of that hourglass look (you could obviously remove this if you wished).

I wore flats for my wedding as I am fairly tall so the gown has been hemmed to suit my height of 173cm. I did not alter any other aspects of the dress so it's very much a standard size 10 in terms of how it fits the body (and thus easy to work with in terms of alterations should you need any).

The dress is in pristine condition and was professionally drycleaned by Syndals in Melbourne (reputed to be the best in town- $445 value). I'll be very sad to part with it but I'd get far more satisfaction from it making another bride feel as amazing as I did than I would from it being hidden away in my wardrobe. Please contact me if you have any questions or want more photos!