A closer look at Eden Keshia's wedding dress
To celebrate the month of love, we find out more about Eden Keshia’s intimate wedding ceremony, and discover the secrets behind the gorgeous bespoke outfits she created for her special day.
Bridal and womenswear designer, artist and new name on the bridal scene Eden Keshia married her husband Christian surrounded by their closest family and friends. The couple chose a beautiful wedding venue named Elixir on the West coast of the island overlooking Es Vedra.
Of course, there was no question that Eden would be creating her own bridal attire. Featuring pieces from both the Heirloom and Couture collections, the looks celebrated Eden’s love for vintage fashion and aptly fit the line she is becoming known for: ’Gowns made for dancing’.
We spoke with Eden to find out more.
What is the best part of being a designer/ being able to design your own wedding dress?
For me, the best part of being a designer is the constant creative flow. Even between collections, I feel incredibly lucky to dream up ideas and concepts, draw, paint and just generally experiment creatively. This was also probably the best part of designing my own dress, as there was no ’brief’ to work to, apart from the ideas in my own head. I was able to design to my own tastes, and include pieces of embroidery and sentimental details that may mean nothing to anyone else except me and my nearest and dearest.
What was your ceremony gown like?
My ceremony gown - showcasing the couture story design process - features sentimental embroidered details, vintage glass beads circa 1920s and freshwater pearls to symbolise good fortune. My favourite botanicals - monstera deliciosa, peace lilies and sunflowers - cascaded down the dramatic train. Previously a botanical artist and embroidery designer, I painted the flora before tracing and arranged them across the train and beaded the dress by hand.
Were there certain components you just knew you had to include in the dress?
The initials embroidered in my gown ’C & E’ were created from antique glass beads sourced from a French flea market, and were my ’something old’. I love the personalisation, and these embroidered letters have become somewhat a signature in the past few months! I also included oysters from our first date; I have a keepsake box like many people do with important and sentimental things over the years; a champagne cork from our engagement, a hand written letter, an illustration by my step-daughter and the metallic oyster shell were some of the things I’d kept and for me signify the most important moments in our relationship so far. It felt really important to pop these in the dress embroidery amongst my favourite flowers. I also had a tiny Turkish eye for my ’something blue’ embroidered into the train; the artwork was traced from artwork traced from a pendant which was gifted from my grandfather who couldn’t be there, so this was a nice addition to have on the day.
What about the evening look?
I wore a jumpsuit made entirely from vintage fabric and surplus tulle in the atelier. Original 1970s alabone shell buckles were also used to fashion a cut-out silhouette with choker and Juliette cap. The silhouette is contemporary, fashion-forward, and ideal for dancing the night away at an elopement celebration.
Can you spill any details about the design process itself?
The design process was squeezed into a smaller time frame than I had anticipated - we had a really busy summer season last year, which I’m incredibly grateful for. Client’s bespoke gowns came first, and so myself and a couple of members of the team had a really limited (but fun) window to create all of the embroidery in the atelier.
If you could do it all over again, is there anything you would change or add?
If I could do it again, I think I’d remove the lining entirely and go sheer! The beach was really breezy that day, and my lining was intentionally nude coloured to appear as if invisible, but was just another thing to try and arrange for photos.
And finally, what was your favourite memory from the day?
The day was a blur, but we made sure to take five minutes away from the wedding party and calmly try and be in that moment. It was really lovely to see our closest family and friends having such a good time, and sit back and take everything in. So much planning and anticipation goes into weddings that it really does go so quickly, and I’m glad we took just a few minutes to appreciate everyone that had made the trip out to celebrate with us - it was really special.
