The Dress

Ruby with Summer Skirt by Anna Campbell - beautiful, elegant and most of all comfortable!

I chose my gorgeous Ruby dress because I felt like I could feel fantastic and get on with enjoying my wedding day:
- perfectly fitted in the bodice but not tight across the stomach so I could eat every bite of our 7 course menu - tick!
- adjustable bow at the back allowed me (well, my mum) to tie it to fit me on the day, no worrying over 'will it still fit?'
- beautiful detail with varying texture, size and shade beads on the bodice, but didn't look over the top for our simple daytime wedding
- silk skirt which didn't crease, draped beautifully, blew delicately in the wind and dry cleaned like a dream

I purchased this dress from the Anna Campbell boutique in Armadale, Melbourne, for $4,699. It was made for me in December 2020 and worn in early March 2021. I had the dress altered (shortened and straps sewn to right length) by the team at Brides of Brighton, for a little under $500.

The dress is marked an XS. I am usually a size 8 to 10 (I have an hourglass figure) and bra size 10C to 10D, 168cm without heels. The dress fit really well, snug at the bodice so no risk of accidentally popping out. I loved that the skirt just fell straight down from the empire waistline, which meant that I wasn't trying to fit bust, waist AND hips, I really just needed the right bust and waist measurement. The benefit of this type of Anna Campbell dress is that they have a two-step bow tie and zip on the skirt section of the dress, meaning there's much more flexibility if your size changes up or down before your wedding day.

Fully dry cleaned by Syndal's High St Armadale, certificate available. The dress has been worn for a 'shorter' wedding day (total wear time less than 6 hours) and came up like a dream with dry cleaning.

At the time of purchase I tried my hardest to find this gorgeous design second hand on StillWhite but nothing was available in my size, so I 'had' to buy it brand new. I 100% would have bought second hand if I could have, and am hopeful another woman can also experience the joy of wearing this beautiful dress on her wedding day.

Alterations

Only alterations were to shorten the dress to fit my 168cm + 6cm block heeled sandals, and to sew the bodice straps in at the right length for my body. There was plenty of extra strap still remaining, this is all still attached so anyone with a longer torso than me will be able to adjust again with ease. I also still have the little pack of spare beads that came with the dress, and the original Anna Campbell bag.