Although Wholly Jo's didn’t copy the dress - we based it on the one I’d seen and then the design kind of grew. Joanne and I both had ideas that we incorporated into the design. Firstly Joanne made a dummy dress out of cotton, she called it a toile, and it really helped me see and feel the shape.

We then made the skirt a little less full to suit my shape better and we added crystal type beads all down the back to give that a magical bit of pizzazz. But the best thing Joanne did was to create an exquisite hand beaded front panel with Indian style mirrors and daisies in Burgundy that matched the bridesmaid dresses and the Indian theme of our wedding. I was delighted.