This dress has it all - stunning lace , high low hem, separates and a matching lace floral crown. I love that my job is to make a brides vision come through and Claire trusted me with that task. Isn’t she stunning.

What is your best memory of your wedding day?

We got married in No. 5 South Leinster Street at the National Gallery. It was a small wedding with just family and close friends, 28 guests in total. So my best memory is walking into that room with my dad, towards Dermot, surrounded by all the people I love most in the world. The emotion of it all just hit me like a tonne of bricks! It was lovely and I’ll never forget it.

What is your advice to a bride to be?

My advice is to make the day as personal to you and your partner as you can. Don’t feel pressure to do things because you are “supposed to” or someone tells you that you “have to”. The only things you really “have to” do are the legal bits! We had a humanist ceremony and our celebrant, Eithne Dempsey, was amazing. Instead of readings during the ceremony, we had each of our dads sing a song which was really special. We included our mammy’s in a sand ceremony. We were lucky to have extremely talented friends to take part, one performing beautiful acoustic guitar and one to take amazing photos. It all felt truly personal to us.

Also, don’t sweat the small stuff! It’s a happy day and everybody is there to celebrate with you. It doesn’t matter if things don’t go exactly to plan, just go with the flow! We had a small reception at the Gallery with some nibbles and drinks before a dinner reservation in Eden Bar and Grill. However the nibbles ran out about an hour before the reservation so we just headed across the road to Lincoln’s Inn and had a drink in there. It was really relaxed and great fun with strangers coming up to congratulate us and offer best wishes.

What was your biggest worry about getting your dress made?

My biggest worry was that people would think my dress was odd! I had a few definite ideas about what I wanted – separates, one high-low skirt and two tops, one for the ceremony day and one for the party on the following day. Whether or not they would work together I had no idea. But I could not have been in safer hands with Sarah. Sarah took my disjointed ideas and made them whole, she created a look better than I could have imagined and I couldn’t have been happier with the end result.

What part of the process was most fun for you?

Having your dress made means you are there for every part of it. Getting the sketches at the very beginning, picking the fabrics and lace, and seeing it all come together through each fitting. It was all fun and exciting. And because you are there for each step, you can see earlier on if something works or not. I bought a flower crown to wear on the day and brought it with me to a fitting. As soon as I had it on with the dress, we knew it wasn’t right. Luckily for me, Sarah was able to create a beautiful flower crown that worked perfectly.

How relaxed and comfortable does Claire look? One big tip for finding the dress, be sure to be comfortable - you need to wear the dress not the dress wear you.

Is it possible to shop ethically for your wedding dress? Is it even something you have thought about? As we start to see customers and designers taking a more thoughtful approach to purchasing and designing, can we shop ethically for our wedding attire? Today I’m giving you some ideas to approach your dress shopping with an ethical eye.

There are bridal designers out there that are paving the way in ethical sustainable bridal wear with out compromising on design . www.sanyuktashrestha.com is one such designer along with Minna http://www.minna.co.uk/ and company’s like reformation https://www.thereformation.com. Although the lovely Little White dress shop stocks sanyuktashrestha gowns you will have to do some research into designer and stockists or travel to the Uk to find your dress

Ask- when starting out on your dress hunt don’t be afraid to ask and research designers you like for information on there ethical practices. The ethical bridal industry is young and you may find it hard to find a 100% perfect company but any move towards a conscious purchase is good in my book.

Upstyling a wedding dress is a lovely thoughtful and sustainable way to find your dress. A heirloom gown or second hand dress can be reworked and made exclusively yours with the help of a good dress maker or designer. Taking a preloved dress either from a family member or wonderful sites like Once Wed can be the answer to both a budget and style conscious bride

Picking an Irish designer to produce an exclusive dress for you with ethically fabrics and sustainable practice in mind is another very good option for a conscious bridal. You would not only meet your ethical goals but have some input into the style and design you wish to have for your dream dress. Of course that would be a product I would happily undertake here at Sarah Foy Couture. But a quick google check will find you other great Irish designers that would happily help you create your dream dress

My own ethical journey has been sporadic at best on till this last 18 months. Between a house move and the onslaught of children’s toys into the house I turned firstly to a great podcast The Minimalists, which started me on a series journey to change my purchasing habits. Over the last year I have read and watched some great resources that really help me understand more clearly the effect fast fashion is having on the world. Still far from perfect, I have certainly had a big change in my attitude to everything I purchase. That mind set certainly doesn’t change when I think and purchase for my brides. As all of our dresses are designed and made in my home studio they are certainly ethically produced. However, the move to more sustainable fabrics may take a while longer I now have a select of organic silks options for brides to be and on the hunt for new and exciting alternatives for our fabrics.

As other aspects of our business evolve, I hope to continue to think and purchase as ethically as possible from our packaging to stationary. I also firmly believe that supporting other Irish businesses is essential to staying sustainable and ethical within Sarah Foy Couture.