Lace wedding gowns have always been a trend in some form or another. Queen Victoria set the trend of the white wedding gown and so too has her choice of hand-made lace fabric stood the test of time. Lace can be made by machine or by hand in all sorts of patterns and in various levels of complexity.

Above: Bride Eleanor looks timeless (from the field to the dance floor) in her lace overlay couture wedding dress. Photographs by Love Me Do Photography; Click on image to enlarge.

Janice Martin Couture has worked with vintage and antique laces, contemporary fabrics and quite often fine handcrafted fabrics from the company that fabricated the lace for Kate Middleton’s wedding gown. And Janice Martin knows a thing or two (or three) about working with lace. In 1997 she was commissioned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art to restore Grace Kelly’s wedding veil for an exhibition.

Roughly twenty years ago Janice created a lace wedding gown (shown above) for her first commercial client. Janice continues to work with brides-to-be who dream of stunning lace wedding dresses.

Through the years Janice has continued to transform luxurious lace fabrics into gowns for her clients. The gown shown above features delicate hand-beaded French Alencon lace layered over four-ply silk crepe. The lace was draped and carefully hand-sewn so that no machine seams would appear. This gown was constructed over the December holidays as a rush for a January wedding. Photograph by Phil Kramer Photography; Click image to enlarge.

Bride Joan (who also happens to be a model) wore the one-of-a-kind couture gown (shown above) constructed of silk tulle, silk satin and hand-beaded French chantilly lace. Lace is a fabric for all occasions – from a black-tie soirées to beach weddings. Click image to enlarge.

Janice has worked with lace to create stunning wedding gowns, mother-of-the-bride (or groom) gowns, bridal boleros and more. Lace goes beyond the wedding dress when it comes to this very special day. During the Victorian era, weddings guests coming from unpaved roads would track dirt into the church and the lace aisle runner was rolled out after the guests had arrived to ensure that the bride’s gown remained impeccable on her walk down the aisle.

The detail photographs above show the intricacy of detail in two lace fabric overlay gowns. Lace will instantly transform any wedding gown and can be used in modern and even edgy ways! The detail to the left is from a Grace Kelly inspired wedding gown. You can read the bride’s story about her dream dress in a previous post. Click image to enlarge.