Lea Ann Belter 'Alyssa'

Beautiful Elegant Lace A-Line Wedding Dress & Custom Jacket for 2 Unique Looks

Perfect for Petites! This all-lace custom-designed wedding gown by Lea-Ann Belter is simple and romantic–exactly what I wanted.

I’m petite (5’00”, 100 lbs, 32A chest) and I wanted a wedding dress that elongated my petite frame. The French lace, empire waist, alterations to remove excess fabric, and customized sleeveless jacket made me feel glamorous without overwhelming my petite frame. Most wedding gowns aren’t made with petites in mind, but this one is! I met with the designer in person and she personally measured me to create this dress.

Material: This “Alyssa” A-line gown features a layer of blush dupioni silk with tulle underneath, an off-white Alençon lace overlay, and ten buttons on the back. The organza sash around the empire waist turns into double-tails that fall softly behind the gown.

Color: The underlying silk is a subtle blush color and the French lace overlay is off-white, so the lace pops on the silk (the lace itself is not blush). The blush plus off-white style looked beautiful on my brown skin tone. Pure white wedding dresses looked harsh on my skin tone, whereas this subtle blush/off-white color combination looked delicate and romantic.

Custom-designed jacket: This wedding gown includes a detachable sleeveless jacket, created using the same off-white lace as the rest of the gown. The jacket, when worn, creates a Queen Anne neckline and a keyhole back. When the jacket is removed, it creates a strapless neckline with a slight sweetheart shape, and the top button on the back rests low-to-mid back.

Alterations: The dress was altered to skim the floor and the train was removed. Pads are included in the bust without an underwire. Some of the tulle under the dress was removed in the front (which helped the dress lay straight on my petite frame), while more tulle was kept in the back to give the dress a little more shape. Silk liner was added where the tulle was removed so that it wasn’t itchy and the organza sash was shortened to just a few inches above the bottom of the dress. There is some fabric left inside the dress so that it can be altered to a slightly larger size.

Condition: The dress has been professionally cleaned, preserved, and kept in an archival box in a non-smoking home away from sunlight ever since it was purchased in 2011. I wore this dress for my evening reception only (about 6 hours total); I did not wear it during my wedding ceremony. I kept my high heels on all night (ouch!), so there was no dirt on the bottom of the dress, even before I got it professionally cleaned.