Structured ivory silk mikado ball gown with a full skirt — Line 01 · Silk mikado, boned bodice · Photographed against the salon wall in north light

Line 01 / Structured

Structured Ball Gown

Silk mikado ball gown wedding dress, built in Birmingham, Michigan.

The gown that answers a cathedral aisle and a full-length photograph. Silk mikado, 350 grams per square metre, held on an internal corset of spiral steel boning and coutil. The skirt sits over four layers of stiffened tulle and a hem of horsehair braid so the shape stays up while you walk. Strapless or off-the-shoulder. A sweetheart or a straight neckline. No sequins on this line. The fabric is the argument.

Suits a taller bride, a bride with strong shoulders, and any bride who wants the dress to walk into the room a beat ahead of her. Not the gown for a rooftop in July, and not the gown you carry up a spiral stair without help. A cathedral train is roughly ninety inches from the waist. Most churches take it. Most reception floors do not, so we add a bustle.

Price basis

Quoted per gown in US dollars after measurement. The figure moves with fabric yardage (5.5 to 9 metres of mikado) and any change to the bodice pattern.

Shell fabric	Italian silk mikado, 350 g/m², ivory or diamond white
Bodice	Coutil corset, 12 channels of spiral steel boning, cotton lining
Skirt	4 layers stiffened tulle over silk taffeta underskirt, horsehair-braid hem
Closure	Concealed side zip and a covered-button back placket
Train	Chapel 45 in, cathedral 90 in, monarch 108 in from waist
Bustle	American over-bustle with 4 to 6 tack points, sewn to the bride's height
Weight	Approx. 4.5 kg finished, cathedral train
Lead time	16 to 22 weeks from order to first fitting
Made	Cut and sewn in the Birmingham salon

Measured in salon

Fabric note. Mikado has a crisp warp and a slight sheen. Ask for a swatch square at the appointment. The difference between mikado and duchess satin is obvious in the hand and impossible to see on a screen.

Ask about Line 01 How a fitting runs

Line 02 / Fitted

Lace Mermaid Gown

Lace mermaid wedding dress with hand-placed appliqué, made in Michigan.

A fitted silhouette from shoulder to knee, then a flare of tulle to the floor. The lace is cut by hand from Chantilly or a French-style Alençon, then placed motif by motif on a fine stretch-net base so the pattern reads across the body instead of stopping at a seam. A single placer sets the whole gown. Two placers on one gown show up as a mismatch in a wedding-day photograph, so we do not do it.

Suits a bride who wants the dress close through the ribs and the hip. The stretch net moves, so you can sit at the reception without unhooking anything. Not the gown for a bride who wants a full skirt to hide the fit. The whole line is about the fit. If the appliqué needs to be moved for a scoop back or a lower neckline, we quote the placement time separately.

Price basis

Quoted per gown in US dollars. Lace placement time is added if the appliqué is moved from the sample layout, at an hourly rate written on the quote.

Base	Stretch net, 4-way, ivory, 210 g/m²
Lace	French-style Chantilly or Alençon, hand cut and placed motif by motif
Silhouette	Fitted shoulder to knee, tulle flare to floor
Neckline	Sweetheart, V, or high illusion with lace edge
Back	Illusion tulle with covered buttons over a hidden zip
Train	Sweep to chapel, extendable to cathedral by an appliqué border
Lead time	18 to 24 weeks. Lace is ordered in one cut so it matches
Made	Cut and placed in the Birmingham salon

Measured in salon

Fabric note. Ask to see the difference between a laser-cut lace and a hand-cut lace. On a photograph they look the same. On a sleeve edge, six inches from the face, they do not.

Ask about Line 02 Compare with Line 01

Ivory lace mermaid wedding gown with hand-placed appliqué — Line 02 · French-style lace on stretch net · Salon, profile frame

Minimal ivory crepe column wedding gown with an open back — Line 03 · Double-faced crepe, minimal seaming · Salon, walking frame

Line 03 / Minimal

Crepe Column Gown

Crepe column wedding dress, minimal seams, cut for a Michigan city hall or a small church.

Heavy double-faced crepe. Two sides, both wearable, no lining seams reading through. Cut on a balanced bias so the hem hangs straight rather than kicking out at the front. The line is quiet on purpose. Nothing on it distracts from the neckline and the back, so those two lines get most of the work. High funnel, halter, or a boat neck. Open back to the waist, or closed.

Suits a bride who wants to look like herself in a good dress rather than a bride in a wedding costume. Travels well. Photographs cleanly indoors. This is the simplest line to alter because there are only a few seams to move: the hem, one side seam and the back. If your wedding is inside twelve weeks and you love this line, it is the honest answer, not the ball gown.

Price basis

Quoted per gown in US dollars. The simplest line in the collection to alter, and the shortest to build. Yardage 3.5 to 4.5 metres of crepe.

Shell fabric	Italian double-faced silk-blend crepe, 280 g/m², ivory
Cut	Balanced bias, four-panel body, cap or long sleeve on request
Neckline	High funnel, halter, or bateau
Back	Open to the waist with two rouleau ties, or closed with a hidden zip
Train	None on the base, sweep on request from an additional half-metre panel
Lining	Silk habotai to the knee, unlined below
Weight	Approx. 1.6 kg finished
Lead time	12 to 16 weeks
Made	Cut and sewn in the Birmingham salon

Measured in salon

Fabric note. Double-faced crepe is heavier than it looks. Ask to hold a metre of it. Chiffon and crepe are not the same argument.

Ask about Line 03 Add a cathedral veil

Line 04 / Hand beaded

Hand-Beaded Illusion Gown

Hand-beaded wedding gown with an illusion bodice, glass bugle beads and sequins.

An ivory illusion tulle bodice, beaded by hand at the bench. Glass bugle beads, three millimetres, with four-millimetre sequins used sparingly for the highlights. Roughly forty-two hours per bodice, sewn in a single continuous run so the thread tension stays even. The skirt is your choice: A-line in silk taffeta, or the tulle flare from Line 02. What matters is the top.

Suits a bride who wants the light to catch across the shoulders and the neckline, without covering the dress in crystals. Illusion tulle is stronger than it looks but it does snag on a rough ring or a rough thumbnail. We repair bead loss at the bench, priced separately after the fitting, because we would rather see it than guess at it. Bring the ring you will wear to the first fitting.

Price basis

Quoted per gown in US dollars. Bead repair is priced separately, itemised at the fitting, at an hourly rate for the beader.

Bodice base	Ivory illusion tulle, 20 denier, over a nude power-mesh liner
Beads	Czech glass bugle 3 mm and clear round sequins 4 mm
Density	Graduated from the shoulder line to the waist
Bead time	Approx. 42 hours per bodice, single beader, single run
Skirt options	A-line silk taffeta, or tulle flare from Line 02
Care	Hand cleaned only. Never tumbled in a dry-cleaning machine.
Lead time	20 to 26 weeks
Made	Beaded at the bench in Birmingham

Measured in salon

Fabric note. If you want the beading to move with a full skirt, book the ball-gown fitting as well. The two lines share a bead pattern.

Ask about Line 04 See bead repair notes

Line 04 · Bead count, one bodice

Bugle bead: 3 mm
Sequin: 4 mm
Tulle base: 20 denier
Hand time: ≈42 h

The macro photograph of this bodice sits in the proof block on the home page. Ask to see a finished bodice at the appointment. Beading reads differently at arm's length.

Cathedral-length silk tulle veil spread across the salon floor — Line 05 · Silk tulle at cathedral length · Hand-rolled edge, laid on the salon floor

Line 05 / Veils and overskirts

Cathedral Veils & Overskirts

Cathedral length veil in silk tulle, plus organza overskirt for the reception change.

Silk tulle veils from fingertip to royal length, with a hand-rolled edge, a lace edge, or a raw fine cut. Cathedral is roughly 108 inches from the comb. Royal runs to 144 inches. Both trail well behind the gown and both need a hand at the ceremony door. Bring one. Overskirts are organza on a hidden waistband, buttoned on for the ceremony and off for the reception in under a minute. They are the reason a fitted gown reads as a full-skirt gown for the church, and back again.

Not every venue takes a cathedral veil. A low church door or a heavy transept threshold catches the edge. If you send the venue we will tell you what will and will not sit right on the aisle.

Price basis

Quoted per piece in US dollars, by length and by edge finish. A cathedral silk-tulle veil with a hand-rolled edge sits at the middle of that range; a royal with a lace edge sits above it.

Tulle	Italian silk tulle, ivory or diamond white, single tier
Lengths	Fingertip 36 in, chapel 90 in, cathedral 108 in, royal 144 in
Edge	Hand-rolled, raw cut, or narrow French-style lace border
Comb	Two-inch metal comb, wrapped in ivory silk
Overskirt	Silk organza, 3.5 to 4.5 metres, hidden waistband, six covered buttons
Bustle for veil	Optional Juliet cap fold for the reception floor
Lead time	6 to 10 weeks for the veil, 8 to 12 weeks for the overskirt
Made	Rolled and hemmed in the Birmingham salon

Measured in salon

Fabric note. Silk tulle photographs warmer than nylon tulle in daylight and reads as ivory rather than white. If your gown is diamond white, ask for the swatch pinned together.

Ask about Line 05 Pair with Line 03

Line 06 / Alterations and bustling

Couture Alterations & Bustling

Wedding dress alterations in Birmingham, MI, on gowns bought at Roma Sposa.

The alterations bench is the second half of the shop. Hem set to the shoes you plan to wear, bodice fit taken in or let out on the panel that answers to your torso, bustle points sewn to your height and to the reception floor, and any bead repair done at the same bench that beaded the bodice in the first place. Two fittings for most gowns. Three if the bodice needs a real change. Priced as an itemised written estimate in US dollars after the first fitting, so you see what each change costs before we cut.

We do not alter gowns bought elsewhere. The bench is small and every hour is booked to a Roma Sposa gown. That refusal is not a snub. Outside gowns often come with construction we cannot properly stand behind, and standing behind the work is the point of the warranty. If your gown came from another shop, take it back to them first.

Price basis

Itemised written estimate in US dollars after the first fitting, for gowns bought at Roma Sposa. Read the workmanship warranty in the terms.

Hem	Set to the exact shoes on the day. Bring both shoes and the underpinnings.
Bodice	Taken in or let out up to two sizes on the pattern panel
Bustle	American over-bustle, French under-bustle, or ballroom, 4 to 6 points
Bead repair	Priced hourly at the fitting, on the same thread and bead as the original
Fittings	Two as standard, three if the bodice pattern is changed
Timing	First fitting 10 weeks out, second fitting 4 weeks out, pressing week of
Warranty	Workmanship on alterations, set out in the terms

Measured in salon

Bench note. Bring one guest to the first fitting. Two if you must. A crowded fitting room is how a bustle gets sewn to the wrong point on a nine-foot train.

Ask about Line 06 Read the atelier notes

07 / How to ask about a line

Three sentences and the wedding date is enough.

Do not draft a page. Write the line by name, say the wedding date and the venue if you know it, and any silhouette you already have in mind. We reply with two appointment times and a swatch list.

Say it plainly.

“Line 03, small church in Ann Arbor, May 30, want the back open, no train.” That is a complete inquiry. We will send times, a fabric swatch list, and a fitting-week estimate.

“Silk mikado holds a shape. Chiffon does not. Tell us which one you want the dress to do.”

The line, by number or name. Line 01 through 06, or the fabric word if you know it.
The wedding date. A date fixes the lead time. No date is fine, but say so.
The venue, if you have one. A cathedral aisle and a rooftop terrace are different gowns.
One silhouette word. Structured, fitted, minimal, illusion, veil.
Any hard nos. Sleeves, a bare back, a heavy skirt. Say what is off the table.

Couture wedding gowns and veils, built to the bride in Birmingham, Michigan.

Structured Ball Gown

Lace Mermaid Gown

Crepe Column Gown

Hand-Beaded Illusion Gown

Cathedral Veils & Overskirts

Couture Alterations & Bustling

Three sentences and the wedding date is enough.

Say it plainly.

Ask the atelier