Meringues not on menu

Not every bride-to-be imagines herself getting married in a traditional foamy white wedding dress, no matter what her mother (and mother-in-law) thinks she should wear down the aisle.

Rita Britton, founder of the legendary Pollyanna fashion boutique in Barnsley, had long been convinced that there were women out there who were after something a little bit different for their Big Day, but it was the recent Royal wedding of Kate Middleton to Prince William that spurred her on to create a collection aimed at design-conscious brides.

“I am sick of seeing big strapless meringues with Orangina tans,” Rita says cheerfully.

“I thought Kate Middleton looked stunning but most young women could not afford a gown like that, that they would never put on again. There seemed to be either the big gipsy wedding dresses or bespoke ones costing thousands of pounds.”

So she and Fred Fan, her assistant, simply took inspiration from their existing Nomad collection and made pieces in white. The result – as these stunning pictures, taken by Rita’s son John at the new Hepworth Wakefield Gallery – is a range that will appeal to women of all ages who don’t want to look like a meringue, who want beauty and quality, and white silk, but don’t want to shell out a huge sum on something that they will wear only once.

There are 12 styles in all, in 100 per cent silk, and all versatile. The Paris skirt uses 16 metres of silk, for example, but it can be worn again and again. There is even a white silk parka that could easily be reworn with jeans.

There are samples in the store and then the items are made to measure, so brides are getting a bespoke service at no extra cost.

All the garments are made upstairs in the studio, by pattern cutter Kerry Barker, sample machinist Jean Locke and the rest of the team.

Now Pollyanna can offer other wedding services too, including food by Pollyanna’s head chef Pierre Tanguy, photography by John, hair by Robert Eaton and jewellery by Jess McCormack.

You can guarantee it will all be stylishly different.