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Nicola did a really great job of assessing what styles I liked, and what would suit my figure, and although the initial design didn’t show much of the detail the final dress was exactly what I’d wanted, as well as within my budget. The dress fitted really well and was very comfortable to wear. She was very flexible in terms of timing for appointments and very friendly and helpful every time I visited. I would highly recommend her services.

Having my dress made by Nicola was such an amazing process. From wo to go, Nicola listened to what I had in mind, designed it with me and made it to tailor for my body. At each stage Nicola was so accomodating with any changes or adjustments I wanted and also had great advice as a designer! On my wedding day, I felt so proud to have a custom made dress and everyone loved the fact that it was unique and had something different about it - I couldn’t find this at any of the bridal stores I went to. I would HIGHLY recommend Nicola (have already sent a few friends her way!)

I loved the dress that Nicola made for my wedding in October. I was unable to find anything that I liked in bridal shops, who kept telling me that I was running out of time to find a dress that I liked and that I would just have to settle.

When I went to see Nicola, she told me that there was plenty of time, and that she would be able to make the exact dress that I was after with no problem at all. I showed her pictures of parts of dresses that I liked, and asked her to put them all together for me into my ideal dress.

The dress she made was exactly as I had imagined. It was finished beautifully, fit perfectly and was comfortable to wear for the day. I felt really amazing in it.

I would highly recommend Nicola. She was great from the start, through all of the fittings and it really showed in the final product.

Nikki was absolutely amazing, I went for a consultation and immediately knew she was the perfect person to make my dress. Nikki was really honest about what would be best to fit my shape and really helped in the thought process around designing my dress to fit my body too. She had all the tricks too that I would never have thought of.

Nikki was really great through the whole thing, made me feel great in my dress and we had a laugh when we went through the long fittings.

The end result, well it was perfect. Even better than what I was expecting. I was so happy with my dress.

Honestly, couldn’t have picked a better person to make my dream wedding dress! Thanks Nikki!

I absolutely loved my wedding dress that Nikki made!  I wasn’t too keen on the wedding dresses I had seen in stores, but Nikki helped me figure out what I wanted and she made the whole process so easy and fun, and her new location in Epsom was really handy for fittings.  My wedding dress was exactly what I wanted and I loved wearing it - thanks so much Nikki!

My daughter’s wedding gown was made by Nikki Dawson. What incredible talent Nikki has to turn Kendal’s vision into a gown so exquisite that it took my breath away. Using two layers of silk chiffon for the full skirt created a stunning float and lift effect in the light breeze during the beach ceremony. The top was created with the most gorgeous lace. Nikki had the foresight and skill to use a special skin coloured net fabric underneath which gave the illusion of skin while still maintaining modesty. Nikki was very skilled at translating Kendal’s vision exactly - and that takes enormous talent.

I had a great experience having my wedding dress made by Nikki. She was super helpful when I was explaining what I wanted, and was on the same page as me. She provided amazing lace and material which worked perfectly with my vision for the dress. She was very easy-going and made the process really enjoyable. She created an AMAZING two-piece gown for me which I absolutely adored. I had SO many compliments on the day, and felt incredibly special wearing the dress. I would recommend other brides-to-be to have your dress made by Nikki as she delivers exceptional results and is reasonably priced too.

Knowing that I wanted a yellow wedding dress, the hunt for a dressmaker was on, and Nikki was the first and only dressmaker I contacted. After receiving such a warm response, and then having a lovely meeting to discuss my ideas and her schedule, I knew that she would be the one to make my dress. What a great decision that was! Nikki was fabulous to work with - friendly, professional, welcoming (even when I had my noisy children with me!), and a very, VERY talented dressmaker.
My dress was absolutely gorgeous, and everything I dreamed it would be. Nikki was able to combine the two designs I showed her into one dress, seemingly with ease. On the day I felt like an absolute princess in a dress that fit me perfectly and I had so many compliments on its design and colour.
Nikki even helped with my flowergirl dresses, helping to poof the skirts a little more with added tulle, and they also looked fantastic. My flowergirls nearly outshone me on the day!
One of the best - and easiest - decisions I made about our wedding, and I would highly, HIGHLY recommend working with Nikki.

After searching through heaps of wedding dress stores I still couldn’t find my perfect dress and decided to look for someone to make it. Upon finding Nicola’s details and arranging my first visit I knew I had found the person to make my vision real. Nicola was so accommodating, understood 100% exactly what I wanted (and I am pretty picky). She even drew my design exactly as I described it. Nicola kept me updated every step of the way as the dress ‘progressed’ and advised on the perfect fabric with choices of lace for the back design. I couldn’t have been happier with the end result it was absolutely stunning and I just want to thank Nicola for everything she did- she is such a talented designer and I would have no hesitation in recommending her to future brides! You couldn’t find a better wedding dress maker than Nicola, the detail, finish and quality was absolutely perfect!!! .... And surprisingly cheaper to have my design made by Nicola than buying a dress from the shop where I would have needed further alterations made! A very happy bride!!

I found Nikki through an internet search as I was initially looking for bridesmaids dresses.  When I met with Nikki, I also showed her my top two favourite wedding dresses, and she designed one dress combining both designs.  I was sold, and proceeded to get my dress made through Nikki.  Nikki also offered amazing, realistic, honest pricing. 
Nikki listened to everything I said.  When I was stuck or needed guidance she gave it to me.  When I just wasnt sure, I asked her to make the decision, fully trusting her expertise. 
Nikki captured everything about me in the dress, it suited our style of wedding, and all the photography locations; beach, orchard, homestead. 
On the morning of the wedding, I cant describe how I felt when I put it on.  Through all of our consultations and as the dress went from being fabric on a roll to an item to wear, I knew that it was a great dress.  But that morning, once my hair and makeup were done, and I put on my dress, in the context of the situation, I felt amazing, proud to be in such a beautiful dress…that was my princess moment.  When I look at our photos now, I remember how happy that dress made me feel.  Thank you so much Nikki, Im so glad your stunning product was such an important part of my day.

Hi
Nikki was excellent to deal with.  Together we designed my wedding dress which was beautiful.  Her knowledge, creativity and skill is exceptional.  I briefed Nikki in January for my wedding in Rarotonga on 24 May the same year.  It was ready on time and fitted like a glove.  Nikki has a great personality and very easy to deal with.  WE are going back to Rarotonga next year and will get Nikki to design me another dress to celebrate.

Nicola was able to create the difficult gown that I had envisioned with ease. I absolutely love my dress and hope I and wear it again one day!! Throughout the whole process she was extremely helpful, understanding and friendly, even when I had last minute changes to make a few days before the wedding. Not only was her workmanship and customer service of high quality but she also offers her services for a very reasonably price. I would absolutely recommend her to anyone who is looking for a custom made dress.

I had my wedding dress and veil made by Nikki for my wedding last year and she did an amazing job.

I had fallen in love some aspects of a designer gown and though that I might be able to find it in Australia (it wasn’t available in NZ) and have alterations made. I did find the dress in Sydney, but they refused to do any alterations for me and wanted close to $7,000 for the gown.

I hunted around Auckland for months trying to find someone who could make the dress for me. All I found were a number of people who told me that the dress I wanted could not be made (or was next to impossible and would cost a ridiculous amount) and tried to sell me completely different dresses which were nothing like what I wanted.

By the time I found Nikki I had almost given up on my dream dress. I was so shocked when Nikki said that although it would be difficult she thought that she could do it.

And she did! My dress was and still is amazing, and was everything I ever dreamed. I’ve had so many compliments about it and would highly recommend Nikki to anyone who is looking to have their dream gown made.

Thank you again Nikki for making me the perfect dress.

Jenn

10/10!  I love my dress.  Nikki did a great job on my gown, was for our vow renewal in Rarotonga so I wanted something appropriate but cool and comfortable.  Nikki achieved all of this.  My dress was made up of a satin underdress with a separate chiffon overdress (semi grecian style) with a gorgeous crystal belt - this really “made” the dress. Plus it could be worn with both the underdress and chiffon layer (split down the front) - so 2 dresses for the price of one.  Our photographer said “that dress is mean” haha, and it was.  Also it was very flattering, slimming and incredibly comfortable.
I really appreciated Nikki’s easygoing, honest manner…if it wasn’t going to work she said so.  Plus she had beautiful fabric to chose from which made it completely hassle free for me!
I would highly recommend Nikki to any prospective bride or girl/woman wanting a formal gown…she is great, quick and easygoing.
I wish we could put up photos as I was just stoked that my dress was so gorgeous and made me feel amazing.  Thanks Nikki

I chose Nicola to design my dress after searching online for peoples recommendations. I travelled 45 minutes each way to visit her and it was well worth it!

She was able to make my custom designed dress at a fraction of the price as other companies had quoted me with beautiful quality and exceptional customer service!

My dress turned out to be everything that I wanted it to be and I looked forward to the journey out to Nicola for fittings as she is such a lovely down to earth person to deal with.

I would highly recommend Nicola for any dress you may need!!

After many months of trying on wedding dresses and visiting/calling dressmakers I found Nikki’s details on the internet.  I am 46 and didn’t want a traditional white/ivory gown and Nikki had a beautiful black & silver gown on her website which were the colours I wanted.  From the moment we met I knew I’d found the right person to make my gown.  Nikki made me feel instantly comfortable, I had a bit of an idea as to what I wanted and Nikki was fantastic at putting forward suggestions so that we came up with the final design.  There were a few changes made to the design as the dress was being made and Nikki took these all in her stride.  The finished gown was beautiful and I felt fantastic in it, I got so many wonderful comments.  Nikki also made my 11 year old daughter’s bridesmaid dress, sitting down with her and designing the dress from scratch, Nikki took on board all her ideas and the finished product was stunning!  I would highly recommend Nikki.

Nikki was just fantastic. From the first consultation she (seemingly effortlessly) took on all of my many ideas, added her own unique design ideas and came up with something really beautiful and just perfect for me. I also liked how Nicola sourced the fabric for me but had heaps of swatches to choose from and had really good advice about how each of the fabrics would look in my style of gown. As an added bonus, Nikki is very reasonably priced for the work she does.
It was a great and very relaxed process of fittings and tweaking until my dress was just perfect. Nikki has a great eye and was very good at adapting as she went along, changing her designs (with my consent of course) to the sleeves on the dress as she worked and they ended up looking much much nicer and more unique than the original design.
On the day my dress fit like a glove and I felt amazing. I got so many comments from guests on how stunning, perfect for me and extremely well tailored my dress was. It also photographed amazingly!
I couldn’t be happier with my dress, thank you so much Nicola!

During my initial consultation with Nicola I knew I wanted her to make my gown.  The end result - a gown I loved!  Every aspect was perfect - design, fit, detail, sewing, etc.  On my wedding day, I stepped into my dress and felt amazing.  Nicola was great to deal with, even when I changed the entire skirt of my gown one month in.  I loved the process of getting my dress made - being able to change details and each week having fittings and watching it take shape.  I would recommend getting a gown made and Nicola to any bride!

Nicola is just fantastic! I envisioned the most difficult dress to have designed and made - and she pulled it off brilliantly!
When first looking for a dressmaker, she showed genuine interest in my idea and offered me a very reasonable price for it. The fabric quality and construction were flawless and for an incredibly detailed gown, I could not name one fault. Nicola was very friendly and very professional, making me feel confident my dress was going to be a success throughout the entire process. She was quick to adapt to changes that either her or myself felt were necessary to make the gown be at its best, constantly making sure I was satisfied with how it was shaping out. My entire wedding evening was spent talking about how fabulous my dress was! The only down side is I could only wear it once - and have since been contemplating ways I could eventually incorporate it into my wardrobe… another challenge I think Nicola is would be well capable of.

after wedding dress shoping through all of auckland, hamilton and christchurch i still couldnt find the right dress for me!!! i finaly decided to get it made through another dress maker who in the end decided not to do it but gave me nikkis number.
i went in feeling tierd and very unsure that i would ever get my perfect wedding dress. we sat down and i showed her a few photos of sevral dresses i wanted all put into one dress. not only did she grasp my ides she seemed as excited about the dress as i was!  id been told by dress makers only one fabric could be used for the dress (one i did not want!) however nikki whent the extra mile, looked though her books and found the most beautiful fabric, at that point i relised i was infact going to have the dress of my dreams! i live 45 minutes away from nikki but every drive was worth it, and she was always fexabil. i felt so comfortabil with her, she gave an opinion if i asked her and i always left feeling very excited
the end result was breath takeing! it fit me beautifuly! it realy made my big day just that bit more magical
nikki also made 2 of my 4 bridesmaid dresses after the original dressmaker pulled out, she made the gooms shirt, altered the flowere girls dresses and i hierd a hoop for my dress from nikki. when she gave me the invoice the price for all of these was less that what id expected to pay just for my dress alone!
i would and do highly recomend nikki to every bride to be

As most girls do their whole life, I had been looking forward to and thinking about how my big day would be for my whole life. Needless to say my dress and the fact that it had to be just right was a big part of that!

I had found a dress that I wanted to be replicated and I had found a dressmaker. Then at the last minute she pulled out on me. To be fair I think it was due to bad communication on my part, but either way I no longer had a dressmaker! I was very distressed, as it was now November and the wedding was in February! I saw a few dressmakers that had me very nervous, and I was doubtful I could find someone who could pull it off.

I was googling another dressmaker I’d been recommended, when I came across Nicola’s name in a blog. I googled her website and immediately thought looking at the calibre of dresses on her website, that I’d found the lady for the job! I was incredibly lucky that she took on my dress, especially as she was so busy at the time.
Nikki’s workroom is absolutely stunning, and after meeting her for the first time I felt in completely safe hands. I had very blurry images of the dress I wanted her to replicate, but despite that, she knew exactly what I was talking about. My Mum and her were spouting off sewing terms that had me sitting there thinking yay! Someone who knows what they’re doing! We sat down and she drew pictures so that we could both see that we were on the same page, asking alot of questions along the way.

Nikki organised all of the fabric as well which was a huge bonus. I was originally worried about the location of her workroom and the travel time from town,  but it was surprisingly very quick to get there, and honestly once you’re there -it is a little oasis away from the craziness that often surrounds weddings! She was always absolutely lovely, patient with my comments and my sometime uptight moods! My Mum got on with her very well too.

The art of dressmaking is a dying one. It is very rare to find a woman that is so passionate about her work, who completely knows what she’s doing and has all of the “old” skills to make an absolutely amazing gown. The end result was exactly what I wanted. I got countless comments on the day on how amazing my dress was, and that it’s not often you see a dress that fits to one’s body shape so well. It has a very intricate bodice with a lot of rouching & the skirt was layer upon layer of silk chiffon. All of it hung perfectly. I also saw many dresses in her workroom that she was working on that highlighted her amazing skills.

I would highly recommend Nikki. I doubt you could find someone better out there, and the best thing is - she doesn’t charge outrageous prices - she actually ended up being slightly cheaper than my original dressmaker!
Thank you Nikki for helping make my dream day come true.
Angela

wow! i loved my wedding dress that nikki made for me, and lots of other people did too.

Nikki is amazing.when i was sitting down with nikki to decide what i wanted, she was very helpful, as i had so many ideas of what i wanted.
She went out of her way to make sure the dress was going to be perfect.she also was very helpful with suggesting things that could be done/used for flower girl dresses and bridesmaids.

Her appointment times are very flexible and her dresses very resonably priced. i have recommended her to a couple of my other friends and they have been very happy with their dresses.

Nicola designed & created my incredible gown for my recent wedding & she was quite simply put, full of patience, creativeness and amazingness.  She was truely a delight to deal with.

I work in Event Management and deal with Brides on a daily basis - I could quite confidently say that the dress she made me for me was one of the very best I’ve ever seen (not to be bias) & I would definitely recomend her to anybody who (like me) has something different in mind, is very fussy about detail & is on a budget!

Thank you Nikki!!

I tried on every dress in Auckland and Rotorua. I couldnt find anything that I wanted until I went to Tutabella in Ponsonby. Absolutely fabulous and so helpful. I couldnt have asked for a more beautiful dress. It was gorgeous!

What a dilemma I was in until Nikki came to my rescue.

Living in Wales, in the United Kingdom, I had finally found the wedding dress of my dreams. I am from New Zealand originally. Back in March of 2009 I had found a dressmaker even though it was quite pricey, I decided to go with it.  UNTIL I found out late September that she couldn’t do it. What was I to do.  All my wedding plans were organised.

I found Nikki through my wedding make-up artist, and I was so thrilled that she could do it at short notice.

From the first conversation I had with Nikki, my mind was put at ease.

I was arriving in New Zealand 20 days before the wedding. What a miracle worker.

Being 40yrs old I wanted something elegant and simple.  It turned out better than I ever could have imagined. I had lots of compliments on the day.

Nikkis professional astounded me. The best part of it, was,
it was alot cheaper than my first quote.  I was meant to meet Nikki Dawson.

and

she lived 5 minutes from my mother.

I would definitley recommend Nikki to all my single friends.

I am very much a non-traditional person and my wedding gown was no exception. I knew I wanted a period gown (Medievalish with a touch of fantasy to be exact) but I was having a terrible time finding the right person to make it. A lot of the dress makers I met (mostly at Bridal shows) were very nice, but they were too traditional for what I was after. I thought I was never going to find my perfect dress maker. I was at a Bridal show in Auckland when I saw the Elizabethan gown and met it’s creator, Nikki. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted the dress to look like, so I went into our consultation with an open mind.

What was meant to be an hour long consultation turned into several hours of talking and dress designing a generally getting to know one another. I walked away with a sketch of my wedding dress and the thrill of knowing I had found my dress maker! Nikki knew exactly what I was after, even though I was terrible at putting thought to paper. I didn’t even have a desire to shop around because Nikki, like my husband, was “the One.” She not only is extraordinarily knowledgeable with period gowns, but her modern ones are beautiful, too. She also designed my bridesmaids dresses, which were stunning and went perfectly with my gown. In addition, she altered the flower girl’s dress and made an adorable sash out of some of my dress fabric. Anything we asked her to do was, “Right, I can do that!”

Nikki literally designed the perfect wedding gown for me and the details and effort she put into it were amazing. I am still getting comments on my dress from friends and family and every time I show my wedding photos to people the first thing they say is, “Wow, that is an amazing dress.” Nikki was flexible with consult times, her prices competitive, and she is unbelievably friendly and sincere. I was very happy to invite her to my wedding and not just because I needed her help getting me into my dress! Nikki is my friend now and I recommend her to all brides, but especially to those looking for a gown with a bit of difference, or one that isn’t exactly traditional. Give the woman an hour and she will sketch you the dress of your dreams!

When my sister asked me to make her wedding gown -I freaked out! That’s when I called Nicola Dawson.
Nicola was fantastic from the moment we walked into our concept meeting, right up till our final fitting.
She was able to advise my sister on how to make the design of choice fit and look perfect, resulting in the perfect gown.

In the end I did my part (the petticoat) and could leave the hard stuff in the more than capable hands of Nicola Dawson Design.

I first heard of Nicola Dawson Design through the recommendation of brides on a wedding forum. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to meet her and see how things progress from there. I was apprehensive at first but once I met the smiling and warm Nikki all nerves fled. She made me feel comfortable and gave me her full attention. She understood what I wanted, made some excellent recommendations to make sure the dress was flattering. No bride is complete without the perfect dress; Nikki definately sewed me the perfect dress!!

I had a near disaster where I didn’t have any bridesmaids dresses 1 week before my wedding thanks to a different dressmaker. I ended up buying two dresses elsewhere but needed one more or something similar.  Nikki adjusted the two bought dresses to better fit my bridesmaids and sewed me another matching dress all within 24 hours!! She really helped avert a major disaster; and kept me calm the whole time.
Nothing was too much for Nikki.
The whole experience from beginning to end was exceptional; very good value for money.
Forever grateful; Thank you so much Nicola:)

I had my Wedding dress, Veil & bridesmaids shawls made by Nikki back in October 09. 
I had been recommended Nikki by a couple of friends and from even the quoting stage i could see why.  She was extremely friendly, very reasonably priced and just by talking to her i could see she understood what i was after - even though my design wasn’t properly finalized until the pattern making began a couple of months before the Big Day. 
Nikki was extremely flexible with fitting appointment times, which made it easy.
I even had Nikki alter my Hen’s Party dress at the last minute!
Nothing was too much effort.
Highly recommended.

I chose Nicola Dawson Design to get our gowns made after seeking advice and quotes from several other designers in Auckland.  I had my gown made, and also my three bridesmaids.  After showing Nicola my ideas, she designed my gown so it was exactly what I wanted.  Some of my ideas weren’t going to work out for my figure, but Nicola showed me how I could adapt them so it would be perfect.  The whole process was so much fun.  We all had a lot of laughs, and we were all made to feel at ease.  The fittings went well, and minor adjustments were made.  Two weeks before our wedding all the dresses were finished.  There was no stress at all.  I thought Nicola’s prices were very reasonable and all the dresses were great value for money.  The other think I liked was her Studio.  She works from home so there is a nice personal atmosphere, and also she was very flexible with appointment times. And very easy to find off the Motorway.  It only took about 20 mins from the city.  Thanks again, Nicola.  You really helped make our day special.  I’m still getting comments about the dresses!!!