Designer Frida Hoffman-Clark, 31, married Dave Clark, 31 on 18th June at Tythe in Oxfordshire – one of our favourite UK barn wedding venues. She designed and wore a jumpsuit inspired by her mother’s wedding dress from May 1985. Frida launched her own bridal business, Kladek, in October 2022.
This is part 1 in a series of 6 articles that ask brides who married at this beautiful Oxfordshire wedding venue to reflect on their wedding day fashion choices – with insights that will benefit all readers on the hunt for their wedding dress or wedding day attire. You’ll find the other brides here.
My mum and I are very similar in character and look
We have a closeness and a special bond. It was the same with my grandma who passed away two years ago, ours was a very special connection.
Mum’s original wedding dress was a white cotton slip, and my grandma made her a kaftan-style overlay for it. It had a high neck and puffed sleeves. It’s was made from a simple, dotted, embroidered tulle, that was very light.
She was very delicate herself, so it suited her beautifully. I thought it would be so extravagant for me to have trousers that were cut so wide they looked like a dress when I moved, and that’s how the idea of the jumpsuit came along.
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Like mum, I wanted something that felt very me
At that point I wasn’t knowledgeable about bridal at all. But I had worked in luxury fashion, so I had a good idea of what’s out there.
I wanted the look to be really well made and practical so that I could have a good time wearing it – and be able to eat! My jumpsuit is a matt crepe with a detachable skirt made with tulle that’s almost identical to what mum had.
The embroidered dots are very light at the neckline and get busier towards the hem to create a beautiful waterfall effect. It’s got the gathered and ruffled sleeves, just like mum’s.
I wanted something bare across the shoulders because I am slight there but larger pants and skirt because I don’t like my thighs.
The bodice has a corset that’s fully boned. I cut the bones a little shorter above the waist, so I was comfortable when sitting down. When I was standing, I could also breathe easier too. I had all the benefit without feeling constrained.
The morning of the wedding when we were hosting some friends at the farmhouse, I wore a white A-line cotton summer dress from a label called Reserved. It had 3/4 sleeves and some embroidery along the front.
Then the night of the wedding, at about 8pm, I changed into a little halter neck satin party dress I’d also made. It sat just above the knee, was low at the back, and had abstract floral embroideries at the front for texture. Each look was perfect in its own way.
www.thetythebarn.co.uk
I never intended to make my own wedding dress
I looked for it online originally, but I couldn’t find anything where the attitude of the dress really suited me. There seemed to be these different personas that you had to choose between – the sexy bride, the princess bride etc but I just wanted to be me and look good in white.
At this point I knew my grandmother was ill and wouldn’t be at my wedding – it meant the two of us began to talk more about what I might wear.
I had already made my sister’s wedding dress (a very traditional princess gown with thirty metres of tulle) and I wanted to find a way to strengthen that family bond. It took me six months, working on it part time in the evenings.
I did once visit the bridal area of a large department store where we live in Paris so I could just browse the options. But I wasn’t ready to be assertive about what I wanted. Because I had worked as a pattern cutter and seamstress before I was looking at those dresses and knowing I would have made them differently. I knew I had to take the plunge and do it myself. After that I didn’t go to a single bridal boutique.
www.thetythebarn.co.uk
When I first discovered Tythe, I thought this is too good to be true
It was the only venue we needed to look at. After we did the tour I said to Dave, this is it. It says so much about the management that the team are so welcoming. Tythe is very elegant and luxurious but also understated and a little bit rustic and that mix was exactly what I was looking for. It suited my look perfectly which was very soft and subtle.
I’m a very soft person, I like harmony and that was translated into my outfit – and then the venue. I had the time of my life. My experience of marrying at Tythe inspires my collection and how to create a wedding wardrobe so a bride can dress coherently for different occasions during her bridal ceremonies. I always have that in mind now.
The image that told me I got it just right was…
…taken by a friend on her phone, and not staged at all. I had been dancing and she captured the end of that moment. I don’t feel I’m photogenic but when I saw that image, I thought ‘that’s me, wow, I look so happy and confident and that is the woman I have become with Dave and through the love of our families. It was a very special moment to see me like that.’
www.thetythebarn.co.uk
I never had a single moment of doubt about my wedding look
Thinking back now I wonder how I was so confident about it, but I was. I wouldn’t change a thing about it. It was very time consuming because I was working full time and working on the jumpsuit in the evenings as well as the wedding planning, but I wouldn’t change it.
There are so many memories tied up in it, I just love looking at it. Everything we did was also so strongly routed in Tythe and the suppliers. Everyone was excellent at what they do, it was all so easy and so professional.
In 2022 the stars aligned, and it was my year
After my wedding I knew I wanted to help other women feel the way I did that day. I thought, if I can do this for someone else, that’s the dream. That year, I turned 30, I got married, I left my job and I started my bridal business, Kladek.
I always say to my brides, I’m not cool, I don’t want to be cool, but I can make you feel very good in your dress. I can give you that moment of feeling very confident. That’s what I know how to do.
If you don’t want to regret your choice of wedding dress, ask yourself this
How do you want to feel? And how would you describe your perfect dress? Remember that the same words can mean very different things to different people. Any designer should be interested in getting to know you because that’s the only way to help you find the best dress for you. It should be a collaboration with nothing set in stone. You should go through it together.
Other people’s opinion can overshadow what you want – sometimes the opportunity to really bond with a family member through the process of buying your dress can end up surpassing what you actually want. Don’t make rushed decisions, sleep on it. Brides put a lot of pressure on themselves. Try to take that pressure away and really focus on what you like.’
The Tythe Barn
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Jade Beer View all Jade's articles
Jade Beer is the former editor of Conde Nast Brides, a role she held for eight years, keeping it at the number one spot for the duration of her editorship. Today, she is the editor of the Mayfair Wedding Guide; editor-at-large for The Wedding Edition and she writes about fashion and lifestyle for the national press and women's magazines. She is the author of three published novels including her latest The Last Dress from Paris.
