Real Hen With Heart: Laura & her Rosie Anwara dress
Laura celebrated her hen party in March 2024 in Sidmouth, Devon..
We’ve known each other since university and her incredible dress caught my eye on Instagram, customised with beaded patches by her close friend and incredible embroiderer Rosie Anwara.
This struck me as such a unique way to create a bridal outfit, and one that doesn’t leave you with a dress that can’t be worn on another occasion, because all the personalised patches can be carefully removed so you can wear the dress again or sell it on.
I had to ask Laura more about it…
AS: Laura! Congratulations on your recent wedding, and on such a fabulous hen do. What did you do for it?
LU: Thank you so much! My maid of honour and bridesmaids absolutely knocked it out of the park by organising a surprise weekend away to Sidmouth in Devon. We stayed in a super cool glass-fronted house built within a former reservoir site—it looked like something straight out of Big Brother and was the perfect hub for such a special weekend with my favourite girls. We kicked off the first night with drinks, a game of Mr & Mrs that had me simultaneously wheezing with laughter and shrieking with horror and then jumped right into the most epic silent disco (RIP my voice).
I love the rare moments where fancy and silly combine, so the next day, having a private vineyard tour and wine tasting at Castlewood Vineyard with speakers in the background blaring out 00s pop punk/emo hits while a chef cooked us lunch was just so me coded—I loved it. Imagine someone guiding you through how to analyse the flavour of a glass of wine to a soundtrack of "Stacey's Mom" by Fountains of Wayne while you’re picking at a cheese board… It still makes me laugh thinking about it now. Afterwards, we headed back to the house for some chill time before getting changed (cue: THE dress), the bridesmaids all put a real shift in making homemade pizzas and themed cocktails for everyone, and my MOH had curated an unforgettable game of pass-the-parcel filled with dares, mini bottles of tequila, face masks and forfeits - I feel like this should be a non-negotiable at every party going forward, it was so much fun. One of the girls brought her DJ decks with her so she got those set-up and we had our own little rock and pop club night.
On Sunday morning, we had a beautiful walk in the sun along the Jurassic Coast to Chit Rocks, stopping along the way for coffee and cake, then all said our goodbyes. The girls had all secretly put together a photo album of Instax film pictures and messages throughout the weekend and gave it to me on the train home, which was really the cherry on the cake. It was the best weekend ever, and I feel so lucky for how much effort everyone put into it all.
AS: Tell me about the dress - did you know Rosie was going to make it, and what was the inspiration behind the whole thing?
LU: So, Rosie suggested to me the idea of making patches, but in a ‘no pressure at all if you think it would be a bit tacky’ kind of way, and I remember thinking, ‘You’re crazy if you think I’m going to say no to this offer.’
Rosie is mad talented, and I’m always in awe of the things she makes —we actually became ‘internet friends’ through Instagram after I’d come across her page and ordered a tree decoration from her during the Christmas lockdown, and we’ve spoken almost every day since.
Her idea was always for the patches to be attached to something, be it a veil, dress or jacket and then to be repurposed afterwards. She sent over a list of suggested themes for the patches and had me fill in some of the blanks. She’d actually made herself a (crisps-themed) ‘patch dress’ as an outfit for her birthday party a few years back, and I remember thinking it was so cool. It inspired me to hunt for a white dress of my own for her to use as a base so that the patches would be the main part of my outfit rather than an accessory that I might take off or put down.
AS: Rosie, you’re an incredible artist and embroiderer - I’m obsessed with your work since seeing it through Laura! Tell me more about what you do and how you got into it…
RA: Thank you! I’m a textile artist working primarily in felt. I studied textiles and fashion from school through to University but after graduating, went into a job that wasn’t very creative. A series of traumatic events left me looking for a relaxing creative outlet. I was given some felt scraps and being close to Christmas, decided to make tree decorations. For a couple of years I shared them on my personal page and eventually launched a dedicated Instagram where I sold them. Since then it’s morphed into something else, when I’m able to, I create framed pieces but a lot of my time in the last two years has been taken up by industry commissions and workshops.
AS: You’ve shared some content on TikTok and Instagram about how you made the patches - can you tell me a bit more about your process, and was it always the intention to make them removable?
RA: I’m not a huge planner, I did some loose sketches and then just went for it. I cut the pieces out and decide as I go how I’ll embellish them. As Laura mentioned, this was inspired by a dress I made myself for my 30th. I removed those patches and turned them into Christmas decorations, gifting them to all my friends as a memento and thank you for making my birthday extra special. So yes, I always planned to remove them! It’s not something many people would wear again and framing is how I normally display my work, so it made sense!
AS: Laura, talk me through the story behind some of your favourite patches…
LU: It’s honestly impossible to choose a favourite patch—they’re all so beautiful and the thought, skill and time that went into them is unbelievable.
Though I love them all equally, the nod to Boogie Lounge (the nightclub where James and I met during our first year of uni) really made me laugh because it’s so niche, and having symbols of our honeymoon to LA (the LA Lakers logo) and Hawaii (a gorgeous pastel palm tree) feels like our trip has been immortalised somehow. Likewise, not only our wedding date, but also the date we got engaged, after the most chaotic day of travel mishaps, are both there too, alongside our initials and symbols of where we live. And if that wasn’t already enough, Rosie also made additional patches of classic symbols of luck and love: hearts, a cherub, a four-leaf clover, and the most stunning flowers—one of which took her 15 hours alone. They’re all so special, I feel incredibly grateful!
AS: Do you have plans for what to do with the patches now? And the dress?
LU: After the hen, Rosie carefully unpicked each patch from the dress and mounted and framed them as a wedding gift. We’d initially spoken about turning them into Christmas tree decorations, but it just didn’t seem right that something so beautiful, that took so long to make, would spend 11 months of the year stored away in a box. Now that they’re framed, they’re going straight onto a wall in our house for everyone to see.
As for the dress, I’m still deciding! I’ve debated dyeing it black or even altering it into a top, as I’ve recently dusted off my sewing machine, which hasn’t seen the light of day since A-Level fashion and textiles. My heart feels like it’s destined to be a ‘bridal’ dress, though. I loved wearing it so much and felt so comfortable and confident in it, so I’ll likely list it on Vinted so that it can be enjoyed just as much by the next hen.
AS: Lastly, on a different subject of making a positive impact; what’s a charitable cause that means something to you? Could you imagine a way to support them at a hen party?
LU: I’m a huge animal lover, and think the idea of helping out at a shelter or creating bundles to drop off to shelters in need would be really fulfilling and also easy enough for everyone to get involved in. You could get everyone together, put on a great spread of snacks and drinks and set up little workstations to make homemade dog treats and enrichment toys, embroider blankets or weave collars and leads - pop punk soundtrack optional!
If you’ve got a story to share about how your hen party make a positive impact, email hello@henswithheart.com