This Asian-Inspired Wedding Dress Is Full of Colors and Family Symbols

We’re swooning over this wedding look, featuring a heartfelt and stunning custom wedding dress. The dress was created by Indonesian designer Rusly Tjohnardi and the bride incorporated tons of nods to her family and her culture, as well as her history with her husband.

Hear from the bride herself about ordering this custom Asian-inspired wedding dress from an overseas designer. This story is shared and lightly edited with permission from the author (view her original post here).

Why I Chose a Custom Embroidered Wedding Dress

I never grew up with the desire for a big wedding dress, and I even felt guilty thinking about spending lots of money on one.  My mom didn’t wear anything special at her wedding and couldn’t afford to in China. For my own wedding, none of the dresses I tried on were speaking to me. Then a lightbulb went off when I decided to honor my mom first and foremost in my dress.

Finding an Overseas Designer for an Asian-Inspired Wedding Dress

I commissioned an Indonesian designer on Facebook named Rusly Tjohnardi, who embroiders beautiful custom Asian-inspired designs, to make me a dress and cape combo. Though I’ve seen reviews of Indonesian designer Stella Lunardy online, I didn’t for Rusly, so I hope these pictures are helpful for other brides.

The bang for the buck was incredible. My dress was $6k, which is a drop in the bucket compared to some big Western dress designers.

Trusting the Process: How My Custom Dress Came to Life Layer by Layer

I reached out to Rusly 10 months in advance and he sent two sketches. Work began two months before my wedding date and he sent updated videos and pictures as he layered each color. 

In general, I’ve found overseas vendors don't hold your hand as much as Western vendors do, and the same was true with this dress. I have experience ordering custom items from Alibaba suppliers, so I wasn't as worried, especially since I could see his work updates on IG. Trusting Rusly also was best in my case. I initially wanted a dusty blue and white garden party color scheme but Rusly was like, "girl, you are getting married in a jungle," and I realized he was right—I loved the drenched color more than the blue-and-white trend. He sent me a preview of what he had in mind and I changed my floral design to match. No regrets.

It also took some imagination to see the final result as the dress was being put together. I did have some doubts when Rusly sent some progress pics because it wasn’t as multicolor as we had discussed. He had to explain that he was applying the colors and appliqués in layers, so my dress wasn’t just going to be the green and purple border in the progress pictures. 

Being able to get involved in the process, as opposed to seeing a dress finished on the rack, is very thrilling and rewarding, but it can also add to wedding anxiety.

Despite my anxiety, trusting Rusly's process paid off completely when the dress arrived.

Rusly shipped out the dress via UPS expedited and it arrived two weeks before my wedding. There’s a misconception that you need to fly out to meet overseas dress vendors, but you’re not required to do that. I had sent Rusly my measurements regularly, three times over the course of the year, and my dress fit like a GLOVE when it arrived. There was no need for alterations, saving me even more money.

The Final Results: A Wedding Dress Layered with Color and Easter Eggs

Rusly truly delivered on the color. Each corner of the dress is packed with new color discoveries. Just now, as I was choosing pictures to upload, I found a new hot pink flower on the cape that I hadn't seen before. And the dress colors seem to change as the sunlight and angles change.

At first, all you see in the dress is purple wisteria, dripping off the sides. The green landscape in the front also looks a little like the province where my family comes from.

But then you start noticing the details on the cape...is that a puppy on the hem? Is that an embroidery of a stuffed animal next to it? (It’s the stuffed bear that my husband gifted to me when we first started dating).

I ultimately chose blue hair accessories to match the dress because when the sun sets, the hand-painted blue clouds on the cape start to come through strongly. My designer painted the clouds around the embroidery and added sequins on top to make the cloud ridges shine.

Then different colors appear when you lift the cape and see the underside: dark rose and magenta flowers.

Finally, when the cape comes off after the ceremony, you can see bright orange flowers and vines, reflecting my tropical Florida venue.

And of course the ultimate surprise is that you can find the zodiac animals of my family members on my back, surrounding me on that special day.  My mom’s zodiac animal is front and center. Next to her is my husband’s zodiac; she is welcoming him into the family. They are in a fruit garden, with little glass beads representing the fruits.

My mom loved the family zodiac details on the dress. I distinctly remember one comment she made under her breath in awe, that wasn’t even meant to be heard: “It’s like a dress for an empress.”

• Dress by Rusly Tjohnardi

• Photos by Ramses Garcia

• Hair and Makeup by Lyndsey Ariel Pozo (check out our Q&A with Lyndsey!)

More Resources for Asian Weddings

This story was generously shared with us by Reddit user u/wayoverbudget, who also helps moderate r/AsianWeddings.

r/AsianWeddings is a safe space for discussions about Asian and multicultural weddings and relationships. The community was borne out of a need for a corner of Reddit where it was safe to post about culturally sensitive topics and where cultural tenets are tacitly understood and embraced by all members of the community.