About Elvi Design

Elvi Design was founded in 2011 after a conversation at a party. Our designer, Sandra was chatting with a friend about her struggle to find a unique wedding dress. At that time there were no wedding gowns with sleeves and ‘tea-length’ didn’t even exist! Her friend briefly described what she was after and Sandra responded ‘yeah, I can do that!’. With a background in fashion and a love for couture, Elvi Design was born and before she knew it, making wedding gowns for Elvi Brides became Sandra’s full-time gig!

An Elvi Bride is looking for something different, with an appreciation for quality craftsmanship and beautiful fabrics. When creating the perfect wedding gown for her special day, Sandra focuses on the style of the bride’s wedding (vintage, relaxed, bohemian, minimal etc), her individual body shape (because we all come in different sizes, right?) and her personality, to come up with a one-of-a-kind wedding gown for her special day.

You may wonder where the name ‘Elvi’ comes from. Elvi was the name of Sandra’s Finnish grandmother, a seamstress. Elvi taught Birgitta (Sandra’s Mum) how to sew and then Birgitta then passed her skills onto Sandra. Sandra has many fond memories of making dolls clothes on an old Bernina sewing machine (which she still has!). Both Sandra and Birgitta have completed formal training at the West Australian Institute of Fashion & Textiles.

Passionate about evening wear and couture, Sandra initially gained work experience with Collette Dinnigan in Sydney, and has also worked with Ruth Tarvydas, Galleria Couture and Morrison Clothing.

Sandra, now a mother of four small humans, takes on a limited number of bridal commissions each year. Sandra also offers a bridal alteration and general clothing alteration service.