We recently made our way to Olivelli, a wedding attire boutique in Willowbridge, with bride-to-be Melissa Hillhouse. We were really excited to visit the shop, as we have featured many Olivelli dresses on The Pretty Blog before, and we are thrilled to now have our own Olivelli in Cape Town.

Upon our arrival we were treated with delicious and pretty personalised Olivelli cookies. There was even a box of tissues should there be tears of joy when seeing Melissa in the perfect dress.

My first thought was, how on earth do you decide on one dress, when you have so many options? But the first step is for the girls at  Olivelli to get to know the bride a little bit better, which makes the selection process so much easier. They discuss the colour, style, neckline and fit she prefers. Naturally, the bride’s personality and the type of wedding she’s planning also plays an important role.

Then they go through all dresses in the boutique to choose those the bride would like to try on. But here’s the best part, she can try on as many as she wants! Melissa is absolutely gorgeous, so she could go for practically any dress. Eventually we chose our top six, and off she went to the spacious fitting room with its enormous mirrors.

A fitting at  Olivelli gives you the full picture. Each dress is styled, if the bride wants, with shoes, jewellery and a veil or headpiece. The bride then gets the chance to step onto a round platform (just like in the movies J) for ooh’s and aah’s. Remember those tissues, here’s where they will come in handy.

The next step is to finalise the quotes for the dresses. If she has found the one, they will continue with the purchase and ordering process. Melissa’s favourites were Liz and Amelie…yes, most of the dresses even have names. When you visit  Olivelli Cape Town just keep in mind that the dresses take 3-4 months to arrive and you also need to allow time for alterations. The consultation fee is R250 to secure the booking and lasts about two hours, you can come back for more fittings at no charge.

Thank you to Marli  Basson for making Melissa look even more beautiful. Her hair and make-up was absolutely gorgeous. Yolandé Marx was there to capture the Olivelli experience. Accessories from Hayley Goodrich Accessories.