Ellie and the team are passionate about the slow fashion movement. That’s why in both our Beaconsfield and Kiddington studios you’ll only find wedding dress and accessories that are crafted sustainably and ethically. Choosing your dream wedding dress shouldn’t mean having to compromise your eco-values. That’s why we champion the very best sustainable designers and brands who design dresses with minimal environmental impact, while delivering maximum wow-factor.     

How can a wedding dress be sustainable?

At Ellie Sanderson, we define a sustainable wedding dress as one made with ethical and fair labour practices. It has to be made with minimal waste, with the environmental and social impact taken into consideration at every step of the creation process. In our eyes, a sustainable wedding dress is also made using ethically sourced or produced fabrics and strives to leave the smallest carbon footprint possible.

Why you can trust Ellie Sanderson for sustainability

We understand buying your wedding dress is a big deal, particularly when it comes to sustainability. It’s an ethos we commit to everyday, and at Ellie Sanderson we want to be completely transparent about our collections and practices, so you can shop in confidence. Here’s what you need to know…

Made to order

Every single dress, veil or accessory you buy from Ellie Sanderson is made to order. This approach keeps wastage to an absolute minimum, and our suppliers re-use or recycle anything left over. Our approach is the antithesis of fast fashion. We don’t have racks of unwanted or unused dresses sitting in a storeroom, we only order what is needed. 

Sustainable wedding dress designers

We buy with bridal designers who share our commitment to sustainability; those who source fabrics close to home and use environmentally friendly production techniques. Every brand or designer at Ellie Sanderson has an ethical approach to their carbon footprint and offers safe working conditions for their team.  We would never work with anyone whose working conditions and pay weren’t up to standard.

No minimum orders

Many wedding dress designers insist on bridal studios placing a minimum order – essentially forcing you to stock the full collection. This is not the case at Ellie Sanderson. When we order gowns from our designers, we’re never tied to minimum order requirements. Ellie and the team hand-pick every wedding dress we stock, ensuring thoughtful choices that help reduce waste. We walk, or run from mass manufactured processes and are proud NOT to say ” we have over 200 dresses in stock” we don’t as we don’t need to. This practise leads to consumer saturation and ultimately waste.

Circular samples

When it’s time to move a wedding dress on, we never throw it away. In 18 years there was only ever one dress that ended up so broken we had to waste her, but not the buttons or corset strings, lace trim or outer fabrics – we up-cycled them in the shop. Wedding gowns should not be disposable – that’s why we will always sell our sample dresses on when the time comes. This ensures the dress fulfils its purpose and honours the craftsmanship that went into creating it. Plus you get to buy a beautiful wedding dress at a reduced price! If a dress is damaged, we pass it on to another business, such as a local theatre group, to give it a new use. In January 2026 Ellie Sanderson will launch The Sample Archive – This will be a home for the samples we are selling for a fraction of the cost. Check back next year.

Close to home

We adore everything about British bridal designer Suzanne Neville. From the thoughtful design process to the skilled dressmakers who bring Suzanne’s sketches to life, every detail is crafted with passion, sustainability, and care. Suzanne Neville’s studio is only 16 miles from Ellie Sanderson Beaconsfield, and every luxurious made-to-order wedding dresses is hand-delivered. We love this as we are now great friends with Suzanne’s man who has lovingly brought every dress for 18 years.

Our studio

We work hard to run an eco-conscious business. Our studio waste is kept to a minimum and we recycle scrap fabric. We even reuse all our delivery packaging, turning them into internal dress fillers to shape our dresses. Our studios no longer use plastic or paper bags, instead choosing ‘Bride for Life’ fabric bags. We’re currently looking into options on how we can make our dress bag options even more eco-friendly.

Ellie Sanderson has been a paper-free environment for over 6 years now, with all our brides’ files kept digitally. We don’t print business postcards or collateral. We also no longer print little bridal brochures to save on paper waste.

We are proud to make conscious decisions daily on how we can commit to sustainability. You can see this even in the smallest details, like only using 100% recycled toilet paper and hand towels.

Where to buy your sustainable wedding dress

We stock an exclusive, carefully curated selection of bridal designers and brands at both our Ellie Sanderson studios. Visit our website to see which designers our Beaconsfield studio stocks and which ones are in Kiddington. This should help you get a feel for the right place to book your appointment. Our team will be on hand throughout your one-to-one appointment to talk you through the brands and their sustainability credentials. Click here to book your appointment. We can’t wait to help you find your dream dress!