Ultimate Guide to a Canadian Wedding Dress
Are you looking for a Canadian wedding dress that is both designed and actually manufactured in Canada? Look no further as we break down the biggest names in Canadian bridal and upcoming indie designers you may not have heard about!
We are Always Knew I Needed, Ottawa and Ontario’s only wedding boutique dedicated exclusively to wedding dresses designed and manufactured in Canada. We’ll break down not only the major advantages of shopping locally for your wedding dress in general, but each individual designer's highlights and what they are known for.
OUMA
Gown Featured: Zara by Ouma
With over 16 years spent designing, Ouma has dresses celebrities like Anne Hathway and Kate Winslet. "Her aesthetic is a myriad of perspectives cultivated by her cultural influence, ignited by her years spent designing in the metropolitan city of New York, and influenced by an empathetic desire to help women find their own inner confidence, ultimately expressing and emotion their unique reason for being - making visible that which is not yet seen"
Price Point: $4000 - $6000
Atelier: Vancouver, British Columbia
Known for: modern designs, zero waste approach, highest quality fabrics
You can see all the gowns we currently stock from Ouma on our website
KATHRYN BASS
Gown Featured: Poppy/Laura Photography: Sophie Fortier
Ethically designed & produced in Vancouver, Kathryn Bass has perfected the made-to-order customizable wedding gowns. When we say the sky is the limit, we truly mean it. Kathryn Bass is the designer for the Brides & Nearlyweds who want to create the gown of their dreams by taking a stunning "base" gown (aka our samples) and have it reflect their personal style through customizations. If you've tried on a dress somewhere else and said "It's perfect, but..", "Can we make it more...", "I wish I could merge this top and this bottom...", than Kathryn Bass is the perfect wedding dress solution for you.
Price Point: $3000-$4500
Atelier: Vancouver, British Columbia
Known for: unlimited customizations, plus size wedding gowns
Try on Kathryn Bass at Always Knew I Needed in Ottawa
Pearle
Gown Featured: Roselyn Photography: Sophie Fortier
Based in Halifax, Pearle by Katrina Tuttle's Pearle collection is comprised of customizable gowns and accessories that allow all clients to mix bodices, skirts, laces, sleeves, & fabrics for a curated vision. Katrina is the dream wedding dress designer for the clean girl or minimalist Bride who is ready to create a dress based on her Pinterest goals.
Price Point: $3000-$3800
Atelier: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Known for: clean silhouettes, unlimited customizations
Checkout all of the Pearle designs currently in-stock in Ottawa at Always
Trotter
A newer Indie Canadian Designer, Trotter Bridal tells a story with each wedding gown with their speciality textile technique that we have not seen anywhere else. Each wedding dress blends classic silhouettes with dark vintage romance, and contemporary refinement. Known for their alternative and black wedding gowns, their specialty techniques allow for bespoke imagery and wording to be placed anywhere on the gown!
Price Point: $4500- $5000
Atelier: Kingston, Ontario
Known for: Black Wedding Gowns, Bespoke Imagery
Try on Trotter at Always Knew I Needed in Ottawa
Catherine Langlois
Gown Featured: Paquita
Have you visited so many bridal boutiques you can’t remember the dresses you’ve tried on? Sweaty, confused.Everything is either too big or too small.Your besties are hyping you up, saying you look snatched in everything. The salesperson is pointing at the calendar but something still doesn’t feel right. So you settle, the choice is made.It’s the dress you’ve seen a million times on your feed so you think it’s “the one”. But something still doesn’t feel right. Catherine Langlois is FOR YOU! Using one of their base gown, you can create a custom gown where every dress is handmade, with absolutely no outsourcing.
Price Point: $3500-$4500
Atelier: Toronto, Ontario
Known For: Custom Dresses, Unique Silhouettes
Trunk show dates at Always Knew
Zoba Martin
Gown Featured: Matondi, Bridal cape & slip wedding dress
A new indie designer from Ontario, leader designer Chizoba brings unique and high-level design concepts into the bridal world after years of being a streetwear designer. Her debut collection Take the thanks is full of bridal minis, two pieces, and gowns that you have not seen anywhere else.
Price Point: $1000-$2000 (minis)
Atelier: Toronto, Ontario
Known for: androgynous wedding dress alternatives, creative embellishmen ts
Find her minis + two pieces at Always Knew
Why Canadian?
We have all heard the importance of supporting local and buying local after the pandemic. But WHY would you spend on a Canadian wedding designer when they are bigger names and more well known designer dresses available every 10 km? Supporting Canadian designers and businesses that understand the needs of Canadian brides. Our brides are looking for four things in their wedding dress: expert craftsmanship, size inclusivity, personalization abilities, and the ability to work within their timelines.
How it’s made & personalization
All of our wedding dresses are made and customized in each designer’s dedicated local atelier, no outsourcing here! That is why customization is central to what we do and an important differentiation in Canadian Wedding Dresses. Adjusting a neckline, adding sleeves, changing fabric, or refining a silhouette allows the dress to reflect your body and your vision instead of forcing compromises. These changes are not something our team has to consistently check back with a rep, to check with a manager, to check with a front man etc etc.. it’s a simple text directly to our designers to make sure we can accomplish your vision.Whether you want a simple tweak or a fully personalized design, we offer both semi-custom and fully custom wedding dress options to give you the freedom to create your perfect look.
Read about all the customizations you can do! We know that customizing a gown sounds exciting, but intimidating! That's why we have our expert stylists who will walk you through every option to bring your vision to life. Whether you know exactly what you want, or just have a vibe, we’ll help you build your perfect gown step-by-step
Size inclusivity
Your big name wedding dress designers have a standard wedding dress size chart that goes up to, if we are lucky, bridal size 24. Bridal size 24 generally correlates to a US/CAD streetwear 20. Meanwhile Canadian designers bring us dresses FOR CANADIAN BODIES. The average Ontario woman is a bridal size 16-18. Let’s be clear: a size chart that stops at 24 is not inclusive. It’s exclusion dressed up as effort. At Always, our designers offer size charts that extend well beyond what the industry has arbitrarily decided is “acceptable.” There’s no limit to the size we can make.
Bridal sizing is notoriously inconsistent and outdated. A bride should never feel shame because a chart wasn’t built with her body in mind. Clothing should fit people, not the other way around Extended sizing isn’t about catering to a niche. It’s about acknowledging reality.
Plus size wedding gowns are the norm here. At our Ottawa wedding showroom, every single one of our dresses are available to try on in multiple sizes. No matter your size, you deserve to try on a wedding dress that makes you feel beautiful.
At Always, we’re often praised for being “inclusive,” “progressive,” or “different.” While we appreciate the sentiment, the truth is a little more uncomfortable for the industry as a whole because what we’re doing shouldn’t be exceptional. It should be standard.What makes the bridal industry nervous isn’t that we’re doing something radical. It’s that we’re proving how low the bar has been set. Read more about our commitment to inclusivity here
Timelines
When you shop local, you're skipping the wait times, customs delays, and import taxes that come with ordering from international retailers. All the designers we carry offer rush options with extremely fast delivery times, often as little as two weeks with low cost fees. We also have an in-house alterations team ready to move fast.
Ready to find the Canadian wedding dress designer that will help turn your wedding dress dreams into a reality? Book your first wedding dress appointment here
Hi! We are Always Knew I Needed. A unique Ottawa bridal shop that came to be after years of sisters Abby & Lizzie seeing the luxury wedding gown space be unattainable for Brides & Nearlyweds who don't fit a specific mold. Our team is so incredibly excited to offer Ottawa a wedding boutique was built on the foundation of size inclusivity and a focus on Canadian brands & designers. This is the dress experience you always knew you needed. What makes us different from every other Ottawa wedding dress shop? Every single wedding gown we carry is available in plus size to try on in-store. We are never worried about custom charges, tarrifs, or slow ship times because our designers manufacture in Canada. We have unlimited customizations and can create a custom wedding dress for you, all year long!
