ON 24th November 2005, at an awards ceremony in Clontarf Castle Roswitha was presented as the first recipient of the Weddings Irish Style Best Wedding Couturier 2005 award by Caroline Morahan the presenter of RTEs "Off-The-Rails" fashion program. The awards were staged by Weddings Irish Style magazine with the aim of finding the best suppliers of products and services to brides-to-be as voted by the most important people, their current and prospective customers. To quote Jacinta O'Brien, Editor of Weddings Irish Style, "These new awards recognise excellence within the increasingly sophisticated Irish weddings industry." In a novel twist, the organisers short listed finalists and then left the judging of the awards to the members of the public who attended a series of fashion shows held in Dublin, Athlone and Cork during October, and to Real Brides and Grooms who used the services of the finalists over the past year.
One of Roswitha gowns on the catwalk
TO win this award Roswitha submitted four of her handmade gowns for show at fashion shows held in Dublin, Athlone and Cork alongside other bridal designers from around the country. At each fashion show, compered by Eddie Shanahan of Arnotts, each of the competitors gowns were modelled on the catwalk by Ireland's top models. The audience were asked to vote on their favourite selection of gowns, the winner being the bridal designer with the most votes after all three shows had been held.
THE road to winning this award has been a long one Roswitha has been designing and making wedding and bridesmaids dresses for over fifteen years Initially she only took commissions from close friends and family as a personal favour while working as a designer for established fashion houses. Due to an overwhelming positive response from satisfied brides in 2003 she decided to set out on her own and concentrate on designing and making individual wedding gowns for brides to be. In the short time since setting up Roswitha has made a name for herself for providing one-off designer wedding gowns that are tailored for each and every clients' personality and shape, together with a friendly, intimate and no fuss service.