Cao Yuting with mini wedding dresses she made in her studio in Chenzhou, Hunan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Designing wedding dresses is a dream for many young women. For Cao Yuting, it became reality in 2018, when she was 29 years old.

Before starting her own business in wedding dress design and manufacturing, Cao worked in the fashion design industry in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

In 2014, Cao attended a wedding ceremony in her hometown of Chenzhou, Hunan province, and found the design of her friend's wedding dress was old-fashioned, and the fabrics were subpar.

"I think to wear beautiful and exquisite wedding dress is a dream for many women, and I wanted to bring what I learned back to my hometown," Cao said.

The mini wedding dresses Cao Yuting made in her studio in Chenzhou, Hunan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Cao quit her job in Guangzhou and returned to Chenzhou.

In 2018, she started to design and produce mini-wedding dresses.

"The purpose of mini-size dresses is to look at it in real life and then improve the design," she said.

It takes Cao two or three days to make a mini wedding dress, and about three months to make a full-size one. Last year, she began to post videos online of making mini dresses.

"It is so beautiful, I felt healed even from the screen," a comment read.

A mini wedding dress Cao Yuting made in her studio in Chenzhou, Hunan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

For Cao, the effort has paid off.

"Last year, a client from the United States placed an order asking me to make mini copies of the wedding dress she wore at her ceremony as a souvenir to preserve the memory. It took three months for her to receive the completed products," she said.

So far, Cao has made 200 mini wedding dresses.

The procedures include design, choice of fabrics, platemaking, cutting, sewing, needlework and fine polishing.

The mini dresses range from about 87 centimeters to 35 cm long.

"To observe, think and imagine is key to design dresses," she said.

The mini wedding dresses Cao Yuting made in her studio in Chenzhou, Hunan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The mini wedding dresses Cao Yuting made in her studio in Chenzhou, Hunan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The mini wedding dresses Cao Yuting made in her studio in Chenzhou, Hunan province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]