DIY fabulous

It's been the summer of the Lydia dress!  Anna found my seersucker sweetheart version of the J. Crew Lucinda dress (named the Lydia dress after the bride who first requested it, Lydia) on Etsy, and immediately knew that it would be just right for the creative, intimate DIY-fabulous wedding she had planned.

Anna actually moved to Pittsburgh in the middle of her wedding planning process, so I got to do her fittings in person--hooray!  And I got a preview of all of her fantastic wedding craft projects, which were so brilliant.

Look at how gorgeous she is!  And I love the color palette--all warm sherbet orange and blush pink--totally unique and just beautiful.  Anna hand-embroidered the sash she is wearing, and made little shoe clips and hair combs to match!  Super duper crafty!

How absolutely lovely: intimate, personal, unique, and full of thoughtful detail.  Congratulations, you two! :-)

Carolina dreaming

One of my very first Etsy wedding dress commissions was from a lovely, creative bride named Lydia.  She happened to be living with her husband-to-be in one of my favorite places in the world: the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  It was Lydia's brilliant idea to make a version of the J. Crew Lucinda bridal gown in white cotton seersucker, and it turned out so beautifully! 

I had the pleasure of meeting Lydia and her fiance as they traveled through Pennsylvania, so I got to do her fitting in person--she was so sweet and warm and joyful.  Just a pleasure to work with!  After I sent the finished dress off to Lydia, my little business took off and things got busy and I wondered every once in a while how the wedding had gone...and then, lo and behold, many months later I found these fabulous pictures in my email inbox!

Doesn't everyone look like they are just blissfully happy?  I can see joy and contentment and fun and love radiating out of every face, not just the bride and groom.  That's the best kind of wedding!

Congratulations, lovebirds!  Thank you so much for sharing your special day with me. :-)

Lisa and Billy's retro fabulous wedding

Sometimes this crazy dress business of mine brings me into contact with the most amazing folks.  Lisa is one of those people that I'm so glad I got to meet--she's sweet and hilarious and SO incredibly talented.  And her new husband, Billy, is just adorable.  :-)

Lisa first found me on Etsy, after noticing that I was a fellow resident of the 'Burgh, and contacted me about making a custom wedding dress for her.  Lisa's original concept was something along the lines of the Emmeline, in the lovely ivory cotton sateen that I ADORE and use all the time, but with the addition of silk charmeuse ruffles on the bodice.  As we talked and thought about it more, we added darling elbow-length sleeves with a matching charmeuse ruffle at the sleeve hem.

Did I forget to mention that Lisa and I soon discovered that we were getting married on THE EXACT SAME DAY??  What a crazy coincidence!  Lisa is the most calm and organized bride I have ever met, and once she discovered how little planning I'd had time for, she quickly put me in touch with April at Mocha Rose Floral - who was generous enough to agree to do two weddings on the same day.  Hooray!

As the dress came together, Lisa had the inspired idea of adding a multi-colored crinoline for a little extra vintage cha-cha-cha! The crinoline was ivory, green and black to coordinate with the wedding color palette.  With the black satin sash she wore and her gorgeous anemone fascinator, nothing could have been more perfect.

Look at how happy these two lovebirds are! 

But that's not all!  Lisa wore her fabulous wedding dress to participate in the Diamond Dash, a scavenger-hunt kind of thing for a great big honkin' diamond engagement ring that took place all over Pittsburgh.  A photo of Lisa in her wedding dress riding her bike was posted on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette website! :-)  (Photo courtesy of Joane Bartone Photography)

 Congratulations and best wishes to Lisa and Billy--I'm so glad that our shared wedding planning brought us together.

Lush serenity: A Buddhist wedding in Thailand

Every time I get to see photos from one of my brides, it's like a surprise gift.  There's so much going on before, during and after a wedding...especially when the wedding takes place thousands of miles from home!  Months may go by, and I'll wonder how everything came together and hope that the day was beautiful...

Chrissy first contacted me on Etsy nearly a year ago and told me about her plans to marry her husband-to-be in Thailand.  What could be better for a destination wedding in a warm, exotic locale than a simple and elegant cotton gown?

When I first set eyes on Chrissy's wedding photos, however, I was just blown away.  (And had an immediate desire to plan a trip to Thailand!)  The setting, the color palette, the flowers, the vibrancy and joy in these photos...

The formality of the Buddhist marriage ceremony blends so beautifully with the intimacy and personality of this bride and groom.  I love that they chose to immerse themselves in the authentic experience of the ceremony and the place.

Have you ever seen a couple look more blissful, relaxed and utterly happy?

Congratulations to the beautiful couple, and thank you for sharing these amazing photos with me! :-)

Blue belle, part two: Laura's Lilla dress

Well!  What a busy spring and summer it has been!  I've been away from the blog for quite a while, sewing my little fingers off...and keeping busy with other things as well.  (More on that later...)  For my first feature of this post-bridal season, I'm bringing it back to the custom creation of lovely Laura--the Lilla dress.  In February, I featured the Lilla dress and the process behind its design.

Laura was such a sweet bride and had a clear, unique vision for her wedding--as you can see from the gorgeous photos! (Photos by Laura's aunt of Five Foot Three Photography.)  I love the pale blue and cherry red color palette, those crepe-paper poms, the vintage/retro touches like Laura's fascinator and shrug--and that hot car! 

Though the weather was rainy, these two lovebirds clearly had the sweetest of days.  Congratulations, you two!  Thanks so much for letting me be a part of your special day. :-)