Prince Edward Island - Melissa & John Michael

It's New Year's Eve...time for one last holiday treat before we return to reality!  I've been saving these pictures for just such an occasion--they're so delicious that you can't help but feel full of joy when you look at them. Melissa and John Michael's gorgeous vintage-inspired wedding on Prince Edward Island was so dreamy, colorful, and full of delightful detail--unique, personal and just gorgeous.  Promise me you'll look through all of this bright golden glory, and you'll be happy that you did.

Melissa chose a different set of vintage buttons for each of her maids' Emmeline dresses, and each set of buttons had a special meaning for the girl who wore it--how brilliant is that?

Each girl chose her own belt or sash to add even more personal detail (and va-va-voom!)

Breakfast with the bridesmaids--too adorable!

 

I love everything about Melissa & John Michael's wedding...I love how personal it is, I love the colors, I love the vintage inspiration and all the thought that this beautiful couple put into their special day.  It was an honor to play a small part in this gorgeous event.  Congratulations, lovebirds! :-)

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.

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. :-)

Blue belle

You know the saying: "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue--and a penny in my shoe!"  My brilliant customer Laura came up with a gorgeous concept for her wedding gown that incorporates the "something blue" in a unique and absolutely lovely way: she found a white cotton eyelet fabric with the most delicate hint of sky blue in the embroidery.  The result?  One of my new favorite dress designs!

Laura's original dress design concept was inspired by a dress she found on a site that I absolutely love, Thread.  The Thread design aesthetic--simple, feminine dresses in high quality fabrics at reasonable prices--hits very close to my heart!  And I have to say I love their use of seersucker--but I digress. :-)  Laura fell in love with a strapless full-length gown with a tiered ruffled skirt, but wanted the dress made in a more mermaid-style silhouette with graduated length ruffles--and of course in her size and with her sweet blue and white eyelet fabric!  I was up for the challenge.

 

Laura's finished gown came out even better than I could have expected!  We lowered the starting point of the ruffles and made the skirt a bit more fitted in order to gain the fit-and-flare shape that a mermaid gown must have.  The gown has a built-in bustier--comfortable and secure, and so much more convenient than wearing a separate strapless bra!  I ended up doing an interlining in the skirt and organza underlining in the ruffles to achieve the mermaid shape at the bottom of the skirt.  Sooooo pretty!  Laura tells me that she's having a little blue shrug sweater made to match the dress, which will be just the perfect accent to this sweet dress.  I can't wait to see the whole ensemble all put together!  Congratulations and best wishes, Laura!