Homespun love: Bethany & Ethan

 

I have been waiting with bated breath for MONTHS to share Bethany and Ethan's breathtaking wedding with everyone, and the time has finally come!  It's like a holiday treat for the eyes.  Bethany was one of my very first brides, and first contacted me via Etsy looking for her own special version of the J. Crew Sascha bridal gown.  Once I saw the gown, with its dramatic multi-petal peony floral accent at the waist, I was totally hooked - I knew I had to make this dress!  As you can see, it turned out even better than I could have ever hoped, and Bethany looks stunning in it.  

When I first saw these photos, I was totally blown away - the whole event looks like it was staged for a shoot by Martha Stewart Weddings!  

Bethany and Ethan had an intimate wedding celebration at Bethany’s childhood home in Escondido. Their wedding was filled with warm, personal touches and tons of thoughtful details...I just love the vintage inspiration combined with the lush floral arrangements and the DIY touches.  I could look at these pics all day. 

Bethany's mother hand sewed all the gorgeous quilts that were a main part of the homespun decor. Handmade vintage ribbons and banners were strewn about the house, encouraging guests to “celebrate” and “eat drink and be married!” All the flowers and vintage decor display was designed by the talented Annette Gomez, and the gorgeous photographs are by Stephanie Williams Photography.  (To see more of these gorgeous pics, visit Stephanie's blog - I promise, this wedding was so beautiful in every detail that you'll be inspired and happy for the rest of the day!)

 

Guests wrote well wishes to the couple on a vintage typewriter during the cocktail hour, and a personal chef created the most delicious menu. The evening ended with family and friends dining in candle light under an old oak tree, and eating slices of lemon bars and organic banana cake!

Congratulations, lovebirds - thanks so much for sharing your special day with us.  And an extra special thank you to Stephanie Williams Photography for the amazing photos - keep up the good work!

Silk seersucker simplicity

I'm so excited to be able to share a few photos of one of my favorite bridal gowns of the past wedding season - Joana's gorgeous silk seersucker Lydia gown!  Joana contacted me via Etsy nearly a year ago, knowing that she wanted a version of the Lydia gown but unsure of which fabric would be the best choice for her.  She loved the look of seersucker, but wanted something just a bit fancier.  Luckily, I had just seen (and fallen in love with) this GORGEOUS silk seersucker on one of my favorite fabric suppliers' websites.  After seeing the fabric for herself, Joana was as much in love with it as I was.  The texture and sheen of the silk fabric is just breathtaking!

 

As you can see, the dress came out beautifully - just perfect for an intimate family ceremony.  What more could you ask for?  Congrats and best wishes, lovebirds! :-)

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. :-)

Oh so retro: 1950s bridal ballgown

It's my first true ballgown of this bridal season, and I'm so excited to finally be posting some pics!  This gorgeous dress is a custom design made for a super-sweet San Antonio bride named Mary.  We found each other on Etsy, of course--I'm still blown away by how many fantastic folks I've met through this amazing site--so many fun, amazingly creative people!  Mary is a creative person herself--floral design is her genre--and was looking for a unique, retro-inspired gown that would flatter her figure and incorporate aspects of various dresses that she had seen online.  Like so many brides, the bridal gown shopping experience had proved more than a little disheartening, so she set out to find someone who could make her dream dress--and luckily she stumbled across my site!

The creative collaboration experience with my brides is unique every time, but is always enjoyable--my brides most often come up with the amazing ideas, and I just figure out how to make them happen!  In Mary's case, she put together an inspiration board to give me an idea of what design details appealed to her sense of style and the aesthetic of the event she was putting together, and then we had a marathon phone session in which we talked through the dress from top to bottom--from the shape of the bodice and the fabric choice to the types of tulle we used for the skirt and the proportions of the dress overall.  I sketched as we talked, and we were quickly able to come up with a concept that Mary loved.  Then it was time for me to get to work!

Oh, my goodness, did this dress remind me just how much labor women put into their gorgeous bridal gowns back in the day!  All that ruched chiffon in the bodice is hand-sewed with invisible thread, and there are eight layers of hand-gathered tulle in the skirt...whew!  My Aunt Anne wore a dress that was nearly identical to her prom in 1958--when I put Mary's gown on my mannequin to photograph it, I had a bit of deja vu!  And of course my Aunt Anne and my Grandma Ruby (the original seamstress extraordinaire in my family--which is why she's one of the namesakes of my shop!) did all of the work themselves. 
Mary's dress is so clearly a 1950s gown-makes me think of white gloves, orange blossoms, big bands and ballrooms and white dinner jackets.  And of course, it's perfect for a contemporary bride as well!  That's what I love so much about vintage and retro design--the style is so classic and elegant and full of gorgeous detail that it's timeless.

Thank you so much to Mary, who gave me the opportunity to make this amazing dress for her!  All the best wishes to you and your hubby-to-be. :-)