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.

First wedding of the season!

My absolute favorite thing about making dresses for people is seeing the people wearing them!  And that's especially true when it comes to wedding dresses.  Every bride imbues what I make with her own personal style and special touches--I just love to see how it all comes together!  And then when I get pics of the happy couple, it's just like the best thing ever. :-)

Look at how adorable these two are!  Danica, the lovely bride, added her own touch to the bridal Emmeline by changing the sleeves to cap sleeves, and then totally played up the retro-fabulous style by adding a gorgeous black lace sash, the perfect black shrug and a glamorous black floral fascinator.  Too perfect for words!  Thank you to Danica and her handsome new hubster for sharing these fantastic pics.  Congratulations and best wishes to you both! :-)

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. :-)

My new spring dress needs a name

I've been wanting to make this dress for a while...I love the navy blue pinpoint oxford fabric, the 1950s-inspired shape, the bateau neckline and the three-quarter length sleeves...but my favorite part is the beautiful dart and pleat detail on the bodice and skirt (see the pics below.)  OH and of course it has pockets!  I lined the skirt to give it some a-line retro flare.

Two questions:

1. What should I name it?
2. How should I wear it?