Monday, December 13, 2010

The Making of My Wedding Dress

First Fitting

 After trying on over 60 wedding dresses, and not finding the perfect dress, I found the perfect opportunity to design my own dress with a head seamstress from a well-known design house in town.  Our communication began in March but she really only started my dress in July (and we got married August 20th - needless to say I was certainly a very worried bride).  However, she is an exceptional seamstress, listened to everything I was looking for in a dress and created the most perfect dress for me.  It was a brilliant collaboration and she kept telling me how it was all me, and all my own design, which made me very proud.  I had a total of four fittings , of which I went to with my mom, before bringing the dress home.  She was fantastic in snapping shots left, right and centre, which was so great because with each fitting, so much progress was made.

click photos to enlarge

The first fitting had me putting on a a super raw version of the dress, it was strapless (as the top was a seperate piece) and the bottom of the dress would be nothing like it would be in the end.  The bodice was formed, but the bustier was not in the dress yet.  She pinned and nipped me to give me an idea of what the top of the dress would look like once complete.

Second Fitting
For the second fitting, you can see the skirt is now somewhat attached, as is the top of the dress, and the zipper and half the buttons has been put in.
Unfortunately for my second fitting, my camera battery was dead so we used my iPhone.  
Memories captured, at the very least.


Third Fitting
 For the third fitting, my dress was super close to being done.  It was about two weeks before the wedding and I still didn't have my wedding shoes yet.  She had put the bustier in the dress, the crinoline under the skirt, my sash was made and I brought along my veil and various pieces of jewelery to try out as I wasn't sure what I'd wear on the big day.  I remember being in the dress for at least half an hour and noticed one of the shoulder straps was pulling down and making me uncomfortable.  I also needed the bustier tightened and promised I'd bring the shoes for the next and final fitting and she'd hem the dress.


Final Fitting
 My fourth and final fitting was the Tuesday of the week we got married (and we got married on a Friday).  Everything was perfect, I brought along my shoes (which I surprised my mom with that very fitting - she laughed at how neon orange they were) and was so anxious and excited to bring my dress home (well, to my parent's house, as that's where I kept it until the night before our wedding, when I picked it up).  I must have tried my dress on and off about five times while she made all the last-minute adjustments (the hem, the shoulder strap, again, the bustier) to make it perfect.  I left that evening with my wedding dress, ready to walk down the aisle.
{ bagged and ready to go! }

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13 comments

Jan said...

It's fascinating to see how it developed through the various fittings. A truly stellar dress and what a result!

Anonymous said...

I had my dress made too and wish Id taken more pictures. So fun to be able to see the process!

Isabel said...

your dress turned out beautifully. an A.Co est. 1984 original :)

Jamie said...

First off, the dress is STUNNING, but I told you that before ;)
I love the building process though. How cool to see the stages. I think I just might do the same thing. Why settle when you don't have to?!?!

http://www.glamlatte.com

PS. Yeah it's just me and the bf Christmas day since we will be in LA and all our fam lives in Boston. (christmas eve we are doing with a group of friends though, which will be fun)

Meredith said...

it's like a real live version of "say yes to the dress!" except not real live for me. i guess. but still: SO COOL to see all of the stills. gorgeous!! congrats!
YOURS, MINE AND OURS

stephanie. said...

what an amazing process. love your shoes!

iamstyleish said...

I LOVE this! How great to see it from start to finish. Your dress is amazing!

Unknown said...

that is so freaking cool that you got to design your own dress! i bet it was such an incredible experience, to say the least.

xx

Sarah Larsen said...

What an amazing opportunity! I had no idea! You did amazing.

Deanna (Silly Goose Farm) said...

Yay! Weddings! You look A. MA. ZING. And those shoes! Gads! Good luck with the wedding!

My dress was custom-made for someone else, who ended up not liking it. So I got a $5000 dress for $800 (I added a few of my own touches, it was so beautiful, and I was so lucky!).

SLM said...

That is an amazingly beautiful dress!!!!!! GORGEOUS!!!

JINX said...

You've been JINXED...

Alicia Lund said...

wow that's so awesome you designed your own dress! it's so beautiful!

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