THE ART OF BESPOKE BRIDAL
Alexa
Fabrics: 3D Floral Lace, Chantilly Lace, Silk Organza, Charmeuse Lining
Specialties: Two Variations of 3D Floral Lace - One with Vines, the Other with Pearl Embellished Larger-Scale 3D Floral Motifs, each one appliquéd by hand. Matching gauntlets, and veil.
3D Lace fit and flare
There are few things better, as a bridal designer, than getting to make your best friend’s wedding gown, even though at the moment, I can’t think of one.
Alexa and I met for the very first time at my own wedding, so being able to grow closer through the making of her very own gown was quite a full-circle moment.
Originally envisioning herself in a clean-lined, crisp satin ballgown, it was after trying on the exact opposite, a fitted floral-embellished wedding dress, that she new she had found the one.
Now Alexa is no simple gal, and one who knows what she likes. It’s one of my favourite things about her - she settles for nothing - which also means she got a top-tier husband, who just happens to be a childhood best friend of my husband. The roots run deep.
We came to the conclusion that a Chantilly lace gown with two different types of 3D floral lace, hand stitched by the one and only, Olivia, would be the perfect way to go. The final pieces of the finest lace were cut out by hand - with special attention to avoid the specific flowers that Alexa liked least, and each piece was appliquéd one by one. From the neckline on the bodice, down to shape the hips, and finally all along the entire hem of the dress, each one was placed with the goal in mind of creating something unable to ever be replicated. Leaving some negative space from mid-hip to just below the knee, we created the balance we needed and in the end decided that we’d sprinkle just a few of the smallest, individual chiffon flowers to tie the two more dense areas of appliquéd lace together.
What better to complete the look than satin covered buttons down the back, and lace trimmed gauntlets? Just a matching cut-edge veil with a little more appliqué work. Enough embellishment to tie everything together, but not enough to overpower the bride.
Not because she’s one of my absolute closest friends, or because I designed her dress, Alexa looked like a dream. She had the wedding of weddings, and I couldn’t have been more honoured to be a part of it. Maybe I haven’t mentioned that I was one of her bridesmaids, and I got to walk down the aisle holding my sleeping, little, five-week-old daughter.
The tears are welling again.
Alexa, my beautiful bestie, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again - you don’t expect someone as stunning, and ambitious and hard-working, to be as kind, and sweet, and thoughtful as you are. You’re the whole package, my friend. Thank you for trusting me with your dream dress. I wish we could do everything again, and relive the magic of your wedding day one more time.
