Personalizing Your Dress II

Ladies...I once again have the chance to personalize a wedding gown! Bravo for being so brave! I recently went to a bridal shop with a friend of mine to see her in her wedding gown at a local bridal boutique, The Exquisite Bride, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Lauren chose a beautiful, assymetrical Maggie Sottero gown that from what I see, makes her look like a spring blossom. Seeing her tonight, I wouldn't change a thing! So, when she told me she wanted to get rid of the train, I gasped....silently. I always hear my clients out, and allow them to tell me how they feel about their gown. Lauren, was not sold on the elaborate train that makes up the back of her dress because she felt like it just wasn't appropriate for an outdoor, less formal wedding. Plus, she didn't want it to get in the way all night. Lauren said, "Katy, I was thinking we could just get rid of the bottom layer of the dress." Hmmm.

My first thought was...oh man that is so much work. My second thought was....wait, I can fix this. I started playing around with the train, bustling it up to the best possible spot and.....voila! I created a shape that made the bottom of the dress look like a blossom! As I have said in the past...work WITH the dress, not AGAINST it. I felt that if I had cut the dress and eliminated that layer, I would be ruining it and it would hate me forever. The layers of the dress were what gave the dress the charm that Lauren fell in love with. How could I take that away? Fortunately, my creativity convinced my dear friend to trust me. Therefore, instead of cutting off the train, Lauren can wear it bustled all day! Genius!

So, the lesson today is...sometimes you DON'T want to personalize your dress. Allow your seamstress to give you ideas and solutions for multiple options how how to enhance your gown. It might even save you a few bucks. It saved Lauren a bundle! :) Thanks for trusting me, dear!

Lauren, btw, designed this sweeeet blog for me :)...as well as my business cards. She is a master graphic artist in my book. Soo happy for her upcoming wedding!