Blog
This past weekend, we traveled to the beautiful Charlottesville area to Veritas Winery. It was the culmination of a long alterations project for us. Lauren came to us over a year ago with a Mark Zunino gown that overwhelmed her petite frame.
We cut the dress in two to shorten the torso, and then hand stitched the lace back down. We took up the shoulders. We hemmed both the front and the train. We also shortened the neckline.
Lauren's dress, steamed and ready at the venue.
Why is my blog so quiet? Because it is bridal season and things are crazy in the sewing world!!! BTW, this is your friendly reminder to nudge your recently engaged friends we are currently booking September, (yes, 4 months out.) Fall brides should already be in the books for their appointments with us. :)
Update: It is now May 31st as I type this. We are booked til the end of October now and we are still quiet on the blog because of the rush of bridal season. BTW, I hope all of you had a great Memorial Day with your families.
Today I'm going to do something that I don't normally do. I'm going to blog about a touchy subject.
Entourages.
You read that right. I'm going to bring up the subject. Reality TV has brought many ills to society, the largest of which is normalizing and reinforcing unhealthy and dramatic behaviors.
In the past we have politely asked that our clients limit themselves to only 1 guest. Due to the suggestions of reality TV, brides are more often under the belief that bridal fittings are now an "event" to which you should invite your bridal party and relatives. Well... it's not. ((clearing throat)) There, I said it.
The number of guests accompanying brides is getting overwhelming and it's against our very nicely-worded policy. Unfortunately, the nicely-worded part isn't working anymore. I hate to get firm. Maybe explaining will help?
Let me first say that I don't want to come across as offensive in any way. I treat all of our clients with respect because I really do respect them and their families. The cartoons that are below are just meant to humorously portray what really happens when we have an overcrowded situation. If you are "hangry" right now or get easily offended by cartoons, please stop reading and go eat a snack. :)
Okay, now that we are alone...
When you bring your friends and family, you invite their opinions and lots of distractions. Too many opinions can be stressful for you. Also, those opinions are often gestures of love from your friend's perspective, but they often increase your bottom line. For example: We give a bride 2 hem choices. One is cheaper than the other and within her budget. The other is above her budget but a little nicer. Aunt Suzy is trying to be sweet by encouraging the bride to pick the best one. Bride goes for it, because who doesn't like being told that they are worth it? However, when it's time to check out, the bride is alone with her wallet, while the aunt is talking flowers with mom over in the corner.
It's not that we don't like your relatives and friends. They are great! :) It just makes our studio feel all crazy when we only have two brides, but there are 13 people there. I'm trying to do a job that requires precision and a detailed memory, but I'm being interrupted by a maid of honor asking me to show her how to work the coffee maker. Even though I love what I do, my job is high-pressure. I can't be given a pass to accidentally hem a bride's dress 2 inches too short because her baby niece was screaming or because mom had rearranged her skirt while my back was turned. It happens, people. All. The. Time. Not the part about the hemming too short, (thank goodness!) but, the screaming baby and mom rearranging the dress is all too real.
To sum it up:
#1 The entourage makes it more stressful for the bride.
#2 The entourage makes it more stressful for the seamstress.
That my friends, is a recipe for disaster. Let's stick with the one-guest rule, okay? Thanks! Oh, and thank yourself, too because everything will be so much less stressful for you!
Gearing up for today's wedding. Emergency blusher on the way! :)
Here's one of our brides who got married during the recent snow storm. (Check out that "gilded" fit. ;) Congrats To Emilee and Michael!
It's not that it doesn't mean a lot. It does. I'm just not a "contest" kind of person. It's particularly itchy to mention it. I won't have stickers about this placed everywhere. But, if it simply means that I made brides happy this year? OK, then. Thank you guys for the very gracious feedback. God has really blessed me.
Brittany and Bret tied the knot in a cozy country church which sits at the foot of The Peaks in Bedford, VA. Their candlelit guests could be seen through the time-warbled glass windows of Peaks Presbyterian Church. It was standing room only with a candlelit ambiance. Piano music of old hymns drifted across the misty fields of cattle and between the many barns that color and dot the vista. I relished the sound of the beautiful hymn, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing which was played during the processional. Be still my heart. *This* is how it is done.
Brittany and her family and friends prepared themselves at the Claytor Nature Center, Cloverlea Farm . That's an old farmhouse and property that is just 10 minutes away from the church.
We had to take a bridesmaid's dress up a couple of sizes because she recently lost weight. It's kinda handy to have a seamstress around ;) I delivered Brittany's dress to the venue, pressed the pashminas and bridesmaid's gowns, static treated the gowns, and sewed Brittany's zipper flap down. I also replaced a button that popped off of Brittany's gown as we zipped her up.
Brittany in her last moments of reflection before taking her vows. Her gown was from Church Street Bridal.
I'm buried in end of the year work right now, so my blog posting is really back-burnered. I can't wait to get back to you guys! I have so much to share on the blog. In the meantime, enjoy this blog post that was written about us earlier this year. It's about the photography side of my business, how it fits into my business model and how Lightroom has really helped my organization for all of my photos. A lot of stuff goes into a website and marketing a business!
The best day to make an appointment is today! We often hear sad brides say that they couldn't get in because their dress came in at the last minute. We were booked full by the time they called.
Our advice is to fill out an appointment request form when you know your wedding date, or as soon as you get an estimated date of arrival on a dress that you just ordered. If you are buying off of the rack, some girls set up appointments before they even go shopping or settle on a dress. We can always cancel an unnecessary appointment. What we can't do, is turn back time and make appointment slots available that have already been snagged by planning brides.
I hope this helps! :)
I'm sorry this isn't a "real" post. I've been recovering the back end of my business, so my blog is slightly neglected. I feel an editing burst coming, so hang in there and we'll have a fresh crop of before afters for you soon. Oh, and we have a c-ville courthouse wedding to share with you! Yippee!!! Her dress was tea length. ((swoon))
I stumbled across this little blog article that I thought I would share. I get asked all the time, where do I recommend selling used wedding gowns. Well, the short answer is, I don't. I have zero experience with it. So try out this handy dandy list of 7 sites for selling your pre-loved gown. Lemme know how it turns out. :)
http://www.brit.co/sell-wedding-dress-online/
Jordan tied the knot on Saturday! You may recognize her before/after picture from a few months ago. Her alias on here was, "Tootsie". She married at the Church of God on Hildebrand in Roanoke. Her reception was at Woodland Place in Vinton, VA. Let's start with a little back story...
Get it? "Back story"?? ;) Jordan is pictured far left. While getting ready, she is managing her Cathedral length veil in a very creative way! Her mom is in the middle picture. Her zipper gave out first thing and I had to sew her up into her dress! Crisis averted. Sewing a zipper is a quick way to solve a major problem, but it's also much prettier than a regular zipper. More on that later... ;) The bridesmaid on the right is a good example of a few other fixes that I had to make Saturday. Her snap had broken on her sash, so I sewed it back on. I also had to shorten another bridesmaid's straps so that she would enjoy a perfect fit.
Left: The colors were in full strut on this scattered showers day.
Right: Love these ladies!! Jordan's grandmother is on left. MOB is on the right. They both accompanied Jordan to my studio for most of her fittings.
Here's the back of Jordan's dress before and after I sewed her zipper flap down. Her dress had an unusually flappy zipper flap! It would never lay right on its own and had to be sewn in place.
After a steam and a stitch, Jordan is ready to walk down the aisle.
I want to make special mention of Jordan's photographer, Paula Greenway. I always love working with her! Please visit her website. She's ultra savvy about this stuff and produces beautiful work. I'm always amazed at how huge her sneak peeks are- and lightening fast!
Thank you Jordan for allowing me to share your day!!
This bride came to us with a dress that had already been "altered". She showed us a picture of how she wanted her dress to look. This is the same picture that she had shown her previous big box seamstress. The dress she started with had a short, high waist with a small sash. She wanted an additional sash added to elongate the waist. She also wanted to add lace to the straps. She showed us her dress. It was a disaster.
Please excuse us for not giving credit for the first photo. I have no idea where it came from or who took it. If you know this info, please let me know, and I will credit accordingly.
The most obvious problem was that the added sash didn't match the dress in color or fabric. The second most obvious problem was that her dress didn't match the picture of what she wanted. The third problem was that someone with scissors had actually done violence to her dress. (I have other pictures with additional, terrible errors that I am withholding for brevity's sake.) You can also look at the middle picture and see how the top of the bodice near her underarms blooms out quickly, (particularly on the left side.) They altered the dress wrong for fit as well, and actually caused irreparable damage in the side seam. We patched it up as best we could and moved on. Also note: the mid-line of the sweetheart in the middle picture is off-center. We also had to fix that. ~sigh~. The sash part of her dress didn't end up being quite as long as we hoped it could be, but she wanted to use the original fabric so that it would match perfectly. That means we had to un-gather the ruched sash fabric and then sew it slightly less ruched so that it would be stretched as long as it could be.
I kid you not, we had to completely deconstruct this gown to fix it. It looked like an explosion chart on my cutting room floor. The problems pictured above are as follows:
A: When they added the not matching sash, they struck the zipper with the machine needle. Breaking the zipper and causing the seam to not hold.
B: They SNIPPED the front of her dress. The telltale "V" shaped cut does not lie. That is from a pair of scissors. Unfortunately, mistakes happen. But, this bride was not told about the snip.
C: Here is the dress with the length of the original waist/sash. This is just so you can see how much we elongated it.
D: My bride's dress deconstructed while I repair the gown.
E: The final result! Yay! This dress looks sooo much more like her original picture.
This was a vintage redesign. The bride used her mother's gown to make a reception dress with a high low hem. The dress reminded us of a beautiful white peacock.
Elizabeth came to me with a huuuge dress. Elizabeth has a teeny frame!
Her long sleeved, allover lace dress from Church Street Bridal was perfect for her large Cathedral wedding location, but we had quite a few changes to make. We took the dress up everywhere. We even narrowed the train a little because it was too wide for her stature. Once we took the dress up 4 or 5 sizes, I discovered for myself that she has a beautiful figure! Who knew under all of that excess fabric!?
Liz got ready at the Hilton Garden Inn on top of South Peak in Roanoke. Her hairdresser was Ally from Emma Williams Studio at Smith Mountain Lake. Her florist was Lindsey Brown. Her flowers were swoon-worthy!!
Her flower girl was sweet as could be. I love the following pictures. They capture "the look" You can see the flower girl's prepared and poised expression. The Mother of the bride is in the second picture with a look that beams her love and pride for her daughter.
I was very busy with steaming and last minute tacking with the bridesmaids and flower girl. We assist anyone in the bridal party who has a wardrobe-related need. We tie sashes into perfect bows, and straighten or pin boutineers when needed.
Off to the church! Saint Andrew's Catholic Church!
Her photographers were a team under Jeff Colquhoun. He already has a sneak peek up- go check it out! Her videographers were from Ascension Press, (Chris, Nick, and Philip.) All of them were super nice to work with!
I wrapped my bridal Pashmina around Liz as she and her new groom awaited the limo. It was a beautiful, crisp fall day. The limo would soon sweep them off to Hunting Hills Country Club for their reception. What a wonderful day for a wedding!
Here's a teaser pic of my bride from this weekend. Liz took her vows at Saint Andrews in Roanoke. I'm working on the blog post now. I'mma not gonna let you see her dress til the post is done! ;) Stay tuned...
They say " October is the new June". They ain't kiddin'. We are getting clobbered right now with final adjustment fittings, steamed gown pick-ups, and of course, meeting Spring 2016 brides. The Gilded Thimble is overwhelmingly busy right now! We are thankful for work, but even a happy seamstress has to rest a little while every now and then. Yael has traveled off to her home state for the weekend, and I don't have a wedding booked this weekend. Sooo... I'm going to sign off for the next couple of days.
If you have trouble reaching me, it's just because I'm recharging so that I can be energetically ready to serve on Monday. Have a great weekend, guys!! I have some yard exploring to do with my kiddos!
Peaches lost 80 pounds!!! Yay! But, woah! We have some sewing to do... She told me that morning that she was nervous about the outcome. I told her not to be. Her dress turned out just fine.
Joelle had us dry clean her dress as well as steam and tack her ruffles to revive them. We fit the bodice to her, replaced a torn area of overlay, hemmed, and bustled. She also purchased a sash that was made by The Gilded Thimble. Oh! and we added buttons down the back.
Ivy needed some shaping done as well as a generous hem...
Heidi wanted custom straps made as well as needing her gown taken up a smidge. To really make the straps seem original to the dress, we had to custom make appliques that matched the dress perfectly.