Nov
14
Lauren Kennedy Photography
Leah’s wedding dress was the first real wedding dress that I created for someone I did not already know. It’s funny to think of it that way, because since working with her on her dress, Leah has become one of my most treasured friends and someone I hope to always have as a part of my life.
I did, however, know her fiancé Jonathan. He did a reading at my own 2008 wedding ceremony which Leah attended. You can see Leah (with her dark hair and blue floral dress) in the following photo from my own wedding hoping to catch my bouquet.
Leah did not catch my bouquet, but she was the next to get engaged!
Read More»Oct
28
Shane Snider Photography
Yes, I made my own wedding dress.
After making his sister Katie’s wedding dress and his sister Melissa’s wedding dress, I got engaged to my wonderful amazing handsome husband Charles. Our wedding was held on the afternoon of the Ides of March 2008. It was our seven year Kissaversary.
So what does the wedding dressmaker design for herself?
I knew I wanted a knee-length wedding dress. I am (less than) 5 feet tall and have never really felt comfortable in long gowns. I always feel like I look like I am playing dress-up in someone else’s clothes. Plus, a short dress will be appropriate for our daytime wedding, as well as show off my legs and some cute shoes.
Read More»Oct
13
As you may remember from my first “retrospective blog post” last week, the first real wedding dress that I ever made was for my (now) husband Charles’s sister Katie. Well, Charles has more than one sister! Not long after Katie’s wedding, his sister Melissa announced her engagement. I had such a great experience working with Katie on her custom wedding dress, that I offered Melissa a custom dress as well!
The year Melissa got married (2007) was quite a year for her! She bought a house, got a puppy, defended her doctoral dissertation, got engaged, and got pregnant! This was all part of her plan and it worked out exactly how she envisioned it. This was no unplanned-pregnancy-shotgun wedding!
Melissa was eager to start a family and was hoping to be pregnant on her wedding day. When I heard about this, I was also excited at the possibility. I thought it would be an interesting challenge to work on a maternity wedding dress, a great reason for a bride to go custom.
Read More»Oct
01
Middle Gray Photography
This is my gorgeous sister-in-law Katie. She got married in 2006 and wore the very first Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture dress ever made. Before the blog, before the website, before the logo, and almost before the studio, Katie accepted a wedding gift of a custom wedding dress, a feat I had never attempted before.
Before I start blogging about my next bride, I thought it would be fun to do “retrospective” posts about the custom dresses I’ve made in the past, some of which don’t have blogs about them at all!
Where better to start than the beginning!
Read More»Sep
13
Wedding day photography by friends of the bride and groom
Lila Rose is now a married lady!!!
Lila Rose’s wedding day was perfect! It was held in Ohio on the playground of her elementary school. The wedding was a complete DIY affair. I was the only wedding professional they hired for any aspect of the wedding. Each of the guests were given a specific task, having all of the people who loved them literally be a part of the wedding. Down to the tiniest details, some guests were in charge of decorations or chairs, others the food or the cakes (they had 13 cakes of all different flavors!), and there were 6 guests in charge of taking the photographs. They complied all of the photos online for everyone to enjoy and share. The photos I’m sharing here are just a few of my favorites!
Read More»Sep
03
Kent Corley Photography
Isn’t she gorgeous!!!!?
Once Lila Rose put on her finished wedding ensemble for the first time, it was pure magic. She was so comfortable, totally in her element, and was absolutely in love with the dress.
And what an amazing team we had to pull off this photo shoot! Kent Corley was the photographer at his studio in Hillsborough. Amy-Jae Crawford from Syd’s Hair Shop in Chapel Hill did Lila Rose’s fabulous beehive hairdo and gorgeous makeup. The dress (and veil), of course, are one-of-a-kind creations by Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture. And Lila Rose was so gorgeous and had so much fun, that she was a natural model. We all had an absolute blast and got some incredible shots!
It was hard to choose which photos to share! Here are just a few of my very favorites:
Read More»Feb
28
Photo by Shaena Mallett Weddings
Before I get into blogging about my newest bride, I thought I’d write a general post detailing an overview of my process and what to expect when commissioning your custom couture wedding dress.
I know! I know! This big long post looks like a lot of work. And it is, but it is also a lot of fun! My bespoke dressmaking process is designed to be enjoyable and stress-free for both of us, as well as produce beautiful results. I love the process and I think you will too!
Here’s a general idea of how your custom gown is created from the first contact to your wedding day:
Read More»Jan
15
Here I am with my husband in the dress that I talked about in part 1 of this post! This dress was intended to be worn at Greta’s wedding, but as you may remember from this previous post, I was sadly unable to attend.
Several weeks after Greta’s wedding day, we were invited to another amazing wedding and I was finally able to debut this bombshell dress. It was the wedding of Charlie Todd and Cody Lindquist held in gorgeous Pawley’s Island, South Carolina.
I first met Charlie, the groom, in 1999 when he was an undergraduate theatre major at UNC Chapel Hill. He was enrolled in my technical costuming class where I taught him how to sew!
A few years later, I started dating his college roommate- who is now my husband (the handsomeness featured above^)! We’ve all been good friends for a long time (also all neighbors in New York City) and Charlie’s wedding will go down in history as one of the most memorable.
Read More»Dec
31
Photography by Michel Berda King Street Photo Weddings
Happy New Year Everyone!!!
I’m so excited to finally share with you some of the amazing photos from Greta’s wedding day! Michel Berda of King Street Photo Weddings in Charleston, SC photographed the joyous event and has given his permission for me to share the lovely photos with you.
As you may remember from this previous post, I was unable to attend Greta’s wedding. However, I was able to whip up a photo-filled Dressing Guide and get it to Greta’s Aunt Janet who gracefully accepted the job of the bride’s dresser.
Here’s a little about what Janet had to say:
Read More»Sep
24
March 2008 -Shane Snider Photography
If you’ve been following the story of Greta’s dress, you may know that- though I am behind in posting the progress of its construction- her amazing wedding day was last weekend. I was absolutely honored to be invited to the event. Greta is a truly amazing woman that I have had the privilege to get to know over the past 6 months. Seeing her on her wedding day, radiant and in love, in the dress that we created together would have been such a special treat.
But life happens. Early last week, (or was it this week? The days and weeks seem to all run together) a good friend passed away due to unfortunate circumstances.
Read More»
