This week my niece Tessa has come to The Woodlands to stay with me. We have done all of the fun things there are to do in The Woodlands......shop, go to the pool, shop, movies, shop, spa day, shop....oh, did I mention we were going shopping? (I'm really not that materialistic, but I do love to shop).
While Tess is here, I am using her as a fit model to make a wedding gown, just for the fun of it. I wanted to include the process on my blog, just so the reader knows what goes into a custom wedding gown. It's a fun process, and I wish I could have every bride move in with me while her gown is being made, so I could do a fitting anytime I pleased. It makes the process go so much faster.
The first meeting is a brainstorming session. If I know the bride, I tend to know what style she gravitates to. We share pictures of gowns and information about the wedding itself. I will take the necessary measurements and formulate a preliminary design. Then the fun begins!
The next step is to shop for fabric. Depending on the design of the gown, this could be a one-trip experience, or possibly take two or more trips to the fabric shop to make the final selections. When lace is involved, it takes longer. Once the fabric is determined, the next step is the fit muslin. I craft the gown out of muslin fabric (like a sheet) to get the perfect fit. This can take one to two fittings, depending on any adjustments that may be necessary. Since Tess was here and I had fabric already, we skipped the muslin fitting and went straight to the fabric. The gown is simple and the muslin step just wasn't necessary. We first tried the bodice of the gown to get the perfect fit (see photo).
From here, we added the skirt and did fitting number two. This process took one day. (Remember, Tess is in the house with me all day - much faster).
Today will be putting the zipper in and building the undergarment. I should finish this gown today or tomorrow. The embellishment is actually a separate belt that is only pinned together in the photo, just to get an idea of the finished product.
Twenty years ago today, I married my best friend. Yes, it was 1991 (that explains the "Jade Green" decor). We had a simple wedding, but included all of the elements that were meaningful to us. Attended by our close friends and family, it was an intimate, spiritual occasion. It's funny how it seems like only yesterday the event took place, and yet we've had so much "living" since that time. I look at how young we were, although we were older than the average bride and groom, and sometimes wish for that naturally dark hair and wrinkle-free face. But one thing I've learned these past twenty years is that the gray hair and wrinkles and flabby skin is a mark of life - lived! Each line, each gray hair is a tribute to an event or milestone we've shared. There have been many sad times.....loss of pregnancies, job disappointments, the loss of a parent. But the happy times have overshadowed the sadness. The birth of children, watching them grow into beautiful, loving, productive young women. Seeing our oldest daughter marry her high school sweetheart and witnessing them becoming parents (and us grandparents). Living through our youngest daughter learn to drive (still working on that one).....the graceful aging we achieve is earned - through each day of living and loving in the wonderful gift God has given us. Each other - the most precious commodity we possess. Let us not take this gift for granted. I have been guilty of doing that very thing many times. So on this day that we celebrate our marriage, let me just say that I love my husband, Richard Williams, with all of my heart. I am so glad that he asked me to go to the New Kids On The Block concert..........that story is for another day.