Weddingbee

Turning to eBay for wedding dress inspiration was a fruitful decision. After my last bout with dress try-ons and seamstress interviews, I was rather excited to meet Carole Kenney of Carole Kenney Design after hearing about her 25th Anniversary Sale. Carole, who has been in the biz for - you guessed it - 25 years, was offering a 25% discount for any bridal bookings before the 25th of December. I quickly scheduled my meeting as the 25th was rapidly approaching and I’m the type of girl who hates to miss a good sale!

Carole was awesome. She was easy to talk to and got just about as excited as I was (if not more at times) about the dress designs I presented to her. She had fabulous books of fabrics from couture designers like Valentino and projects everywhere to play with. I was in luck - she did excellent work and had equally excellent taste! Below is a photo of the three dresses I discussed with Carole. Fool You - you thought I’d be unveiling My Dress! I’m not - but I will give you four sneak peaks of the chosen dress’ details and the fabrics Carole and I decided to use in accomplishing the final design.

Click to view larger image.

(left to right):
1. Champagne Silk Charmeuse Basket Weave Gown worn by Kelly Osborne at the National Television Awards
This dress was the first to make me go, “wow!” It’s beautiful, works well on curvy girls like myself, and has the extra modern detailing that I was looking for in a simple gown. I love how the designer (whoever she is!?) used both sides of the silk to accent her design in matte and shiny strips. The sleeves are fantastic. I knew I didn’t want a strapless gown - much to my MOH’s chagrin - as they are always super trendy. The draped dual shoulder straps add drama to the bias-cut bodice. The basket weave front (and back?) made the construction of the dress uber-complicated and ultimately uber-expensive, so it was a no go.

2. Gucci Silver Backless Stretch Satin Gown
This was found on eBay (seller no longer has it available) - much like my chosen dress - where I figured I might find a gorgeous designer piece that I would normally never be able to afford (or have an occasion to wear it to), in a lighter color. This silver dress was an option budget-wise, but I wanted to see if Carole could make it in an ivory or champagne color. Three things made my decision quickly: I have a scar on my back that I’d like to hide - this dress hides nothing in the back region, my cleavage is one of the few body parts I’m rather proud of - this dress focuses on other areas, and Carole reminded me that stretch satin is not exactly the most figure forgiving fabric in the world. This would not hide any flaws I have or accent my positive features.

3. The Mystery Dress
It’s simple - but has a couple of unique details (shown below) that I think “make” the dress and therefore, they make it very Me. Carole and I took one look at the construction and at once she began racing around the room throwing different fabrics at me and assigning them to their appropriate parts. “What about this for that!? And this for that!?” Finally, she sat down amongst the fabric swatches and created the final numbers as I sat with my heart thumping in anticipation.

Once she showed me the bottom line - I was ecstatic! While at the very tip, top of my dress budget, it FIT! Once I considered the facts behind getting a custom dress made, I realized that I could wrap in my alterations and some of the undergarment costs into the total - and I was UNDER budget. On top of that, with the sale discount, I was getting a dress under budget that would normally cost 25% more. I get my dream dress AND shopper’s street cred. Stoked!

THIS IS WHERE MR. POMEGRANATE MUST STOP READING!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Shown below are snippets of the actual dress details, alongside the fabric swatches that will be accommodating the design in that area. In future postings, I will be showing you the evolution of the dress as it is constructed - so you can experience the process with me.

The Mystery Dress // The Swatches

(top to bottom, left to right):
1. White Pleated Silk Organza? // Ivory Pleated Silk Organza
I think we got this right - as the original certainly seems less sheer than our chosen organza. However, I think it will accomplish the same look nonetheless. I can’t wait to see the fabric after it’s been pleated as it’s one of my most favorite parts of the dress.

2. White Silk Georgette // Ivory Silk Georgette
This was definitely a dead-ringer for the fabric used in the original dress. The fabric swatch shown in the image above has a gray tinge to it - but Carole will be ordering a fabric that matches the rest of the dress. I love the texture of this paired with the sheerness of the silk.

3. White Double Faced Satin // Ivory Double Faced Satin
The double faced satin Carole is using has a fabulous weight to it and is the thickest silk I’ve ever had the pleasure of touching. It will hold up the shape well, but drape beautifully.

4. Silver Bugle Beading // Silvery Nude Metallic Lambskin
Carole missed the beading at first, mistaking the silver parts for a metallic silk fabric. Once realizing that the beading would add a TON of labor to my previously quoted final figure - I found myself scrambling to find a substitute. Carole had shown me some custom made camisoles that she had made for other customers using this fabulous metallic lambskin that I fell in love with. It was a perfect substitute. Not only is it totally awesome to have leather in my wedding dress, but it completely voids my chance of getting chafed by beads!

Stay tuned for my first dress fitting to get additional sneak peaks at my custom wedding dress!

• Prelude to the Penguin We...
• At Altitude