Weddingbee Blog

After I decided to commission Ladylion Couture to make a jacket for me, I had to ask Mama Funnel Cake to snip a piece of my gown for colour matching.

(Source)

At first, Mama FC thought this was impossible, but she quickly found there is lots of extra fabric for snips from the inside waistline. Good thing we sent a swatch, too! Ellen at Ladylion said that the dress was a verrry special colour… or maybe she was just joshing me. Whatever, I’m going to pretend I do have a really special dress colour.

Ellen sent me several pictures of a jacket style that was very close to what I had described in my inspiration board, along with a lace sample.

I adored this jacket, but I had sleeves in mind closer to the San Patrick jacket I was lusting after. I asked Ellen if she could add more lace to fill in the sleeves, but keep the bust transparent enough to still see the outline of my dress. “No problem!” she said.

(Four images above via Ladylion Couture)

I loved the lace here, but I am not a fan of “hairy lace” as I call it. I had seen “hairy lace” on other boleros and jackets and never cared for the fringe effect it had. Ellen assured me she could take the hairs off the lace so it would be nice and smooth.

After I paid for my order and sent my measurements, it was time to wait! This was actually surprisingly easy. Around this time I had come down with mono and I spent most of my time sleeping and/or being excessively tired and cranky.

Fast forward to August and my jacket was done!

Ellen showed me “pre” and “post-hairy” pictures.

As well as what the bolero looked like on a model…

And finally, de-hair-ified. Whew!

(Five images above via Ladylion Couture)

Ellen sent me the pictures to review (which I glowingly approved!) and then my jacket was in the mail to Switzerland. I suppose I *could* have sent the jacket straight to Columbus, but I was dyyying to try it on! (And you were scrolling down to see pictures of me in it, right?) This meant I had to buck up and pay the VAT man $60 in taxes when the parcel arrived in Switzerland. But it was worth it! I loooove it!

…and because I promised to take some better photos of the other jacket, here they are for comparison before we get to the goods.

It is a little wrinkly from being in my drawer here, but it’s a very soft and sheer jacket.

Even if I don’t wear it to the wedding, it’s a great little coverup for spring and summer! It also covers up a giant scar on my shoulder from a childhood fall.

Now, visible joy as I try on the Ladylion jacket.

It satisfies ALL of my inner bride lacy cravings!

…so I tried it on with the dangly earrings from Lulusplendor that I want to wear.

I can’t tell you how excited I am that I have something to wear on my wedding day with fabric buttons! I’ve always loved the classic look of these on brides.

I hope I can get some photos like these on the wedding day, you know… sans bathroom towels in the background…

Details of the lace. So delicate!

Ok, the jacket wasn’t quite perfect. On one sleeve there was one edge of lace that wasn’t sewn down so it flapped up when I bent my arm. But I carefully sewed it in place so that it’s good as new. Shouldn’t be a problem now.

Also on the back, the second button from the right seems slightly dirty. It is a little darker than all the other buttons. Can you tell? I am not sure if I can clean it with the mysterious products I have available in Switzerland, so I may just leave this as is. It’s not going to show up in photos anyway. I’m sure no one else but me would notice it.

As you can see above, the two jackets are very different colours. One is a lot brighter white and the other is a lot more creamy. I’m a little worried that neither will go with my dress! I can only hope after sending the fabric swatch that the lace bolero matches perfectly… I have tentative plans to wear the lace jacket for the ceremony and the other jacket for the reception, if they match that is…

Overall, I am extremely pleased with the lace jacket. It is everything I hoped for in a jacket and I really hope to God it matches my dress! Only two months until I find out.

Did you have anything custom made for your wedding? How did it turn out?

*Images personal unless noted*