You may remember that I won my Jorge Manuel wedding gown last year in the designer’s very first Upon a Star contest. I originally encountered a Jorge Manuel gown in person at the beautiful Hitched bridal salon in Georgetown (that’s in Washington, DC) about a year ago and decided to enter the contest to win one of his creations. I wound up flying to Charleston to pick up my gown, but I still consider my journey to being a Jorge Manuel bride to have started at Hitched.
Jorge enjoyed the contest from his side so much that he decided to make it a tradition. This year’s contest was hosted by Hitched, and I was thrilled when I was invited to the salon to announce the newest Upon a Star winner. This year’s gown is going to be custom made, but a sample of the design was on display. Isn’t it gorgeous?
The Eternal Flame gown by Jorge Manuel / Photo by Chris Anderson of Route 1 Multimedia
/ Used with permission
As soon as I arrived at Hitched, the staff whisked me off to the back room where salon owners Carin Levine and Julia Kepniss introduced designer Jorge Manuel. Jorge talked about his inspiration for the Upon a Star contest and about the construction of this year’s dress, the Eternal Flame gown.
Julia, Carin, me, Jorge Manuel / Photo by Chris Anderson of Route 1 Multimedia / Used with permission
Each finalist in attendance was introduced and given a wonderful bag of gifts. It was then my turn to talk about entering the first contest a year ago and winning my dress, the Star gown. Soon, the big moment was at hand. It was time to open the envelope and announce the second winner of the Upon a Star contest…
Announcing the winner! / Photo by Chris Anderson of Route 1 Multimedia / Used with permission
I cried out the name of the winner, Farisa Dastvar, and the room erupted. She hugged Jorge and then her mother (I think it was her mother), she started to cry, and I ran over to offer my congratulations. The ladies at Hitched had put a veil on me, and I was to transfer the veil to the winner, beauty-pageant style. I hope I didn’t hurt poor Farisa when I smashed the comb into her hair. I was so excited!
Passing the veil / Photo by Chris Anderson of Route 1 Multimedia / Used with permission
Everyone swarmed Farisa to take pictures, and I got to step away and catch up with Weddingbee’s own Mrs. Pony! We met at the little bee brunch Miss Fox wrote about a couple weeks ago, and I was so excited that she was able to come to the party. Chris Anderson, the professional photographer covering the party, took a picture of us and it wound up on the top of the blog post that Jorge Manuel’s team wrote about the event.
Me and Mrs. Pony / Photo by Chris Anderson of Route 1 Multimedia / Used with permission
Mrs. Pony and I looked through all the gowns that were at Hitched for that weekend’s Jorge Manuel trunk show. Kyle Leverett, Jorge’s operations manager, walked us through the current collection and told us some stories about life behind the scenes in the couture bridal world, including one hilarious story about the lengths they went to to acquire a piglet for an Alice in Wonderland themed photo shoot for a past collection.
Dresses from Jorge’s Rococo and Iris collections / Photo by Miss Mink
Later, as Pony and I talked with Jorge and Kyle, I started to feel silly for having been intimidated by Jorge back when I won my gown. Jorge wants to know his brides. He wants to know about their weddings. I never though about the fact that designers don’t always get to know about where their dresses wind up. While we see all the pieces of the wedding puzzle in our minds, they just know their one piece.
Being part of this year’s contest made the amazing experience of being a Jorge Manuel bride come full circle. I’m just days away from wearing my Upon a Star gown and Farisa is just starting her journey. While I don’t know her, I feel connected to her and other Jorge Manuel brides because of this experience.
Did you get to meet the designer of your wedding gown? Do you feel connected to other brides who wear gowns by the same designer?
I did get to meet the designer of my gown and it was actually at Hitched, where I bought my dress! I have an Anna Maier Ulla-Maija dress and the designer was there for a trunk show. It was so much fun meeting him, because he shared some design details with me, my mom, and my sister about the dress that I ended up buying. I was just at Hitched again on Thursday for my muslin fitting–it’s such a great bridal salon!
Aww, this looks like so much fun! What an honor! And the new dress is to die for – what a lucky bride! I love that picture of you and Mrs. Pony.
@Scc6a: Agreed! Hitched is WONDERFUL!!!
@Mrs. Parasol: That’s my favorite picture, too!
Such a fun event, thanks to the folks at Hitched for letting me be there and see the winner of the gorgeous gown!! I loved getting to meet Jorge and see his beautiful creations (and see you, Miss Mink)!
What a great experience! I bought my dress at Birnbaum & Bullock in NYC–the two designers have their own salon, and it’s so cool to be able to meet them and to even have your dress fitted by the people who designed it. I almost regretted having bought my dress at a sample sale because I think it would have been so funl to go through the whole process with them from scratch.
What an awsome experience to remember along with your wedding 
. One question: Jorge Manuel IS a very portuguese name..do you know his origin?
What an awesome experience Mink! I love that Jorge is continuing the Upon a Star contest!
What an awesome experience and story! Your wedding dress will even have more meaning to you, now – especially if it becomes an heirloom or gets passed on to another family generation. So freaking awesome, Miss Mink!
Mrs. Mink, Charlottesville, Virginia Age and Occupation: 34, College Administrator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 40, Craft Beer Consultant Engagement Date: November 26, 2010 Wedding Date: June 2012 Venue: Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards About Me: I left a pre-war brownstone in Boston six years ago to live in a funky, Southern city where Thomas Jefferson, Dave Matthews, and urban chicken keepers enjoy equal social standing. I still love my Patriots and Red Sox, but have fallen in love with Virginia. I work in education and specialize in integrating technology into my work to improve the student experience. I’m a diehard blogger, animal lover, jamband follower, and DIYer. I paint to relax and have transferred by energy from home projects to wedding projects in recent months. When Mr. Mink and I started talking about marriage, we knew our wedding would be outdoors, that my golden retriever would be part of the day, and that the music would be fantastic. We’ve taken a few risks during our planning process and we’ve been enjoying the process immensely!
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