Custom Creation
Ashley Nicole Inspires a Business
Upon Ashley’s engagement, she called Teri with the wonderful news and shared her inspirations for the dress she had in mind and desired to wear as her own. Once Teri saw the inspiration for her daughter Ashley’s dress, the many detailed steps of the process began, and Teri was eager to create a memorable experience for her daughter.
The Bride's Vision
The first step in dress design is the initial consultation. At this meeting, Teri and the bride discuss style preferences. Ashley had two inspiration photos, and shared what she liked about the dress, what she envisioned differently and they discussed the pros and cons of the design lines and elements. Teri mentally pieced together the most desired aspects of each dress and gained a holistic view of Ashley’s vision.
“Not only does a wedding dress have to be beautiful, but it also must be functional for walking down the aisle.”
The Consultation
After the consultation, a follow-up appointment is scheduled to discuss the bride’s budget, make a fabric selection, and take measurements. These can also be accomplished during the first consultation if time allows. Because Ashley lives in California, Teri flew to the Garment District of LA to shop for bridal fabrics with her daughter and take her measurements. The in-person experience of fabric shopping gives the bride valuable insight because she can see the different fabrics, touch them and drape them against her body to determine best options.
It's All in the Details
Teri flew back to Virginia with Ashley’s chosen fabric and 45 detailed measurements. Using these measurements, Teri drafted a pattern and created a mock-up dress made of muslin fabric. A muslin dress isn’t aesthetically pleasing, rather it’s designed for preliminary fitting purposes. This mock-up dress includes major seams with very little additional detail, making it easy for Teri to alter if the bride realizes she wants a different cut. Ashley’s original idea for her wedding gown included a plunging V-neck back. After trying on the mock-up, Ashley decided she wanted a less revealing plunging V-back neckline. This change of heart is very common with the first mock up dress, and a second mock-up dress for a bride’s inspiration may be created before deciding on the final design.
The Design
After the bride is content with the muslin dress, Teri takes it apart and lays it out on the fashion fabric to be cut. From there, the dress is assembled, and a custom fitting is arranged. In some cases, the custom fitting is the final fitting. In Ashley’s case, several adjustments had to be made to her custom dress because one shoulder was an inch higher than the other. Additionally, the sleeves of Ashley’s dress were made nine different times to guarantee the dress was perfect.
The final step of the process is bustling of the train. Not only does a wedding dress have to be beautiful, but it also must be functional for walking down the aisle.
Creating an Experience
When the dress is finally finished, Teri hands it off to the bride along with a photo scrapbook that documents the experience from start to finish. At every consultation, Teri sets up an area of the studio to take videos and pictures of the process. Brides can trace their magical experience from the moment they step inside the studio to when they leave carrying their beautiful, one-of-a-kind custom made gown.