Bridal Story- Naomi
Naomi, oh Naomi, she will always be the bride that had me on board the second she said her inspiration was Art Deco, the 1920’s and Downtown Abbey; pause for designer freak out moment, ie me jumping up and down, then calmly messaged her back YES, YES, YES!!!!!! Needless to say, Naomi and I hit it off right away and jumped into the design and fabric shopping process.
Being a bride, you have SO many decisions to make and they all need to be made while keeping within your theme, budget and always important reality. If you have chosen to wear a gown that isn’t white, the decisions can be even harder, your options are endless and Naomi had more than a handful of options that would have been beautiful, but in the end she went with this Art Deco velvet patterned fabric that perfectly fit her theme. For the design she knew she wanted a dress that showed off her body and we also decided to break up the fabric pattern with some geometric seams at her waist to really define that area, by doing this, these perfectly laid seams accented her hourglass figure beautifully. Naomi’s vision was inspired and so focused that her final gown looked like something that Rose from Downtown Abbey would wear!
Her gown was made even more special when I got to see the stunning photos, Scarlet O'Neill did such a beautiful job shooting this vintage inspired gown in downtown Toronto. The graffiti mixed a new art form with 1920’s fashion and it is a gorgeous contrast. Working with Naomi was an incredible experience, I adored meeting her and her mom, who joined us for her fittings. Each bride is so special and I love that I have seen them after this at the One of a Kind Show, I love being reunited with my #copiousbrides.
Photography: Scarlet O'Neill
"Working with Carissa was the answer to my wedding dress shopping challenges. After walking into bridal stores asking for something "not white and not poofy" and not getting very far, it was clear I needed to go a different direction. Carissa listened to all my finicky preferences, and was always full of ideas and interested in exploring options, including shopping for fabric together! In the end, we found exactly what I never knew I wanted, and I could not have been happier with the dress.
Having fittings all the way through the design and construction process was incredibly reassuring, and resulted in a gown that I simply adored. I am so happy that I found Carissa. My wedding day wouldn't have been the same without her!"
Each bride has her own vision of how she wants to look on her wedding day and it's when I get to meet them in person where that vision comes alive for me too. Once I met Vanya and got to hear her vision, I was excited and thrilled at the challenge her gown presented. She wanted to wear a skirt down the aisle, then wanted the skirt to open up in the front to show off her pants and finally she wanted to remove the skirt all together to be able to dance the night away.
Most designs are possible, but such a unique design for a wedding gown, it couldn't just be a couture design that was meant for the runway, it needed to be wearable in the REAL world. Functionality is a key feature in my wedding gown designs, my brides need to be stunning but also comfortable in their gown. I would need to think outside the box to make this look beautiful for a wedding outfit for Vanya, but she was so ready to go on the journey with me, so it was easy to say yes!
Because Vanya's wedding outfit had pants we had many fittings because getting a perfect fit on pants takes time, but once we nailed that it was on to figuring out how to create a skirt that did all she wanted. We ended up with a gathered skirt that had a hidden zipper that went from the hem up to the waistband which she could unzip when she was ready to reveal her second outfit! I put hidden hook and eye attachments so that she could pull back the skirt and keep it out of her way to show off her pants, much like the images she first sent me. Lastly the skirt could be totally removed for whenever she was ready to dance the night away.
I loved working on this piece with Vanya, each bride provides me with a new creative challenge and I cherish each women for our journey that we get to go on together.
