Happy Conclusion

Remember my awesome friends Kate and Ryan? If you don't, check 'em out here. Mr. N and I had the pleasure of standing next to them at their wedding this weekend, and it was an incredibly wonderful time! We couldn't be happier for them and hope they're enjoying their honeymoon in the Bahamas. I was given the task of making Kates' rehearsal dinner dress, so I made some quick sketches for her. She chose the dress on the right:

So I got her measurements and got started. I adapted a pattern I already had and made a muslin from it:

I experimented with different ways to arrange the back straps.

Kate liked the above arrangement best, so I packed off the muslin and mailed it to her to try on. 

In the meantime, I rooted through my stash to see what I had in the way of peacock feathers, and low and behold, I had this.

Several years ago I interned with amazing prom dress designer Loralie, and she gave me a whole bunch of fabrics and trims and appliques she no longer needed. That's how I came to have an entire roll of this amazing trim, which couldn't be more perfect for this occasion. Here's how the trim will be placed:

Then I bought some beautiful silk dupioni, sewed until 3 in the morning, hopped on a plane, and put the dress on the bride. 

Perfect! We made some adjustments to the straps and ended up doing a simple halter strap which suited Kate to a T. Here I am with the bride:

As it turned out, Ryan and Kates' officiant is a Canadian citizen, so in order for their marriage to be legal they had to go to the courthouse to be officially married a day before their actual wedding. Which means I got to make Kates' wedding dress, in a sense. Pretty cool. Here's the bride and groom at the courthouse:

Making it legal, as Mr. N looks on. 

Congratulations, you two! We couldn't be happier. Thanks for letting us play a big part in your day!