Shellee

This is my gorgeous and awesome sister in law, Shellee.  I made this wedding dress for her wedding in October of 2009.  Due to major Blogger weirdness the original post was deleted.  So now I get to add it again today and relive the fun. ☺ All of Shellee's bridal pictures were taken by Alyssia B Photography.  She's also the one who took the family pictures in the About the Goddess section.

It is honestly impossible to make this girl look bad.  She is so elegant and poised, along with having a lovely figure to work with.  Shellee knew what wedding dress she wanted, but it was only available in a size 24.  As she is nowhere near a size 24, we decided to copy the dress and make a custom fit for her.

Store version.  image via beautifullymodest.com

After several fittings we had all the elements Shellee wanted and modified what she wanted changed.

Our customized version

The original fabric was a taffeta but I made Shellee's out of a lovely dupioni silk.  You just can't beat the luster of silk.  The skirt on the original dress had large godets at the side seams, which I didn't know until I saw the dress in person, after the wedding.  That was one option I gave Shellee when asking how she wanted to achieve the fullness in the skirt.  She chose the other option of simply making the front and back pieces flare at the side seam.

For the bead detail on the petal sleeves and at the neckline we chose a beaded trim which I was able to sew in like piping.  Love that trick.  Because of the sharp curve at the neckline I had to crush a few rows of beads to make the trim lay flat.  I love that trick too.  It makes it so you have the right fit, but don't need to worry about re-securing the beads so they don't slip off the string.

The bustle of the train was also pretty cool.  It's a permanently secured bustle which adds fun detail to the back, as well as pulling the fullness of the skirt back a little.  That gives the look of a sheath with the comfort and roominess of a fuller skirt.

The girls knows how to dress her body.  This style is perfection on her.  She told me she likes that the dress gives her curves.  She's free to take some of mine if she wants them. ☺

The dress has a lace up back to be fully adjustable.  Shellee looked so incredible at her wedding and was a stunning bride.  We're glad to have her in the family.

Just because it's cute, here's a picture of my little family at the reception.  Blue Eyes thought it was hilarious to feed me and we thought it was hilarious to watch her doing it.  I also made my dress but it wasn't really a big deal.

I'm so glad I got to make Shellee's dress.  She was a great client (though making the dress was a gift) and she is a fantastic sister in law.  She's also a pretty kick-A interior designer.  You can find her stuff here.  Check it out.  She's good.  Like, REALLY good.