Love & Light

I met Leah through my wonderful friend Georgeanne.
When Georgeanne recommended me, to Leah my heart was full. Georgeanne is a light like no other, so I knew working with her friend would be a beautiful experience.

Leah wanted a bohemian inspired no frills dress. She had a few ideas in mind and allowed me to take full artistic freedom in the design to the fabric selection. It was pretty neat because I must say she was my first client that let me 100% lead the way. Every suggestion, her response was a yes.

I did things a little differently with Leah in the beginning. We couldn't design on the silhouettes, so I cut a few different skirts and bodices and we basically played paper dolls, trying on different pieces to see what they would look like on her shape. Dressing the female form is always different for each woman. I wish all clothing stores had the option of having an in-house tailor to fit your clothing for you. It certainly would make the art of dressing a lot less stressful and more exciting!

This dress is one of my favorites for sure because of it's Victorian/ Edwardian inspiration. I didn't want to go in the hippie direction of boho, rather touch on historical vibes. The silhouette has a scoop neck to show off Leah's beautiful collar bones,  with flutter sleeves and a bodice over lay. The skirt is empire/ with a fitted a line, princess seams and a small train.

I just love this dress. I especially loved seeing Leah's face light up when she put the final dress on.
Thank You Leah for allowing me to be apart of your day. XO Sheila

All that Sass

Let's talk about Maureen. This lady contacted me when I was still working out of my home studio. I posted  a profile on wedding.com which is similar to wedding wire and the knot, as a vendor seeking custom clients. I was still building my business and she booked me well in advance, a year in advance! It was pretty cool that she had faith in me just seeing my online profile.

Maureen was one of my very first out of town clients. This was exciting to me as a small business owner because the company name was reaching furtherer then I would have imagined in just 1 year of being a custom designer.

At our first appointment I knew she was going to be fun. She brought with her a few friends to join her in the process. They had me laughing the entire time.

We started with one design, and must have changed it a million times. She then spotted the Katrina Dress, from my SS2016 Collection that was in the window. She fell in love with the modern lace design and wanted to incorporate it into her dress. And of course I had to put the dress on her!! She loved the high waist full skirt with train. Did I mention we were supposed to be making a short beachy dress?

That is the beauty of customizing a dress. Sometimes the design will change between appointments because we have new and exciting ideas that look even better then what we planned at the original consultation.

We agreed on this beautiful cross over front empire style bodice with a deep v back. The high waist of the skirt accentuated her figure and we added a thigh high slit on the front princess seam.

Maureen even swung by the showroom when she was in the area just to surprise me with coffee. A client turned friend, how great is that! Thank you Maureen for allowing me to be apart of your day :) xo Sheila

An Irish Blessing

I met Lindsay awhile back through her fiancé who was my then co-worker. I admit, I harassed her quit a bit about making her a custom wedding dress. We then discussed the opportunity to work on a dress for her daughter and mother. How awesome! I love making dresses for wedding parties!

Lindsay has a cool style of vixen and vintage. We went with a stretch lace (which is super popular amongst my clients right now), fitted silhouette with train and drapey sleeves.

The photos do no justice, for the color! It was a beige with silver foil on the lace. Lindsay was a knockout!  I used the same fabrics to create her daughter Roan's adorable dress.

And for her mom, Michelle I found a matching lace type in a different color. We kept going back and forth on color and design. In the end we added a ruffle to the skirt. Her silhouette had a nice wide band to balance the proportions. 3/4 lace sleeves, buttons up the back and a small train. Michelle looked gorgeous! Thank You all for allowing me to be apart of your day. xo Sheila

Mother of the Bride

Flower Girl

Lindsay and her boys

Lindsay's side of the family looking awesome

Lindsay and Chris

Hunting for her Love

Dorothy came to me with a simple request of a custom camo dress. I did my research to see what was out there in regards to using camo as part of a wedding dress and I wasn't really into it. I knew that I would have to infuse my aesthetic with that of my clients wishes to really be something she would love. I immediately sent her a sketch showing the mossy oak camo on the bodice with beading a full tulle layered skirt. She would be a woodsy goddess.

Dorothy was open to my opinions and gave me full artistic freedom. There were a few changes from the sketch. Empire style with tulle pleating on the bodice and added a beautiful train and veil to match.

Each appointment with Dorothy and her Aunt were so much fun. They had me laughing the entire time! It was such a pleasure to work with you Dorothy! You are gorgeous. xo Sheila

Close-Up of bodice

Walking down the isle

During last fitting

Beautiful Dorothy