The Wedding Planners: Silk, Lace and Tulle...Oh, My!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Silk, Lace and Tulle...Oh, My!

Hello! It's me. Serena James. Dress designer for The Wedding Belles.

I've been getting ready for the upcoming June weddings, including my good friend Callie's! She's going to be the most gorgeous bride ever. I have designed an exquisite gown for her. Simple, yet elegant. My best creation yet! Jared's jaw will drop when he sees her walking down the aisle. I can't wait for that moment.

I love my job. Where else do you get to turn women into princesses on a daily basis? Well, Disneyland and Disneyworld excluded. But I'll take working with my good friends Belle, Callie, Regina, Natalie, Audra and Julie over the Magic Kingdom any day.

I just hope business picks up around here. Things have been a little slow since the Vandiver cancellation and the publicity that followed. I prefer keeping busy. Otherwise I have too much time to think, and right now, that's just not a good thing.

You see, I honestly thought I would be a bride by now. So did all the other Belles. But they are positive Rupert's going to propose any day now. I must admit it's a little embarrassing to come in to work on Mondays with no engagement ring on my finger. But what's a girl to do?

Anyway, while I'm here, I thought I'd give any brides out there some advice from a dress designer who's been there, seen that:

1. Don't go on a diet if you've already ordered your dress. Please! Don't do it. One bride didn't listen to me. She went one one of these extreme diets and dropped twenty pounds after she'd ordered her gown. Now the dress that looked gorgeous on her before, hangs on her as if she's were a child trying on her mother's gown. And the style doesn't suit her new body. Needless to say, there will be lots of alterations on that one.

2. Allow plenty of time for dress fittings and plan on two of them just in case. You never know how extensive the alterations might be. (See #1)

3. Take at least two pairs of comfortable shoes with different heel heights to the final dress fitting. If the hem isn't exactly right, you won't freak out and you'll be good to go on your wedding day.

Okay, that's all for now. I must get back to work! I'm putting the finishing touches on my new line. A couple of the designs aren't traditional, but sometimes it's good to step out of what's comfortable and shake things up a bit. Doing something different can be intimidating, even a little scary, but you'll never know until you try. After all, what have I got to lose?

Labels: melissa m, serena, sos marry me

18 Comments:

Sarita Leone said...: All great tips, especially about the shoes. One can never have too many shoes...; June 2, 2008 at 5:06 AM
Linda Goodnight said...: Great advice, Serena. By the way, you are gorgeous. If old Rupert doesn't get on the stick pretty soon, someone else is going to be chasing you. You would look amazing in one of your wedding gowns!; June 2, 2008 at 7:09 AM
Linda Goodnight said...: Great advice, Serena. By the way, you are gorgeous. If old Rupert doesn't get on the stick pretty soon, someone else is going to be chasing you. You would look amazing in one of your wedding gowns!; June 2, 2008 at 7:10 AM
Anonymous said...: I just LOVE my wedding gown, Serena! I can't wait for Jared to see it! And believe me, I love eating way too much for it to be any looser. In fact, you might end up letting it out, LOL. ;-)

You are so right about the shoes! A girl can never have enough of those!

Callie; June 2, 2008 at 7:21 AM
Anonymous said...: Great advice. The shoes I would have never thought. You get so nervous on that day that if yu do not plan ahead you forget about everything. Thanks; June 2, 2008 at 7:34 AM
catslady said...: Tip #2 is a good one. They had my daughter order a size up and we did the measurements and when it came in for the next fitting it was almost 2" too small. The measurements were correct and she hadn't changed at all. So now they have to make it bigger again. We go on Monday to try again.; June 2, 2008 at 11:51 AM
Anonymous said...: Those are all excellent tips!

Not that I'm likely to ever need them, but still. :); June 2, 2008 at 1:14 PM
Brandy said...: Great tips for new to-be-brides! I would never have thought of the shoes!; June 2, 2008 at 1:19 PM
EllenToo said...: I can't imagine losing 20lbs after ordering the dress. She sure wasn't thinking about what the weight loss would do.
As for shoes the operative word in what you mentioned is "comfortable".; June 2, 2008 at 1:27 PM
Anonymous said...: Serena,
If Rupert doesn't come through, then the man is a fool.

At least your friends aren't fools. We're so lucky to have you for a friend and colleague. And your dresses...gorgeous! I can't wait to see what your own dress looks like when Rupert finally realizes what a gem you are and proposes!; June 2, 2008 at 2:51 PM
Dru said...: those are good tips.; June 2, 2008 at 3:54 PM
Unknown said...: Thanks for all the great tips. These are some really good ones.; June 2, 2008 at 7:14 PM
Maureen said...: You shouldn't go on a diet sounds like my kind of advice.; June 3, 2008 at 3:18 AM
robynl said...: great tips for anyone whether they've done it before or are doing it for the first time.; June 5, 2008 at 8:05 PM
Lily said...: Those shoes look gorgeous... a pity they are covered by a long dress!; June 8, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Nathalie said...: Two shoes for the final fitting... It is a good advice!; June 16, 2008 at 2:21 PM
Anonymous said...: I loved becoming a princess. And one of my favorite parts of the cermenony was watching my husband's face as he saw me for the first time.; June 17, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Anonymous said...: And I also took two shoes to my final fitting. The ones I wore for the ceremony, and the ones I wore for the reception to be able to dance in :-); June 17, 2008 at 12:52 PM