Gillian will forever and always be the bride who came up to me at the OOAK Xmas Show 2017 and said ‘I love your designs, I have been following you online and I came here to meet you and ask you to make my wedding gown!’ My heart instantly burst, it was my first time meeting a bride this way and Gillian is the most infectious human; her laugh, her smile, her generosity, she is an all round amazing person. We worked together for over a year and it was such an incredible experience to get to know Gillian and her family.
OOAK became our meeting ground, we met for the first time at OOAK, but I moved out of Toronto shortly after meeting her, so we did multiply fittings at the Spring and Winter show, and because she booth sits for other vendors, I know that every year I will get to see her and get one of her awesome hugs! My brides always stay with me, it is this incredible year of their lives prepping for this big day and I get to be a small part of it, but with Gillian I have gotten to see her after her big day and that is pretty rare.
Right away Gillian had an idea of what she wanted, she envisioned her dress looking like a Spring garden, but still wanted a bridal look to her gown, also she definitely wanted pockets (obviously she came to the right person!) All of the pieces for her gown came together really easily, her final fabric choice ended up being perfect for the vibe she wanted. A beautiful sheer fabric that had pink flowers embroidered all over it, and with it being sheer, we were able to layer it with a white satin to create the bridal look Gillian had envisioned.
"I always knew I wanted a non traditional wedding dress; I wanted to wear colour down the aisle and have a tiara on my head.
I have worked the One of a Kind show in Toronto for the past few years and after some disappointed google searches of bland white dresses, I started going through the artisans from the site and seeing if any did custom dresses. Carissa and Copious popped out as a fellow fan of the bright and wonderful. With a show approaching, I went through her entire Instagram feed twice and finally with my sister on hand, approached her at the show. After talking to her for almost an hour, I knew I wanted to work with her. She was just as lovely and warm as I thought she would be and instantly had me excited for my dress.
Together we finalized a beautiful flowery gown, that put comfort just as high on the list as style. She even added pockets! It was everything I wanted plus more. Working with her at every step was easy and one of the best parts of organizing a wedding. She was calm yet excited, easy going but focused and my dress is one of the best things I have ever owned. One of my favourite parts was doing a final fitting on the OOAK floor after the show closed for the day. It had been a long tiring day, and we were rushing through, but as soon as I put the dress on, it felt like time stopped. It was perfect."
I feel so lucky that each year I get to be reunited with my "OOAK Bride" Gillian, although this last year I have missed seeing her and getting an amazing hug from her!
If you have questions about what the Custom Design Process looks like, you can learn more here.
