A Country Wedding Fair

I wanted to share a few photos from this weekend's Country Wedding Fair at the beautiful Maidenwood Estate in Maiden Rock, WI. The setting was picturesque, as you can see, and we could not have asked for better weather.

It was such a treat to travel there with my friend Dana Cowan, who is the owner and massage therepist of the delightfully luxurious Clemona. Dana has a much appreciated calming presence and was able to keep me grounded even after thee cups of coffee (my usual limit is one a day). Dana is a wonderful massage therapist and tailors each treatment to the individual.  In fact, Dana seems to have acquired the nickname of The Knot Whisperer from one such client! I would have to agree.  She also offers Ladies Night packages where she will come to you. I've hired her for one such event when I had some girl-friends in from out of town and it was a phenomenal evening! 

I will continue to post information about more upcoming events as details arise. In the mean time, enjoy the photos from this past weekend! 

See all the photos from the event on my Facebook Page! 

A Country Wedding

Fall is here and Winter (gulp!) is quickly approaching. The changing seasons promise many things: cuddle weather, opaque pantyhose, not feeling guilty about staying inside for a movie marathon, and, you guessed it, Bridal Fairs! Apparently, January is the number one wedding planning month throughout the entire year. It makes sense! It's all fall colors, turkey, driving, family, shopping, gift wrap, more driving, more family, and maybe even more turkey. Phew! 

Oh, crap. We're getting married in six months. GO! GO! GO! 

Or, maybe that was just me. 

If you've got your radar on, you'll soon start to notice advertising for wedding fairs popping up all over. Starting the season off is a brand new Country Wedding Fair in beautiful Maiden Rock, WI taking place on Saturday, October 8th from 11:00am to 4:00pm. The idea is to invite vendors to the fair that can contribute to idea of a country themed wedding in the beautiful Maidenwood Estate and surrounding area. The line up will include the usual list of caterers, photographers, florists, etc, all with this particular theme in mind. So, if Country Wedding is something that strikes your fancy (and really, how could it not be?), you will really want to come check out this event. And when you're done at the fair, you're still in Maiden Rock. And what's not to love about that? 

Hope to see you there! 

Also, did I mention that it's FREE?! Because it is. So now you really have no excuse not to come. 

Pardon Fashion Show Video!

Sqee! I just saw the Pardon Fashion Show video! It's a great way to get a feel for how much energy was at the show. It aslo gives a nice glimpse of what beautiful movement hemp/silk lends to the dresses. My lovely ladies come on at about 3 min. 50 sec. 

Uh, sorry about the girl in the bikini.  She doesn't really make much sense here. 

The Pardon Fashion Show: A Feral Affair!

Wow!  It actually happened!

The Pardon Fashion Show: A Feral Affair turned out to be an amazing fête of fashion! It was an absolute pleasure to debut my line of ready to wear wedding dress at event with such a great energy and enthusiastic turnout!

Having my collection ready (well…almost) for the show proved to be a monumental task. I had not received my patterns from Chicago until the very end of December which means I had essentially one month to make five couture wedding dresses. Sure. No problem.

It certainly would not have been possible without the help and support from so many friends and family. My wonderful husband, Dan, and his mother, Karen, were instrumental in making sure I made it to the fashion show in once piece. My models were making sure I was eating enough (hilarious, right?). They would not have even had makeup for the show had it not been for my mother. My friend, Ricki, shown below in her fabulous neon pastel jumpsuit, not only coiffed my models to perfection, but she also proved to be extremely effective at coaching me out of a major melt-down. Let me just say, that is not an easy task.

Fie! 

Said breakdown occurred when I realized I was going to end up one dress short of presenting my entire collection. Of course I was sewing up until the last minute and I was simply unable to address a few snags to my satisfaction that I had run into on the Juliet Dress. I also learned a thing or two about how long it takes to sew a ruffle, which will be handy on future projects. Every obstacle is an opportunity to learn something for the future!  With one dress out of the running, I was distraught about letting down Sophia, my model, and Maria, my veil collaborator. Then my ingenious husband suggested that Sophia could just wear my wedding dress.

What the…what?

The man with the plan. 

Trust me, dear reader, that I do not understand the physics that allow Sophia and me to fit into the same dress.  We are, without exaggeration, at least three sizes apart.  The only possible explanation is that the universe cut me some slack that day. Not only did the dress fit her, it looked fantastic!  It was the exact right style for her body type! Sophia, along with Stephie, Chelon, Alicia, and Karli all looked radiant as they did their little turn on the catwalk.

By the way, how lovely are those veils?? One of the best parts about doing a show like this is collaborating with other artists.  I was super lucky to snap up Maria, an amazing art metal’s student at UW – Stout. She made the beautiful veils pictured below out of a super cool plastic mesh, feathers, hopes, dreams, unicorn hair, and I don’t even know what else. They were the perfect touch for a Feral Fashion Show!

Next up is the Menomonie Wedding Fair on Sunday, February 20^th from 12:00 – 4:00pm. Come by, say Hi, and find out more about Something New, LLC!

Last minute substitution: my actual wedding dress. It's a long story. 

Does she look familiar?

Awww!  They're so pretty!

Photographer: Jeremy Nelson and Leah Dunbar / Venue: The Raw Deal  

Up and Coming

I am so excited; I almost cannot contain myself.

As you know, I am in the process of building my wedding gown business.  The past two years have been a steady but slow process where I primarily focused on a few custom pieces.

What you did not necessarily know (or, maybe you did…) is that during that time, I have also been working on my prêt-a-porter line of wedding dresses. This has taken me so much longer than I had expected, but it’s all about to be worth it. On Saturday, February 5^th, I will be debuting my line of ready to wear bridal dresses at the Pardon Fashion show at The Raw Deal in Menomonie, WI.  That felt so good, I think I’ll type it again. I’m debuting my collection ready-to-wear bridal at the Pardon Fashion show on Saturday, February 5^th, 2011.

The Pardon Fashion Show: A Feral Affair is open to the public and is sure to be a grand spectacle!  The show is produced by the lovely Raine Nimmer and Lindsey Baker who have already cut their teeth on the first Pardon Fashion Show, back in February 2010.   This year boasts more models and more designers, including Minneapolis based Adrienne Yancy who will be showing her 30+ piece collection before she flies off to the east coast for a little thing we like to call New York Fashion Week!  The show starts at 8:00 and doors open at 6:30.  If you’re planning on attending, I’d get there early because it’s going to be a packed house!

Then, two weeks later on Sunday February 20^th from noon to four o’clock,  I’ll be taking part in The Menomonie Wedding Fair.  This will be my first convention all by myself!  I know, I’m growing up so fast! If you or anyone you know is planning a wedding in the near future, this event is definitely worth checking out. There will be a cornucopia of local bridal vendors for everything from cakes and photography to music and travel agencies.  I haven’t nailed it down yet, but I am hoping to offer a special deal to any individuals who sign up for regular e-mail updates at the convention!  It’ll be my little way of saying thank you for stopping my booth and letting me talk your ear off.

Yes, she's always this gorgeous. 

And finally, sometime in the near future the always fabulous Leah Dunbar will be shooting the photography for my ETSY.com store with my lovely model, Melissa, pictured above. This is maybe the biggest step of them all and quite possibly the one I am most excited about!  Having my ready-to-wear line of dresses available for sale on the internet will be the culmination of over two years of hard work and planning. I know it will mean an entirely new slew of challenges, but they are ones I have been working towards for a long time. I am very excited to offer my vision of wedding attire to women looking for Something New!


Melissa's photo taken by Emily Gerbig.