For all you newly engaged brides-to-be, I'd like to caution you about ordering a wedding gown from an internet site. One of my brides recently had a really unhappy experience before coming to me. She ordered a gown for $215. When the gown arrived, it was not what was pictured. She lost her $215, and had to begin again.

Upon investigating, we discovered that there are unscrupulous gown manufacturers [mostly in China] who lift imagery from American and European designers' websites, and post them on their own site. They add a price that appears extremely reasonable [usually between $150-$500] and invite a bride to place an order.

Our clue as to the legitimacy of this was when we spotted an actual photograph of Kate Middleton, entering the cathedral on her wedding day to Price William, on one of these sites. The site owner posted a price of $500 under the original photo, and assigned it a number from which to place an order.

If it seems too good to be true; it probably is. To be safe from unscrupulous business practices such as these, a good rule is to order online only from known retailers [Neiman Marcus, Macy's, Bloomingdales, etc]. If you do this, returning an item is easy if it doesn't meet your expectations.

We loved the way Kasey Coates looked in her own special design. After spending hours gown shopping with her mom, they decided that having a gown custom-made would be the only way she could get the exact look she wanted.


Kasey knew she wanted an all-lace gown, but with a tiered skirt and lace at the neckline. The gown we designed was made of a heavy ivory silk charmeuse and two distinctly different, but beautiful, imported French Alencon laces. We added a pleated silk taffeta wrap just below the bust, and touched it off with a small soft organza flower. An ivory cascading veil puddled on the ground.


Steve and Kasey's photographer, Michael Bambino Studios, michaelbambino.com presented them with an amazing selection of about a thousand images to choose from. We had a difficult time chosing ourselves. We're sure Steve and Kasey will enjoy them for years to come. The couple were married on October 22 at the Hyde Park Community Methodist Church in Cincinnati. Michael Bambino is located in Glendale, Ohio.


Kasey's mom came to all of her fittings. The three of us enjoyed working together to create their dream dress, and we loved watching it come together throughout the process. They were so wonderful to work with.

Our Pat Gawlik [pictured left] and Bonnie Daws worked on a collaborative effort to create an evening gown for Pat's friend Caryn Mathis [right] who works for the Washington DC affiliate of NPR. Caryn wanted something special for the station's 50th anniversary celebration in October. Since it was the "Fiftieth," Caryn thought a gold gown would be most appropriate, but couldn't find anything after searching all the stores and boutiques in and around the Washington area.

She called her friend Pat, and asked if she would be willing to make her a dress considering that Caryn could only make one trip to the Detroit area for fittings.

Once we got Caryn's measurements, Bonnie went to work creating the muslin from which the gown would be cut. Caryn arrived in Detroit on a Friday, came directly to our studio for a fitting, and while she and Pat took off for an afternoon of trim shopping and an evening of meeting with friends and old acquaintances.

Caryn returned to our studio for her first gown fitting the next day [Saturday], and Bonnie spent the rest of the day cutting out and sewing together the outer dress and lining.

On Sunday, Caryn was ready to try on her actual gown for the first time. Pat pinned in the alterations and took the dress with her to take Caryn back to Metro Airport. Pat worked tirelessly finishing up on the alterations, boning, hemming and sewing on the beaded trim.

A few days later, with the assistance of UPS, the completed dress was on its way to Caryn. She was thrilled with the result. As a "thank you," Caryn offered to take Pat to the Gala as her guest. Pictured here were the two ladies just before they left for the evening.

Incidentally, to wear for the occasion, Pat made herself a lovely purple shell and skirt to go with a jacket that she made a few years ago.

We think both ladies took on that star quality and "sparkle" that only a custom garment can give.

Morgan Wilt was married on October 22 in Grand Rapids. Her gown was made of 12 yards of Silk Taffeta [what a regal skirt] and an Alencon lace bodice. The gown with its long sleeves were reminiscent of the gown worn by Princess Grace of Monaco 50 years ago. The style is timeless, and will remain in vogue long after other gown designs have been abandoned.

We trimmed her veil with 14 yards of the same matching Alencon lace that adorned the dress bodice.

Morgan's photographer Mitch Ranger Weddings [a Michigan photographer] www.mitchrangerweddings.com sent us our favorite images of Morgan. He did an amazing job, so much so that we had a difficult time choosing from all the proofs.

We were particularly impressed with the one photo that Mitch took of Morgan posed on the balcony. It is so reminiscent of the one taken of Princess Grace of Monoco on her wedding day 50 years ago. We think Morgan actually resembles the Princess.

Morgan was blessed with one of the few sunny days we, in Michigan, have enjoyed over the past few weeks.

Photos courtesy of Sam Sarkis www.samsarkisphotography.com

Sam Sarkis and I took three models to The Henry Ford [museum] on September 18 to capture some great photography for the upcoming season and a new marketing brochure. We thought you'd like to see the results.



Jennifer Spencer [left] is wearing our version of the "Royal Wedding gown." We first designed it [Princess Grace of Monoco was our inspiration], and were pleased to see that Kate Middleton had the same thoughts when she sat down with her designer to recreate a similar gown. The dress is a heavy silk taffeta and Alencon lace in ivory.


Tera Bean [center] is wearing a dress that we designed using a couple of wonderful floral cascades around the waist. We loved that tone-on-tone. The dress is Italian Zibalene [or Mikado] and the waist wrap and flowers are a slightly darker color silk taffeta.

Annie Hildebrand [right] is wearing her own wedding gown [married in June 2011] and tells us that she got "rave reviews" from all who attended. Her gown was silk taffeta with an organza overlay. Alencon lace appliques were sewn on both the under and over-skirt. She wore one of Custom Fabric Flowers [N.Y.] at the waist.

Marielle Newsome had her heart set on something romantic, but extremely out of the mainstream for her wedding. She and her fiancee agreed that black and white would be a powerful statement for a wedding gown. The two of them looked at a number of fabrics and laces, and decided on a silk taffeta for the dress with a black chantilly overlay for the bodice. The results were amazing.

Marielle added a little black topper headpiece that she found at an antique sale.

Prior to their June wedding, the couple traveled to Vancouver where her fiance was to attend a medical conference, and then on to Boston where the wedding took place. The dress went along on the cross-country trip.

Nataliya sent us this wonderful photo taken on her wedding day, June 4, in The Ukrane.

It appears that the dress made the trip from the U.S. quite well with lots of careful packing.

We loved the romantic look of the organza and silk taffeta roses.

She says that "everybody loved the dress."