our wedding story part 9: constructing jamie's dress

“A wedding gown will live for generations in photographs. It is probably the most important dress that a woman will ever wear.” OSCAR DE LA RENTA

Jamie always wanted to surprise me with her wedding dress, but when the original dress she purchased for the wedding came in too short, we moved to plan B. Jamie and I worked together to design a dress that was perfect for her. Jamie is classic and timeless, but still likes to be distinctive and original. We knew the dress needed to be timeless, but with a twist that would be unique to her. Jamie tried on endless amounts of dresses to determine what silhouette she wanted to wear, and I flew to New York just weeks before the wedding to purchase fabric.

Although we hadn’t planned for me to make the dress, we were both so happy that we had the opportunity to do this. I will never forget the late night and early morning fittings, the quick day trips to NYC, and the laughter we shared as we had this unique experience of building her dress together.

Although we had people that thought we were crazy and that it was inappropriate for me to make and see the dress before our wedding day, Jamie and I would not change anything, and love that this is part of our story. It is a dress that we are both proud to have live for generations through the images we will show our children, grandchildren, and generations to come.

From shopping in the garment district of NYC to stitching and layering the dress piece by piece, these images document the process of constructing Jamie’s dress.