LOve LOve LOve!!

I Love Crystal George!  I love Jen! I love amazing photographs that capture a truly happy bride and the joy of the day. 

What more can I say?  Do yourself a favor and sit down for a minute.  Click on this link and be prepared to ache for the beauty and love that you will see.  

(All of the following photos were by Crystal George.)

Just click the link.  I'm telling you.  Click the link ;) 

Chapman Gallagher Wedding in Richmond

We had a beautiful wedding weekend in Richmond, this weekend.  Could there have been more perfect weather!?  It was amazing.  The wedding was held at Hermitage Country Club just outside of the Short Pump area.  The family was so sweet and so were all of the lovely bridesmaids.  The bride was very specific and clear throughout the day, yet maintained a sweet, beautiful composure.  Well done! :) Enjoy the photos of her amazing, silk, Pnina Tornai gown from Church Street Bridal.  

The Hermitage Country Club 

The Hermitage Country Club

 

Our first wedding of the spring!

We did our first wedding of the spring today!!  Congrats Emily! It was at Hotel Roanoke.  The Planners were from Ode to Joy and the Photog was Rabiah Gohar.  Everything was so beautiful!  Stayed tuned for Emily's before and afters as well.  Cause, boy, did her dress come a long way! :) 

And what's that hanging in the window, framing the MIll Mountain Star?  They are their rings! 

How do they bead prom dresses?

It looks like a million beads are randomly scattered on a prom gown.  Did someone just sit down with the gown and randomly attach all of those beads?   No.  Not exactly.  If that was the manufacturing process, they would have no continuity of quality or design.  The beading pattern is printed on the dress.  (I'm posting a picture of a prom gown that we altered this year.)

In order to take up the bodice, I have to remove all of the beads that are in the way of my new seam.  This exposes the beading pattern. Each circle represents a bead, and has a symbol in the center of it.  The symbol is a code for which size bead should be stitched there.  Pretty nifty, huh?

After I clear the beads away, I must take up the dress and then re-bead it where it is bare along the seam.  No wonder it takes a while and costs more than casual wear alterations!   

Bridesmaids lineup

Here's 4 pretty maids all in a row.  This was in my shop last Saturday.  The girls are lined up to have their hem markings compared.  (I've pinned individual notes to their bodices.)  From time to time we schedule a fitting party for the bridesmaids and bride to all come at once to have their hems marked at the same time.  Just one more little detail that makes the Gilded difference!

No more Prom...

As of March 4th, 2014, we will no longer be accepting Prom dresses for alterations.  We also will not be able to do MOB or MOG dresses.  We may open those back up after June?  We'll see how the calendar goes. If you are already in the books, you are all set.  If you haven't sent in appointment request form yet, we're sorry, but we won't be able to get the dresses done in time for your event.   Best wishes!  Look beautiful and be safe!!   

prom close.jpg

Super Sale at CSB

Today was a whirlwind! I'm wiped out!  Amy, (one of my assistants), Thomasina of Elvisdog Productions, and I volunteered at the Prom Dress Super Sale and Church Street Bridal today. As usual, the lines were crazy this morning- many girls were eager to get in right as we opened, but CSB was armed with a large group of energetic volunteers.  Many brides said Yes! to the dress today, and many HIgh Schoolers grabbed up sparkly good deals on prom dresses.  Bridal gowns were a mind-blowing 25 bucks each on the mezanine! Bridal shoes were only 5 dollars a pair!  All of the proceeds benefit women and children, victims of domestic violence, and the SARP program in Lynchburg, VA.  

Prom

Prom.  Do we do it?  We get asked that a lot this time of year.  Yes we do alter Prom gowns!  The catch to it is... we don't block off a large amount of space in our planner for it- in fact we don't block off any space for it.  It's first-come, first-served. So that means, when we are booked beyond the Prom date with fittings, etc, then we no longer accept Prom gowns.  To give you an idea, last year we stopped accepting appointments for Prom gown alts in mid/late February.  ((Chaos ensued! High-schoolers were very sad indeed!))  Sorry 'bout that.  We love our cute little prom girls, but Brides are our priority. We just do what we can do.  :)

Big Shocker!

So was reading a bridal magazine at Barnes and Noble, (of course).  And I flipped to a page that pictured a bride and groom, (of course).   And I was like, "Oh my goodness! That's a Gilded Bride!!"  Then I read the article and there was a paragraph about The Gilded Thimble and the work that I did on her dress.  Freaky Cool Moment!!!  :@  :D

 (Photo Credit for the dipped bride, Chelsea Yoder Photography.)

Elvisdog Productions

Here's some pics from Thomasina's view at Saturday's shot.  She's so awesome, and they have great wedding packages!  Give Elvisdog Productions a call! 434.238.2176

So ya wanna be a model?

We had a promo shoot Saturday in The Jefferson National Forest and it was freezing!!!  Christy Chichester, our model, was a champ.  Her husband was the proverbial pack mule.  He toted stuff, was a gopher, and a nearby jacket holder for his wife, and also discovered his natural gift for reflector holding, (Go Stephen!!)  I was accompanied by the stupendously amazing Thomasina of Elvisdog Productions. Our goals were to shoot a dress for Church Street Bridal, and also to get some rights-free images for all of us to use.  Lurvly gown, isn't it?   

Here's some behind the scenes shots, as well as a sneak peek of an ad you may see CSB running.  Enjoy! (And keep warm!!)  

Congrats Ainsley and Andrew!

Here's a little collage from today's beautiful wedding at The Trivium, (Heidi, the owner is phenom, and their grounds are perfectly cared for while they maintain a relaxed environment).  The weather could not have been better!   Flowers (amazing as always!) by The Arrangement Company, Photogs were Kimberly Burke and her husband Connor, one of my fav teams. Gawjus gowns from Celebration Bridal, (love them!).  Decor by Studio 11 in Lynchburg.  Makeup by Ashley Ancheta- she did a great job and was very personable while she worked with each party member. And the favors (Monogrammed drinking jars) were hand painted by the M.O.B.!  This family redefined keeping calm and cool.  They were so kind to deal with and very chill about the few little hiccups that happened today.  Every wedding has them, but these guys took every bump in stride.  You could tell this family was here just to have a good time and make memories!

May I also add that we were just a stone's throw away from where my husband and I were married, 13 years ago? Here's a picture I snagged that is the view of the steeple of the church in which we were married.  We didn't know that you could see it from The Trivium, so it surprised us. The Trivium has very picturesque views around their property.

Have to Share Another...

Here are some more beautiful moments that I captured with a couple of very kind parents from this weekend's wedding.  This wedding was held at West Manor.  

Abby's dress came from the fabulous Church Street Bridal.  They have designer dresses at a 10th of original retail, and it all goes for a great cause.   

Flowers by Amy Thornburg, The Arrangement Company, (beautiful as always!).  

Abby's wedding came together perfectly.  The people at West Manor are very professional and detail-oriented.  

Her photographers were from C. Tyler Corvin Studio.  They are a husband and wife team out of Charlottesville.  I work a lot of weddings, and I see a lot of photographers work.  So, naturally, I've learned to clearly see who is winging it and who really knows their stuff.   These guys know their stuff!!  They had great equipment. They worked with the family without causing chaos to break loose.  They were humble and relaxed, but on their game.   I look forward to sharing their photographs with you on my bride's page, here. 

What else is there to say?  It was a beautiful ending to what most have dubbed the busiest wedding day of the year for this year.  (We served 10 Gilded Brides who married on this day!)  The next huge day for us will be Oct 12th.  I'll have to tally up our numbers for the year and find out exactly which was the biggest day for us.  

For now, I'm relaxing, for last week was unbelievably busy and I'm having to re-bound quickly to get all of my many October brides picture perfect for their big day. (Click on picture below to enlarge.)

Abby and her Mother after the wedding ceremony. Abby and her Father, in their final moments together alone before she became a "Mrs.".