Graceful Lace Bridal Gown, Part I

On a bright, sunny day, I had an unexpected visit at my atelier. A gentleman hesitantly walked in and asked if I am sewing custom dresses. After I answered “no”, he lifted his eyes to a beautiful canvas photo on the wall representing Claire Morgan wearing her bridal gown. Then he asked: ”Don’t you make wedding dresses?”  I happily answered “Yes, it’s always a pleasure!”
I found it so sweet when he told me that he came for his future bride and immediately we’ve set an appointment to meet her.

Soon after I met her, I found out that she is the grand-granddaughter of the founder of a prestigious glass company (Glaserei Schmidt), being the main supplier of the car factory Gräf & Stift. The glass company today is reduced to a couple of shops and their main one is actually in the same house with my atelier! I already knew about the history of Glaserei Schmidt, my husband loves to read about the history of Vienna, in particular about the district we live in (Döbling).

© Christian Pichler

source

I felt so charmed and grateful that Barbara chose me to sew her bridal dress! Being a mum she had a very clear image on how she wanted her dream dress to look like, most important to feel comfortable, elegant and understated.

Finding the right fabric has been a true challenge. My main suppliers were out of stock, the available lace was over the budget and no other fabric would have perfectly matched the design. After about seven weeks, when the deadline for having the fabric was rapidly approaching, I received a phone call from Barbara's future husband, Adi. At first I didn’t know who it was so I quickly passed the phone to my husband. Adi, offered to pay for the expensive lace available and asked me to keep it secret until the dress was done. As I felt that it was a high investment, I asked him to wait three more days. I was about to receive feedback info from two fabric factories in Germany and wanted to give it a chance before we get the pricey one.

To our luck, two days later I received a sample of a gorgeous lace, at a perfect price! I almost cried of joy! I ran to Barbara’s glass shop and proudly showed it! She loved it!!

The downside was that the factory shipped almost the double of the quantity that I ordered but I then said that lace is always welcomed!

Despite the fabric finding difficulty, the working process has been very smooth and pleasant!

Barbara was so delighted when she first saw the result that I noticed some tears of joy in her eyes!

One of Our First Meetings

Lace Doubled With Pure Silk 

In the 2nd part, I will show you some photos from the wedding day!