We just received these beautiful photos and kind testimonial from our bride Julia W. It was such a pleasure to work with her, congratulations Julia!

“I never dreamed that picking out a wedding dress could be such a special and enjoyable experience, and I feel like such a lucky bride that I found you and your wonderful studio! Your dresses are works of art and I’m so grateful that you were able to work with me, despite my budgetary concerns and time constraints! As you said, you want to help all of your brides, and I’m so glad you were able to fit me in and make me one of your brides.

I started out with a very specific idea of what I wanted, and found a “perfect” dress shortly after becoming engaged. Months before the wedding I started feeling hesitant about the dress style (tea length), and decided to take one last look at dresses on The Knot. I broadened my search to full length dresses and very quickly found a picture of your Sofia dress. I was blown away! I knew immediately that I wanted one of your dresses, and as luck would have it, I discovered that you’re based out of my hometown, Chicago! Your space is so beautiful, warm, welcoming, and removed from the typical chaos that is wedding dress shopping. You were so patient and helpful while I was trying on dresses, and gave me your honest opinion about each one, helping me find the perfect, most flattering dress (The Anita!). Your creativity really comes through in your unique, romantic designs. I love that you customized my dress to make it more my style, and created the most beautiful, over the top veil! Your dresses are not only beautifully detailed, they are superbly made. I can honestly say that I did not see a dress similar to yours anywhere else in my search. Also, the gorgeous fabrics are the highest quality, which makes them SO comfortable!

Throughout my planning, I tried to work with as many local businesses as possible, and I love that you’re here in Chicago making beautiful dresses! I also sincerely appreciate your help in guiding me to other fantastic vendors for my bridal jewelry and shoes, which in turn led me to my wonderful florist! I would recommend your studio to any bride looking for a personal experience and something a little different from the usual wedding fashion suspects.

I felt like the most beautiful girl in the city on my wedding day, and I have you to thank for that!”


choosing ribbons and trims


rough sketchs of the design


inspiration photos


working on the pattern

We’ve just started work on a new project here at the studio and we are very excited about it. One of our brides requested an 18th century gown for her wedding taking place on stage at Chicago’s Symphony Center and she was so gracious as to allow us to share the process on our blog. Right now we are gathering bits of trims and ribbons, pouring over historical fashion books and referring to movies like Marie Antoinette and Dangerous Liaisons for inspiration as well as working on the pattern for the first muslin fitting. We’ll be posting each stage of the process, design, pattern, muslins (which are mock-ups of the dress for fitting purposes) as well as the gown itself and all of the hand work that goes into embellishing it. Stay tuned to see this dress come to life!