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Hi all, 👋 and welcome back to the JoSaBi blog! Here, we chat about our gorgeous brides, go over their amazing stories, and share fun and useful wedding tips. Today, we star our bride Arielle, who trusted us for not one, but two dresses: her long sleeve lace wedding dress, and her royal blue detachable reception gown. Let’s jump into her adventure!
Background on Arielle’s Long Sleeve Wedding Dress
With Arielle, the story is a little personal. Indeed, I (Dafra) have known her for around a decade, and was hence floored and super grateful when she asked me to work with her on her wedding dress. It was such an honor; I do not take my friends working with me for granted. Creating a dress with somebody I had known for such a long time made was awesome, because I felt like I would get to know her even better during the process.
Something I have always known about Arielle is that she loves simplicity. As a result, she goes for a simple cuts, simple looks, simple fabrics, and overall, really makes classic looks SING. Therefore, I knew she would want a dress that felt and looked like her, and I knew it would likely be all about the details because we would go for an overall simpler shape. Moreover Arielle is also modest, so I therefore also knew her dress would only show hints of skin. As a result, my bet before we even had the consultation was a lace or satin wedding dress, maybe with long sleeves.
Design
When we started chatting, Arielle was already in love with the idea of a simple mermaid dress with detailing on the sides. She was torn between long sleeves and beaded cap sleeves, which we opted to sort out at the sketch stage. That said however, she had already irrevocably fallen for the idea of a lace mermaid wedding dress, so we were definitely going down that path. Finally (and above all), she wanted to be comfortable on her big day, while looking amazing.
Putting all of Arielle’s ideas together, we arrived at a lace mermaid wedding dress with a tiered tulle train, decorated with diamond-shaped patterns on the the tiers and the back. Lace overlay on the sides and lace trim at the edge of the train added delicate details, and a row of pearl buttons in the back gave it a classy flair. The front of the dress was pretty pared down, while the sides had gorgeous flower embroideries. As a unique detail, we also embroidered the bride and groom’s name inside the bust, as well as their hashtag. A lace- trimmed veil topped the whole look, boasting delicate flowers around Arielle’s face. Regal, simple yet elaborate.
Consequently, we started with 2 sketches of the same look, only with different sleeves. While both options were gorgeous, Arielle decided to pick the long sleeved lace wedding dress. As a result, we shipped her tulle fabric samples to pick the shade that melted with her skin (we do so for all brides), and we got started on her gown as soon as we had all the details.
Arielle had trouble deciding, so we did 2 sketches of the look, only with different sleeves.
Creation
Creating Arielle’s gown was a breeze. With the sketch, we had a solid guide, and knew exactly what to do for each detail of the dress. We started around mid April, and sent her a video in the middle of the production at the beginning of July (she approved it right away).
Arielle’s long sleeve wedding dress was completed the first week of August, and it looked like a dream. Long lace sleeves and a mermaid shape for a wedding dress are such a timeless combo- we were all in love. Everything was ready for the dress to be shipped, and then– PLOT TWIST: Arielle wanted a second dress! Yay!
Reception Dress Design
We were super excited to work with her a little more, and we kicked off the creation of the second dress right away. The second style was still very classic with clean lines, BUT there was a bit more sass involved!
Arielle indeed wanted something a little different from the classic look of her long sleeved wedding dress, and opted for a reception gown in rich royal blue, one of her wedding colors. She went for a simple off-shoulder satin sheath, and paired it with a beautiful detachable overskirt in the same fabric.
The overskirt was attached to the gown through invisible pins, and fell in a circle on the floor behind her- just divine. As a nod to her other color (gold), we adorned her dress with golden appliqués and added detailing made out of golden glass beads on each flower. That latter step made a huge difference, adding a subtle hint of sparkle to her reception gown.
Creation
The creation of the second gown went faster, of course. We kept Arielle in the loop the whole time, and the dress was completed at the end of October. Both dresses were shipped immediately, and all we could hardly wait for Arielle to go in for fittings!
She did so a few weeks later. As a result, she needed a minor alteration at the base of her corset back for her reception gown, but her long sleeve lace wedding dress fit perfectly; no alterations were needed!
Wedding Day
On her wedding day on December 28th, Arielle was dressed by a member of our Burkina Faso team. She could not stop smiling as she wore her wedding dress, and was the cutest ever. She dazzled her husband, who actually held his heart as he turned around to look at her! It was the most wholesome, beautiful and touching moment. A few hours later, she donned her lovely blue dress, and looked gorgeous executing a fun dance routine with her bridesmaids.
Final thoughts
Arielleeeee!!! It was such an honor to dress you. Thank you for trusting our team, for being the kindest person ever, for always being open to trying new things; we appreciate you being you. This was such a pleasure, and I am so excited I got to work with you and create your two beautiful dresses. Congratulations again, and may God pour blessing after blessing on your marriage.
That’s it for today! As always dear reader, thanks a bunch for reading a new JoSaBi adventure. Have a lovely day, and we will see you soon for another blog post!
