.svg){kind=small}
.svg){kind=small}
Hi everyone, and welcome back to the JoSaBi Blog! How have you been? 2020 has been rough on everyone, but I hope you are all hanging in there. Today we are bringing you a well-deserved ray of sunshine: our gorgeous JoSaBi Hapsa, who chose JoSaBI Mariées to create her lace ballgown wedding dress for her August 08th wedding. It was a dream gown made out of incredibly high-quality lace and delicate beading. The pièces de résistance were however the lovely ballgown shape and surprising sleeve details. Read on for more!
Hapsa’s Beaded Lace Ballgown wedding dress: Story time
Hapsa contacted JoSaBi in February 2020 (when the world was still fairly normal). We exchanged over a few days with the bride and got to understand her style. She had refined taste, and wanted an abundance of pretty details on her dress, without being too much. Our bride loved pearls, beads, and classy embellishments, but wanted to stay away from rhinestones and silver sequins, as they did not fit her aesthetic. As a matter of fact, Hapsa was in love with the idea of a softer look, all in embroideries and airy tulle. As a result, we quickly started defining the dress, and soon discovered Hapsa had amazing ideas.
Design
Hapsa initially wanted a detachable princess ballgown (we were working on figuring out the parameters, and it would have likely been a voluminous overskirt on top of mermaid dress, like Christine’s gown). Hapsa knew she wanted tulle over satin, because she absolutely loved the look of a tulle skirt with a lace edge. We therefore used that idea as a base, and agreed on a skirt with lace accents all around the edge, in the back, in the middle and in the front, as well as asymmetrical lace pieces around the waist.
For the bust, we went for a fitted bust with lace cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline. The bodice was to have a skin tulle neckline and beading around the chest. The back was imagined half sheer, with delicate buttons and a lace adorned V opening. The opaque part of the dress would have solid structure, would be nipped at the waist and be all covered in very finely beaded lace. We opted for glass beads, milky white beads, and transparent sequins to add a lot of texture to the bust while keeping it very classy. Hapsa wanted just the right amount of shine.
One very cute element of Hapsa’s lace ballgown wedding dress was the shape of the sleeves. She wanted cap/off the shoulder kind of sleeves, but she wanted them to be triangular. We therefore put a lot of effort into them, made them the perfect shape, and made sure to finely bead and decorate them. They were indeed an major part of the overall style.
In the end, Hapsa decided to forgo the detachable element and just go with a classic ballgown in off-white. We hence shifted the style a little to have one dress, but all the elements above remained the same. We finished the look with the veil. Hapsa went classic and simple with a knee-length veil adorned with lace all around.
Please see below Hapsa’s sketches, which represented her ideas and brought her dress to life before production.
Hapsa wanted a lace ballgown wedding dress with a beaded bust and triangular sleeves.
Creating Hapsa’s lace ballgown princess wedding dress
Creating Hapsa’s dress was fun. As usual, at JoSaBi, we focus on very detailed consultations, so the creation process itself is easy on the bride (so when wedding planning is intensifying, we are not another thing she has to think about.) After nailing down her style, Hapsa chose her lace a few days later, and we just got to work right away. The sketch was completed by the middle of March, so roughly 3.5 weeks after our first conversation. We hence moved on to production for Hapsa’s lace ballgown wedding dress.
The chief focus was pinning the lace in place to attain the desired level of complexity on the bust, as well as starting to draft the sleeves. That step was completed in the second half of April. Hapsa initially felt like they were a little long, so we shortened them to make sure the triangular effect popped even more. After the lace pinning process, we built the rest of the dress and it was completed in mid-May. Hapsa received the final photos and videos of her dress a few days later, gave her approval, and the dress was shipped to her in Burkina Faso right away.
Due to our new normal with COVID, shipping took a bit longer than usual, but the dress was delivered 4 weeks later. Our bride had her first fitting the first week of July, and the dress needed no alterations whatsoever. She had another fitting 2 weeks later, and took the dress home to wait for the big day!
Wedding Day
Hapsa’s wedding day finally arrived, and it was a super romantic day, all in the shades of pink and fuchsia. Her look was very regal, with a subtle and glowy bridal makeup look, and a high chignon accessorized with a lovely tiara and wispy curls. She went for a round bouquet with pink and white, and her bridesmaids also sported shades of fuschia. Her cake was super feminine, and her cake topper looked exactly like her! I have no idea how she did it, buy we stan a coordinated queen.
Final Thanks
Thanks again Hapsa, for this lovely adventure. We had such a great time creating together, and we were so grateful we got to be a part of your big day. You looked amazing, and your taste was exquisite. You allowed us to create fun details on a lovely dress, and laugh a lot in the process! We wish you decades upon decades of happiness, and may your home be as soft and lovely as you are, always.
That’s it for today! We appreciate the time you took to read Hapsa’s story. Thanks so much for your support! Of course, in the meantime, we are here if you have any questions! You can reach us by leaving a comment, sending an email or through Instagram and Facebook DM.
Until next time, stay safe, wash your hands, wear a mask and protect yourselves.
Best,
JoSaBi
Thanks to the whole team:
- Makeup: Lyn Makeup
- Hair: Hall des Dames
- Photography: Kio Photographie
- Venue Decoration: Diam’s Events
- Cake: P’tit Paris
