{LIAM} DIY Mini Bridal Top Hat

DIY Wedding Hair Accessories

How to make a birdcage wedding veil headband

How to make a single comb birdcage veil

How to make the Serena Fabric Flower

How to make a traditional wedding veil

Butterfly Project

Our blog will be transitioning over to www.youtiquebridal.wordpress.com

{Butterfly Stages by Karen Whimsy}

Dear Lovely Brides, Friends, & Family,

We wanted to say thank you a million times over.  Without you, Youtique Bridal would not be able to spread its wings and fly.  Our small business is growing and we are experiencing many wonderful and exciting changes.  Like a butterfly, Youtique Bridal is currently going through a metamorphosis.  Our Design team will be expanding, a beautiful new website & blog will be introduced, and we are scheduled for a marketing video production.  While all this is going on, we are also networking with top-notch Wedding Vendors to help connect you with quality, experienced, and impeccable service providers.

We hope you will follow our progress and continue to see all the new and exciting projects and designs being posted.  Because change takes time, we ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers.  Join us as we slowly break out of our chrysalis and transform into something beautiful!

With great gratitude,

Ann Ngo, Creative Designer

New Blog due out October 2011...Stay tuned!!!

Love Story: KRISTINA + KIP

Not too long ago I had the honor of altering the beautiful bride Kristina W.'s lace gown.  I mentioned how her LOVE story is an inspiration to me.  Read on and you will see why.  
{I thought I would do this in an interview form so you can read it with her own lovely words}

KRISTINA + KIP

Ann: How did you meet the love of your life?

We met in law school (nothing exciting there!), but I do note that
Kip and I were friends first, and I didn't start to see him in a
different light until a group of us stayed at his parents' house in
Houston during law school for a friend's wedding.  Meeting his family
and seeing how he interacted with them showed me a different side of
him and peaked my interest:)  At his friend's wedding, Kip also spent
time showing me pictures of his then 2 year-old niece, which also
revealed that he was just a sweet guy inside.

Ann: When or at what moment did you know he was the person you wanted to spend the rest of your life with?

Kristina:  Kip and I say we did not have a "fairy tale romance." That is, we
didn't start dating and automatically know that each other was the
one.  We were both hesitant, because we both had in mind that we
weren't ready to settle down and because I was planning on returning
to my native California after graudation to go back to my family.  The
fact that I wasn't intending to stay in Texas created a facade in our
relationship that it wasn't going to last, but that we were going to
enjoy it while it did.  After graduation, although Kip and I had an
amazing relationship, I wasn't ready to change my plans and I moved
back to California (I even took the California Bar Examination).  But,
Kip and I couldn't imagine breaking up.  After several months of
long-distance, I decided to move back to Texas and give it a shot.
Immediately Kip and I knew we made the right decision and knew we would
eventually get married.

Ann: You faced some challenges recently, what were they and how did you overcome it?

Kristina:  We got engaged exactly two years after I moved to Houston.  Kip is
extremely close to his parents, and I became part of the family, too
(I even lived with Kip's parents while I was looking for a job and
getting settled).  Soon after we got engaged, we decided we didn't
want to wait another year to plan a big wedding and set a date of June
12th for a wedding in Cancun with only family and close friends.  On
April 30, 2011, we got a call that Kip's parents had been in a serious
car accident on I-10, in which they had crashed into the freeway
barrier wall at a high speed.  Kip's dad suffered a broken neck and
broken back (he was extremely lucky not to have suffered any spinal
cord injury) and Kip's mom broke her back.  Kip and I had to decide
whether to cancel the wedding, because we couldn't imagine a ceremony
without both of his parents there.  Kip's parents were adamant that we
have the ceremony, and hoped that at least his mom would heal enough
to be able to go (Kip's dad had a halo and was hospitalized for seven
weeks, and therefore there was no chance he would be able to go).
With their encouragement, we went forward with the wedding in Cancun.
Kip's mom was there, and Kip's dad watched a live webcast of the
ceremony.  Although it was heartbreaking to miss Kip's dad on our
wedding day, it was a beautiful ceremony and an experience that has
brought us all closer together.

Thank you so much Kristina for sharing this amazing story.  

Congratulations to you and Kip!  btw, your pictures are breathtaking!!!

ELEGANTLY SOFT, ROMANTIC, & JUST TOO ADORABLE! - Inspiration for Dr. JV

When Dr. JV came into the studio with the wedding cards she designed herself, I couldn't help but admire the adorable little Owl couple she used as her theme.  The Bride Owl had a veil too!  Imagine the fun love story behind that!

Custom Design: LEMONDROP

I had a fabulous time designing & creating this whole Custom Ensemble for a very special Bride, Lemondrop T.  She is a modern sophisticated Bride with a cute playful nature.  

Lemon was drawn to ball-gown dresses but didn't want to get lost in the fullness of it.  The secret to fitting a petite Bride is to make sure the dress & the details are proportional to her size.  Lemon's custom dress was designed to convey her unique sense of style and proportion played an important role in the design. 

The Details

Her gown is made of a sheer Dotted Chiffon fabric layered over luxurious Silk Satin.  The navy sash is made of Silk Shantung in one of her theme colors.  The neckline is a subtle sweetheart to draw attention to her adorable face & cute smile.  I added pockets to hide her tissues & touchup lipstick.  

Here are some other custom accessories designed uniquely for Lemondrop.  

Sunflower Fascinator & Birdcage veil accented with a 

beautiful floral rhinestone brooch & a soft yellow feather.  

This will be worn for the reception.  

For the ceremony, I made a single layer elbow length veil.

 Custom Wedding Garment Bag.  

I wanted something feminine & playful so I added the ruffles. 

It was also made in one of her theme colors & her name was embroidered onto the bag.  

Custom Fascinator/Birdcage Veil Box.

I used the same polka dot fabric as her gown to cover the box and 

accented it with her themed Sunflowers.  

The Garment bag or the Veil box would make a beautiful Bridal Shower gift.  If you are interested in putting in a custom order, feel free to email me at ann@youtiquebridal.com.

Thank you for visiting!

History of Lace

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Photo by Good Housekeeping

An adventurous Bride came into the Studio last week preparing to elope in a beautiful Lace Gown.  As I was studying the lace placement on the gown & started to work on the alterations, I pondered on the history of this beautiful lace.  

Lace was first created in the 15th Century and was held in high esteem due to its handcrafted nature.  It was costly to make and thus was available only to the clergy and nobility. Lacemaking has a long association with convents and by the 16^th Century, lacemaking had spread beyond its origins in Belgium/Flanders and Italy. As demand grew beyond the Catholic Church, the art of lacemaking was established in virtually every European nation.  Lace was desperately craved by the nobility during the Renaissance as a way to showcase their immense wealth, appreciation for beauty, and their sense of style.

The wedding of Queen Victoria in 1840 to Prince Albert sealed the place of lace in history. She created a lasting tradition when she chose to wear a white satin wedding gown rather than a typical royal silver one. Queen Victoria's bridal gown was trimmed in exquisite Honiton lace and she wore a breathtaking veil of Honiton lace adorned with orange blossoms. In fact it is said that the reason the Queen chose a white wedding gown over a silver one was because she was enamored with the rich lace and wanted it on her bridal attire. As with many of her wedding customs, once the world got a look at the engravings of Queen Victoria in her lace veil, it instantly became the standard to which all future brides would adhere.  To read more on the history of lace, visit History of Lace Making by Seabastian.  

  

1. Carefully studying the placement of lace, beadwork, & intricate details

2. Slowly & carefully removing the lace for alterations

3. Hand-sewing the lace & hand-beading it back onto the dress

Although all this takes hours of patience & handwork, it is quite meditative & allows us to truly appreciate the art of Lace & Beadwork.  Thank you for visiting!