Sarah's Wedding

Sarah and Tristan had set the date! The plans for their intimate bistro wedding were underway.

Sarah found me through a web search looking for fascinators, as so many of my clients do. She gave me several weeks' lead time, which is ideal, and very much appreciated.

Her hair was short, and the fascinator was going to play the part of her 'do. I got a sense of Sarah's taste before we met, so our time together was spent playing with elements she knew she liked. Together we concocted a combination of rose, filigree, leaves and feathers that was uniquely hers. "This is way more fun than choosing my wedding dress," she shared. What a great thing to hear!

Millinery decisions made, Sarah could turn her attention back to the other preparations for her wedding. I went shopping, then got down to work.

I chose three different shades of peau de soie in blush tones to give her rose focal point subtle depth and nuance. Crystals and beads added the bling.

Sinamay elements and feathers contributed rhythm, movement and texture. It was working for me! But Sarah's opinion was the one that counts. Thus the nail-biting wait for the verdict began.

She liked it! The milliner exhaled. A teeny tweak and it was done. Sarah came to collect her fascinator and make sure she could clip it in. Indeed she could! Another millinery exhalation.

Sarah told me she loved the process of working with me on the most "bridal" element of her contemporary wedding look. She kindly promised photos to share with you (all wedding photos by Connie Tsang), and she was as good as her word. Thanks so much, Sarah! It's been a pleasure!

The Hat Lady and Arni

Arni found me through Catherine Curtis, where I have some promotional postcards. Catherine was making a dress and jacket for his wife, Sheila, to wear at a family wedding in St. Martin. Sheila needed a hat to go with it.

Arni and Sheila, warm, friendly and charming, came to meet me at my studio. Sheila gazed at the hats on the shelves and called them my babies. "That's what I call mine," she explained. It's quite the nursery she's got going, too - about three hundred hats! No wonder they call her the Hat Lady!

Catherine had given them some fabric cuttings from the dress she was making. Sheila knew she wanted something like a cloche, in white straw to go with the white background of her dress, embellished with the fabric. We talked and laughed and played dress-up, as I took notes. One sample in particular made Sheila smile, and I knew that would be The One. Arni wasn't so sure, preferring another, more traditional sample under consideration. Sheila pointed out that her choice was distinctive and unique. Arni had to agree and Sheila's choice carried the day.

Sheila really enjoyed the creative process of seeing her hat come into being. She had a clear vision of how her hat should be, and I worked to realize that vision. Many hugs accompanied her thanks when she came to collect it.

And Arni had to admit that he really liked it, after all.

The Hat Lady and her husband left with more than what they had commissioned. The "babies" at home welcomed a bunch of new siblings that day.

Just as well they don't need to be fed. Just loved.