The Dress

I met the person named Dovanna in a very strange way.  I had a house with three bedrooms and one roommate.  A friend came to me and told me that she had a friend that needed a place to live, could she rent the other bedroom.  I agreed to meet with this friend and see if she might be a good fit for us.  She came to see the house and to meet me, and she brought her sister (and it did not take long for her sister to remember that she knew me from a previous place that I had lived).  Her sister did most of the talking for the hour long tour and "interview."  But though she did not say much Dovanna seemed nice enough, I would have her as a roommate.

I am so glad that I did.  She was a wonderful roommate.  She also became a great friend.  The type of friend where you go years and moves from country to country without talking, but when you do reconnect it seems as if no time has passed :)

I had not really talked to Dovanna for probably 4 years, then out of the blue she calls me up one day in May.  She wanted to catch up but more importantly she wanted to know if I was given white material would I be able to design a dress of my choice without a pattern.  She had seen me do this while we lived together.  I said probably and that is where the conversation pretty much ended.

A month later she calls again and asked if I remember her asking about the dress.  I responded yes, and asked if there was a need for a white dress to be created.  She said yes, she just got engaged that weekend.  Would I make the dress for her?  I thought and thought.  I went back and forth on the idea (since she lives 3 hours away and fittings might not be too easy).  I told her to look closer to where she lived.  Then I finally told her, it would be an honor.  I would love to do it!

We originally thought of designing a dress for her.  So I was coming up with ideas and sending them to her over e-mail.  And she was sending me numerous e-mails of pictures and patterns that she liked.  After about 3 weeks of the back and forth, I pointed out to her that every e-mail of pictures that she liked included one pattern.  And with that pattern she always wrote something along the lines of "I really like this one."  So I pointed this out to her and asked if she just wanted me to make this dress.  She agreed and off we went.

She bought the material and all that was needed and we spent the first fitting getting sized, buying extra notions that might be needed, and just talking and giggling the entire time.

Now let me just say, this is not a typical wedding.  She is getting married in her parent's back yard with only immediate family there.  They will have two receptions afterward, but since it is an outdoor wedding in the fall, and she is just a wonderfully unique person...she did not want a typical wedding dress.  But I must say, this dress is "her."  It fits her body type, her style, her personality, everything....just perfectly!

It was a challenge to make at times, and it included a lot of trial and error.  But in the end, I can say that I did my best and I think it looks wonderfully (she says the same.)

Without further ado.  Here is the picture of the dress:

I still feel very honored to be able to be involved in her wedding in this way.