BTW: Fit for a Princess

"If it weren't for the last minute, nothing would get done."

Every woman wants to feel like a princess on her wedding day.

And to help a woman feel her absolute best on one of the biggest days of her life is special indeed.

I accepted the call to create a wedding ensemble for Kim along with a mother-of-the-bride set and two attendants back in February, and promptly ordered the materials. (Aren't you proud of me for being so FOCUSED at that time?! I am!). My time and talent and labor are my gift to Kim. But like most things in my life, if I don't do it right away, then it doesn't get done. I let other things (like this and this and this) take precedence.

Now the wedding is but a few weeks away, and I am sure that the anxious bride is hoping that I will complete this asap! This is what I have been working on the past few nights.

{Wire, chain & crystals waiting their turn...}

When I met with the bride, I had just picked up a copy of The Earring Style Book by Stephanie Wells. I enjoy this book because it has striking photography and some very current styles worn by all the hottest celebrities. However, they are a bit too much for me to wear as earrings, so I would not likely make them that way (I tend to only make things that I would likely wear, since if it doesn't sell it is part of my personal collection!). But if you look past the intent of a piece in a book and focus on the parts, you can find some great ideas for connectors and pendants in this book. I highly recommend it.

Kim's dress has some rather ornate detailing, and I thought that might be a nice focal for her piece. Kim's mom wanted something similar to her daughter, but a bit on the smaller scale. These shapes come straight from Kim's dress with scrolls and tendrils.

{For the bride and the mother-of-the-bride... similarly matched sets!}

And for the bridesmaids we chose a page straight from The Earring Style Book. Page 144 to be exact. Shown there are the Osiris earrings in a serpentine style wrapped in gemstones. To keep it simple, we opted for one stunning Swarovski crystal with the scroll a little smaller in size. I hammered a bit of texture to catch the light.

{For Colette}

The size and color on these Swarovski crystals is really quite extraordinary. Their huge irregular shapes make this feel more organic. Simple, yet stunning. (Hmmm... I think I should make more like this!) Oh, and all have a matching pair of earrings to coordinate. Of course.

{The wedding party}

I don't do a lot of weddings. It is not that I wouldn't mind doing them, but around here they are just all the same. I find it incredibly boring to 'design' for an army of taffeta wearing, rose-toting girls. Besides, I would have a hard time making anything the same. Like I had a hard time making the frames on the the two attendants pieces to match up. It is a good thing they aren't supposed to be a matched set. The fact that they each have a different color scheme makes me feel a bit better about the repetition and allowed me to put a more individual spin on things. In fact, I will always lead someone to select different ensembles for their bridesmaids to match their personality and style. Color is great place to start, but there is oh-so-much more that you could do! It is a much better gift that way, when you think about the person that it is intended for, don't you think? I did enjoy making these, and testing out this fabulous new-to-me book, although I wish (and likely Kim does, too!) that I weren't such a Last Minute Lucy. ;-)

{Fit for a princess!}

I wish Kim and Randy a lifetime of happiness and good fortune. She will be a beautiful bride and I am delighted that I could help complete her princess outfit!

Your turn...
Have you ever made wedding jewelry? 
Do you like making it or hate making it?
Did you wear jewelry in your wedding that you loved or was special is some way? I hate the cheap costume earrings that I wore. I so wish that I had discovered this talent back then!

Have you ever done anything unconventional for weddings? The first commission I ever got was a wedding with the bride, eight bridesmaids and three special attendants. Every single piece was different but in the same color scheme. It was the best wedding ensemble I have ever done! How about you? I used to help do floral arrangements for weddings, and the best trick we used was rolls of screen door replacement spray painted in metallics as a camouflage for the huge glass vases on the tables.

If you were to re-do your own wedding, would you do anything different? I would have different flowers, perhaps a brooch bouquet or one made of feathers.
Do tell!

Enjoy the day!