Adventures in Patternmaking (and Stripes!)

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

Once the design was approved by the bride, I was ready to roll on Sally’s custom wedding dress! Finding the perfect stripe… Throughout our design process, Sally and I both explored options for fabrics. Sally had a very specific vision of what the striped fabric for her custom wedding dress would look like. She wanted […]

Back to the Drawing Board with Sally

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

After I sent bride-to-be Sally her Design Proposal featuring the ideas, inspirations, and custom sketch I shared in my previous blog post, I couldn’t wait to hear her thoughts. Sally’s response: She loved it! It was everything she asked for! But seeing exactly what she asked for inspired her to change her mind about the […]

Sally’s Design Consultation

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

In my previous post, I introduced my most recent bride Sally and shared some initial ideas for her custom wedding dress. After reading the answers to her questionnaire and having a few phone and email discussions, my mind was absolutely buzzing with possibilities for her one-of-a-kind design! I collected dozens of inspirations on a Pinterest board […]

New bride blog series: Sewing for Sally

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

Sally is someone special. Back in December, I got an email from a dear friend named Sally that I had lost touch with. The subject line: “dear lord i’m getting married…” I met Sally back when I was getting my Master’s Degree in Costume Construction from UNC-Chapel Hill. At the time, Sally was an undergraduate […]

The Custom Couture Process

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

Before I get into blogging about my newest bride, I thought I’d write a general post detailing an overview of my process and what to expect when commissioning your custom couture wedding dress. I know!  I know!  This big long post looks like a lot of work. And it is, but it is also a […]

Erin’s Wedding Day!

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

Erin was married on the beach in the Outer Banks of North Carolina in June. Her wedding day was fun-filled, laid-back, and incredibly beautiful. Photographer Brooke Mayo (who seems like a lot of fun herself) was there to document it all. I’ve been blogging about this for months and I know you want to get to the […]

Photoshoot of Erin’s Custom Wedding Dress!

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

Whoo hoo! Erin’s seersucker wedding dress was finally camera ready! Every dress in my portfolio has had a custom photoshoot with the talented Kent Corley Photography. I think he’s the best product photographer around. Don’t believe me? Take a look at these photos!

Finishing Erin’s Seersucker Wedding Dress

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

After Erin’s basted fitting, it was finally time to FINISH THE DRESS! As you can see in the photo above, I had done a lot of the lining before the fitting, but still had some finishing work to do. While it’s fun to peek at all the hidden couture guts of the dress, like the […]

Erin’s Basted Fitting

Brooks Ann Camper Bridal Couture

Yay! Erin’s seersucker wedding dress was finally ready for her basted fitting! For this fitting, some parts of her dress were completely finished and others were lightly basted together so that we can easily make final adjustments. Up until now all of our fittings were in muslin, so I couldn’t wait for Erin to see […]