Oh No My Wedding Gown!!! Part One

Don't get caught with only a tissue to blot a bride's tears should she yell this most dreaded phrase. No emergency kit is complete without the proper tools to combat a variety of wedding gown "near" catastrophes. After years of working in the bridal gown industry and planning weddings here at Moments And Memories we have a separate kit for wedding gown emergencies. We constantly add and delete items from the kit based on the wedding, time of year and location. Here's a glimpse of some of our favorite kit items.

Sewing Kit

Needle & Thread - White, Ivory, Black and the Wedding Colors. We carry medium size spools not those mini barely able to hem half a coat sleeve sizes.

Scissors - Fabric Only Scissors. Using scissors to cut paper dulls the blades and fabric hates a dull blade.

Safety Pins - In various sizes. A well placed safety pin will quickly fix broken bustles, peeping bras and zippers that won't lock.

Lint Roller - Great for those lint catching black tuxes.

Fabric Glue - Stop a line of running beads in their tracks!

Lighter - Not recommended for the faint of heart or a novice. Organza and chiffon tend to fray horribly when torn. Burning the fabric ends will melt the fabric and stop a run. Please oh please use care and make sure the bride, bridesmaid, mom or guest is OUT OF THE GARMENT!!!

Anti-Static Spray - Especially during the winter months. Running low, wave you magic wand wire hanger on the garment or attach a safety pin to the hem.

Nylons and Socks - Yes we really do carry a spare pair or two.

White Slippers - Place them under the bridal table just in case the shoes must come off. Remember to put the heels back on when walking around!

Velcro - My personal favorite. Quick hems, missing buttons, fixing shoes, and on and on. We go through Velcro like crazy.

Goodness no wonder it's a stand alone kit. I had every intention of adding the stain information to this post but, I think we had better part two this topic and do a separate stain post. Just edited the title!

So what are your favorite emergency kit staples? I bet there are some great and ingenious ideas out there!

Ann Lowe Revisited

Lately, I have been noticing bridesmaid dresses and wedding gowns with three dimensional details and thinking it all looks vaguely familiar. The wedding gown on the right was worn by Jacqueline Bouvier on September 12, 1953, the day she married John F Kennedy. Notice the detailing on the skirt of the gown....three dimensional. This dress was designed by African-American fashion designer Ann Lowe. Her customers included the Duponts, Roosevelts, Posts, Biddles, Rockefellers, Auchinclosses, and other families that were listed in the Social Register. They loved her work. She was known as "society's best kept secret," because, of course, no one would admit their clothing was being designed by a black woman.

Many of her designs incorporated floral appliques set on the garment instead of embroidered in the fabric. Olivia deHavilland accepted her 1946 Best Actress Oscar wearing an Ann Lowe creation. The gown was a pale blue strapless gown with floral appliques cascading down the gown. This description could easily describe any number of bridal and bridesmaids dresses for this season. The dress was attributed to Sonia Rosenberg save for Ms. Lowe receiving a small mention in a newspaper article. In here lifetime Ann Lowe received little recognition for her contribution to American fashion. Not to worry though, we can certainly see Ms. Lowe's influence in our contemporary wedding attire.





Mori Lee, Watters and Pronovias designs respectively, all give a huge nod to Ann Lowe's three dimensional design elements. Tell me is this orange dress an Ann Lowe creation or a new tea-length bridesmaid dress on display at a local salon? If imitation is sincerest form of flattery than Ms. Lowe has indeed been given high praise in the world of fashion today. Like so many great artists the worth is not realized until the artist no longer creates.By the way the orange gown is an Ann Lowe design on display at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Love Is All You Need

We would like to thank Allison and Kevin for letting us be a part of their wedding celebration. Love filled the air as family and friends gathered to watch them exchange their vows. Beauty, grace and charm were the buzz words for the day. I am sure Allison was channeling Grace Kelly.




The Cathedral of the Incarnation provided the perfect backdrop for the ceremony. Allison and Kevin's minimalist approach to decorating allowed the beauty of the church to take center stage. The orange and yellow gerber daisy bouquets added just the right amount of color to compliment the warm colors and rich textures of the Anglican Church.



The reception was held in Grundorf Hall at St. Albans Anglican Cathedral. Allsion pulled her reception colors ivory, champagne and chocolate from her gown and the bridesmaid dresses. Her minimalist approach to design was evident as well. Kevin's love of the Beatles was constant throughout the evening from the choice of 1st dance to the Hershey Kiss favors with "All You Need Is Love" lables. Even the Maid of Honor caught the Beatles vibe and included song references in her toast.

Congratulations Kevin and Allison, may your love for each other bring you many beautiful moments and unforgettable memories.

2009 Sneak Preview VIP Event

On Friday, March 13th, brides will descend upon Fairwinds Alumni Center on the campus of University of Central Florida to find the gown of their dreams but you have the opportunity to get your gown first! A limited number of brides can purchase tickets for an exclusive early sneak preview sale of the wedding gowns on Thursday evening, March 12th!
We will also be showcasing selected Orlando area wedding professionals at this event, not only can you find the gown of your dreams but some great wedding vendors too!
Bride’s ticket price includes early entry fee, fashion show, light buffet dinner, complimentary champagne and wine tasting and bridal goodie bags. In addition each bride will be treated to a one-one gown session with an Orlando area Bridal Consultant. Guest’s ticket price includes light buffet dinner along with champagne and wine tasting.
BRIDES cannot enter as guests. Each BRIDE trying on wedding gowns MUST register separately.
Bride’s Entrance price $40.00
Guest Entrance price $10.00
Proceeds benefit the Making Memories Foundation for terminal breast cancer patients.



Online Event Registration - href="http://www.eventbrite.com/">Powered by www.eventbrite.com

Brides Choice Award 2009

WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced that Moments And Memories by LaVoria has won the 2009 Bride’s Choice Awards™!

In its inaugural year, the Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and honors vendors from the WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellent quality of service, responsiveness, professionalism, value of cost and flexibility. This year’s recipients represent the top three percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes over 100,000 wedding vendors from across the US. That means Moments And Memories by LaVoria is one of the very best Event Planners.

Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the company, the Bride’s Choice Awards are determined exclusively by recent newlyweds through surveys and reviews.

“We are excited to launch this annual award program to honor high-performing vendors based solely on the experiences of our WeddingWire community,” according to Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “This year’s recipients have set the bar high, exhibiting excellent service and expertise in the wedding industry.”

Moments And Memories by LaVoria would like to thank our past clients for speaking on our behalf and helping us win the 2009 Bride’s Choice Award!

Fancy Church-Going Hats

I received a call from my friend Addy who is marrying later this year. She is a very British girl from London marrying a Southern Baptist minister from Mississippi. The wedding is taking place in London and they are wanting to find a ways to incorporate shared customs into the celebration.

So we talked at length about the wedding ceremony and reception and realized that a great shared custom was staring us both in the face we just didn't notice it. HATS!! FANCY, CHURCH-GOING HATS!! The older female members of both their families would be wearing them. Why do British and African American women wear hats for church and special occasions? Research time!

Both traditions can be traced back to the bible "Every woman who prays or prophecies with her head unveiled dishonors her head" (I Cor. 11:5). According to Addy, wearing hats at weddings is a dying tradition in England but her family is very traditional and most of the women "would rather be caught dead" than not wearing a hat at a wedding and I know that Justin's mother and grandmother are "the hat ladies" at his church in Mississippi!

To understand the hats concept for African American women I suggested to Addy that she read "Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats" by Michael Cunningham and Craig Marberry. Growing up I remember my grandmother and her sisters wearing hats to church, weddings and any special church occasion. An outfit was not complete without the perfect hat.

Addy also mentioned fascinators for the younger girls and those not comfortable with wearing a hat. I had to ask what is a fascinator? Evidentally, it is hair jewelry. Check these out from www.tiarasandfascinators.com:


Are they not way too cute. So now we have a central idea and I can't wait to begin exploring more options and putting together an entire wedding. More to come as we continue our journey down the aisle.

The Architect Bride

Congratulations to Marketa and Juan! My first wedding of the New Year. So what happens when you cross a DIY bride and an architect? MARKETA THE WONDER BRIDE!!




She came complete with a distinct vision, a storyboard... and even bridesmaid dresses and shoes to match.
The only thing she didn't have was a wedding gown.



Marketa and Juan chose the Winter Park Civic Center for their ceremony and reception. However with 200 guests and bride who was not going to walk in the grass this was going to call for a bit of creativity. Marketa had that covered as well. She would have a wedding "in the round"! In other words, she and Juan would be married under the towering arch with guests on both the upper and lower terrace. She would put my directing prowess to the test. The bridal party entered from both sides of the arch at alternate times!

Here are few "non-professional" pictures from the day:

She found a beautiful ivory strapless gown from Demetrios (thank you Tameka for getting her on the "find that gown" track)!

Daddy Clark decided to "gift" the horse drawn carriage in which Marketa rode around the park, to the spot where her he would escort her down the aisle. The carriage then waited to carry Juan and Marketa off as the guests looked on from the lawn.

By the way Juan held his own in a matching ivory tuxedo.




The bridesmaids and groomsmen looked great in their attire. You can just see the upper and lower terrace seating.



Marketa's keen sense of design, professional skills and unwillingness to take no for an answer lead to a truly unique peek into her world and her style. I can't wait for her professional photos!!