If I remember correctly, the first time I saw a ChristaB creation it was in a magazine. In my mind’s eye, the model was dressed in red from top to toe, standing on a ladder and looking over an ivy covered wall.
I was smitten.
I decided then and there that if I could, when I got married one day it would be in a ChristaB couture gown. I never dreamed it was even possible, but my husband is the most wonderful man, and I was lucky enough to have a wedding budget that allowed me to indulge my dream.
My first contact with Christa was via email just over a year before my wedding! Here’s what I sent to her initially:
Our wedding colours are red and purple with a paisley theme!
What else can I tell you…?
I do not want to wear a veil, I would like a hat though, or some kind of striking headpiece or fascinator.
I need legroom to be able to dance.
I will be wearing my hair up as I loathe the heat.
I love floral applique, sequins, beads, lace, faux fur & feathers.
NO PEARLS please…
After a couple of emails, we met one Saturday morning in November at 9am! I was beyond excited! My mommy darling went with me as I had decided that no-one would see the dress except my mom and Christa… In the end I took my sisters (my bridesmaids) and my son (my best man) with me for the final fitting and the dress collection.
You can read here- The Epitome Of Nerve Wracking- about how terrifying it was for me to hand all the plans for my wedding dress over to Christa!
At our first meeting, with my mom, we were chatting about what I liked and disliked, about what I’d started planning for the wedding, and I showed her my tattoos, and she was making notes while we chatted. Then she drew a design on paper and we discussed it a little, and the she very excitedly jumped up and went through to her workshop to fetch a roll of fabric. She handed it to me when she came back in and I was horrified! It was a roll of pale pink silk!
Pink silk!!!
Not that I don’t wear pink- I do- but I am not a “pink” person at all… I was expecting a gown with a difference- perhaps red, or purple even- but Christa decided I was going to wear pink!!! She was adamant, and I couldn’t see her vision… She was also adamant that I would not wear a hat or feathers. She said that because I was already a bit of an OTT personality on my own- feathers would make me look like a clown rather than elegant and beautiful.
I decided to leave it in her hands and wait to see what she was going to do for me… but I was nervous as all hell.
The first fitting was in calico, to make sure her idea for the gown would work. By the time I tried on the pink silk bodice, I knew she’d been right about the colour. We ended up having several fittings to get the bodice right… I have HUGE boobs and the bodice had to be properly shaped to hold me, so we had several fittings before it fit right. Christa would not take “almost” as acceptable- it had to be perfect.
Make no mistake- Christa knows what she’s doing. She had her seamstresses redo several sections of the bodice until it was as she wanted it to be, and I think that they heard my name with dread until Christa called them in to the final fitting to see how well it fitted.
The dress is an A-line, not a ball gown. The bodice has ribbons stitched on individually and diagonally to create a flattering line. The lace is stitched onto the front of the bodice in a V shape to give me height, and this was then adorned with little fabric flowers and Swarovski crystals. Each flower and each jewel was attached individually and by hand! The bodice and the skirt are two pieces. The skirt was layers of tulle, the outer layer studded with jewels, and a layer of the pink silk was ruffled over the top. The silk was drawn up into a bustle in the back, and inside the bustle Christa put silk flowers in different shades of pink.
I think Christa’s vision for me was absolute perfection. I looked fantastic. She’s a genius and I do believe it was money very well spent.
These photos were taken by wedding photographer Jeanette Verster on our wedding day and at the TTD shoot.
Here are some detail shots of the bodice that I took after the Trash-The-Dress shoot.
And here is a detail of the dress’s bustle with the silk flowers (this photo was taken by my friend Wenchy).
