The Process of Design: Part 2

Now for the fittings...In Part 1, I designed a gown for my Bride Tina Marie. Now we will move onto the next phase.
The first step is to take the approved Design and create patterns that will be used to fabricate the gown. All of the patterns not only correspond to the gown, but more specifically to Tina's measurements. In total, I usually take up to fifteen different measurements.
Next, I transfer the patterns onto a light weight cotton fabric called muslin. Here is where the physical dress takes shape. This preliminary dress is cut and sewn just as the final gown will be. It is at this stage that the first of the alterations will occur.





So now that the gown is on my Bride, I can truly see how it will fit her. I may also make alterations to the Design to flatter a particular area over another, or maybe collectively we decide to eliminate a part of the gown altogether. In any case, this is the stage where all of the necessary changes can occur.
Now that we have made all of the adjustments to the muslin, I then take it apart and transfer this new information onto the patterns. Once the patterns have been adjusted, we are ready for the next step...the creation of the actual gown from the inside out.

Fall 2010 Collection

Well...here we are! The release of my latest Collection! Inspired by the Garden, sprinkled with elegance, sophistication, modernity, and a dash of sexiness, the Collection speaks to the beauty of the Bride on her special day. Although typically the Preview of the Collection is only open to Bridal Industry, Buyers, and Editorial, this year I will be doing something a little bit differently. I am inviting 5 lucky Brides/Fans to attend as my special guests! I will be pulling names randomly from those that I receive of whom would like to attend, and they, along with a guest, will be invited to the Salon to view the Collection before it is released to the public. I will be there to greet you and enjoy a glass of sparkling champagne as we toast to the new Collection!

Cheers and I look forward to meeting you!

Alina

Adriana & Fernando

My Bride Adriana started out as a referral by Wedding Planner Jeannie Ward, whom I have known now for a number of years. Jeannie brought Adriana to the Salon one day for an appointment as she had many questions with regards to creating her perfect gown. As we started talking, Adriana and I connected instantly. In fact, we even happen to live in the same city! Not only was she looking to have her gown made, but also her Maid of Honor and her three Bridesmaids. As we started to discuss all of the options available to her, she decided to also entrust me with the design of her two Flower Girls and her Daughter's dress as well.

Being a successful, proud Latina, Adriana wanted to incorporate something unique into the gowns that would be representative of her Mexican heritage. So, we used blue and gold in the Bridal Party which represents the bold, vibrant, lively colors that are so abundant in the artifacts, pottery, and paintings found throughout Mexico.

Adriana's gown was a pale pink chiffon over a white silk duchess satin underlay. I also designed her belt and we beaded it with Swarovski crystals. To top it off, we created the cathedral length veil and added smaller crystals to capture the light as the perfect accent piece.
We wanted all of the gowns to tie together, so I used the design of Adriana's gown as a starting point to design all of the other gowns. Each one of the Bridal party had the same rouching detail, and I even designed her Daughter's gown to be a mini version of Adriana's.

The ceremony itself was held at the Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes, and was captured beautifully by photographer George Carranza of Carranza Fotografia.
Congratulations Adriana & Fernando!

Collection Inspiration

Many of my Brides and Clients ask what inspires me when I Design my gowns. Well, my latest Collection, which will launch this Spring, is inspired by nature. I love the way nature embodies classic elements of design...the shapes, the lines, the colors. My Garden Collection, as I am calling it, embraces the beautiful lines of the Calla Lily and plays off of the silhouette of Gardenias. I've incorporated the softness of some petals while bringing the intricate folds of others.

The new Collection will be soft, organic, beautiful, sculptural and sensual. All the gowns will still be maintain the highest design standards and remain handmade...each one truly Couture.

The Process of Design: Part 1

Many Brides that are searching for a gown don't truly realize that they have many choices when it comes to purchasing their dream gown. They may know that they can choose from many Designers, different price points, colors, etc., but many do not know that they can also get their gown made completely Couture, instead of buying one that is already pre-made. So, with that in mind, I am starting a new topic that I will run over the next few months that describes in depth how I create my Bride's gowns from start to finish. I will completely document my Bride Tina and show you all of the steps involved in creating her Couture Gown.
Tina actually found me through researching on the web. She lives in Las Vegas, and was unable to find anyone that shared her vision for her gown, nor was she able to find anyone that could create her gown from start to finish while understanding the design and fabrication. Upon her first appointment, Tina described what she was looking for, she also brought in some tears from magazines. After we discussed her vision, she flew back to Las Vegas and I immediately set upon sketching out 3 designs based upon our meeting. I sent her the sketches via email, she asked if we could alter a few things, which I did, and I then finalized the gown. Here is the final sketch of the gown that Tina approved for fabrication.



This is the first step in the Design Process. Over the next few months, I will show every stage along with photos, until we have completed Tina's gown for her July Wedding! Next step...muslin fitting.

Joy & Jeff

My Bride Joy happened upon our Salon as she was making appointments to try on gowns at various local Boutiques. When she came for her visit, her eyes fell upon one of my Collection gowns that was on display on the wall. The gown was cream colored double-faced satin, with an open key hole back, finished off with a tule and beaded applique. Of course, she wanted to try it on, and once she was dressed, she knew that this was "her" gown.

But, as I was her first on many other appointments, she didn't want to rush into her decision. There is one thing I always tell my Brides, that is try on as many gowns as you want at other Salons. If my gown was meant to be their own, they will return. Needless to say, Joy returned the following week, tried on the gown once again, and absolutely knew that she wanted the Collection gown, that this was "her "gown. We jumped right into the fabrication of her gown, and it was completed exactly as she had imagined! Joy also hired Photographer Brian Alexander Dreisbach, whom I work with on many of my photo shoots and highly recommend to my clients.
Congratulations Joy & Jeff!

Brides Choice Award!

We are very excited and honored to have been given the Brides Choice Award! This is the press release we received today...

"Pasadena, CA 2/2/10 - WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced Alina Pizzano couture bridal has been selected to receive the WeddingWire 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for dress & attire!
The annual Bride’s Choice Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.
Alina Pizzano couture bridal is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.
“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”
We are happy to announce that Alina Pizzano couture bridal is among the very best in dress & attire within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire and Martha Stewart Weddings. We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards.
For more information, please visit our WeddingWire Storefront today at WeddingWire!"

Thank you, thank you to all of our Brides and Wedding Wire!