All settled In

Hello lovelies!

Greetings from the East Coast! We made the trip and have gotten (mostly) settled in. We're working on some orders (including a fabulous custom order that I simply can't wait to share with you!), and are just about ready to being work on our Spring '13 line. Exciting stuff!

Some things to watch out for in our new line:
-We're going to be using a lot more texture, and playing around with different combinations of fabrics
-Our patterns are going to be slightly more complex this time around
-We're going to be much more artistic, meaning we're going to be hand painting/dying some pieces

I don't want to give too much info away and spoil all the surprises for our new collection! It may seem a little early in the year to be talking about next spring, but, that's the way the industry works. And I've learned a lot from the previous two seasons, and I'm so excited to get going! I'll post some updates as I get started, so I'm hopefully be able to share some things with you starting next week! :)

We're moving!

Hi Lovelies,

We have some pretty exciting news to share! This is the 'before' we mentioned in our last post, for those of you wondering. We are relocating to the East Coast! Yippie!

My husband got a job with an amazing company located in northern Virginia (where I'm originally from), and we're leaving next week! This should not interrupt any orders from the shops carrying us, or our etsy site or our website. We'll post some pics from our trip (22 hour car ride from Houston to D.C.), when we get all settled in!

A Custom Sash for Esther

Hi Lovelies,

Sorry it's been awhile! There has been a lot going on, and I mean, a lot! But we'll get to that later. For now, I'm so delighted to share a custom piece I made for a very special bride. Esther was the college roommate of my favorite photographer, Sarah McKenzie, and she just happened to model for me for my first photo shoot in the fall of 2010. She is an incredibly talented model, and an all around great girl, and I was happy to be able to make something for her special day! To check out some lovely photos from her Australian wedding, click here! Here are some of the amazing shots taken by Sarah McKenzie!

I'm so glad that she loved it, and I'm so glad to have been able to make it for her! She looked amazing on her wedding day and I wish her and Marty all the best in their new life together!

Something Blue!!

We are so excited, we can hardly stand it! Fit to be Tied Bridal's sashes are now being carried at Something Blue bridal shop in Angleton, TX!!

The owner of the shop, Sandie, has extensive experience in the bridal industry (she's worked at Louis Blum, and Priscilla of Boston), and has opened her own shop with her daughter, Rebekah! The shop is adorable and stylish, and I'm so excited to be a part of it!

They are carrying wedding gowns from WToo (seriously love them), Allure, and Casablanca. The have Bridesmaids dresses, flower girl dresses, Mother of the Bride dresses, and also carry Prom dresses and Tuxedos. They carry a wide variety of accessories, which now includes us!

Here are some pics of their adorable shop: (aren't these photos great? My hubby rode along with me and took them)

They will be carrying select items from our new Spring 2012 line, which we hope will do very well for them. Among the sashes they've selected are: Marlie (in ivory), Polly, Miranda, Spencer, Lindsey, and Jennifer (from our Spring 2011 line). This is a lovely selection and we hope their brides agree! Check out their shop in Angelton, TX, to see all of the loveliness yourself!!!

Southern Weddings Magazine

Hi lovelies,

We have been super busy lately! One piece of news that we're incredibly excited to share, has to do with one of our favorite bridal magazines - Southern Weddings Magazine. It's pretty amazing, right? At the end of last year, Southern Weddings announced that they were starting a Blue Ribbon Vendor Guide, a directory of hand selected vendors in the south, the best of the best. There was an extensive application process, including reviews from past clients (like this one I posted here), and I anxiously awaited their response.

I was shocked to receive an email from Whitney telling me that I had been accepted to be a part of the Blue Ribbon Vendor Guide! It is such an honor to a part of such a prestigious magazine and blog. I love my Texas brides, but I am so excited to be able to reach out to more brides in the south! I feel like we've won the jackpot, just look at this adorable badge:

I want to put this cute as a button badge on everything! Check out our page in the vendor directory here!

Marlie, in Ivory

Hello lovelies,

The Marlie is one of my favorite sashes. My husband says I'm biased because I made them all and I love them all, but this one is different. It's named after my second cousin, Marlaina, whom I adore. We were close when I lived in Virginia, due to our love of hockey (Go Caps!) and our love of punk rock music. So, with her and her edgy punk rock style in mind, I created this sash. I think it truly fits her personality. Cute and adorable, but tough and confident. She is definitely the type of girl I envied when I was her age.

While I absolutely love it the way it is, I could just see the potential of it in ivory. I think brides will really love the soft look it gives, and the way that it appears to "float" on their gowns. I can definitely see this one becoming an instant classic. Well, see for yourself!

I think it's definitely swoon worthy! :) Leave me a comment, and tell me what you think about it! Would you rather go for the bold style of the black lace, or more traditional with the ivory?

A Heartfelt Review

Hello lovelies,

One of the most rewarding parts about this industry, is making girls dreams come true. Every girl deserves to be truly, 100% happy on their wedding day, and I'm so honored to be able to be a part of that. I recently applied to be part of Southern Weddings "Blue Ribbon" Vendor Guide (isn't that the cutest name? seriously.), and part of that process is reviews from past clients. One of my past clients, my friend Erin that I made the headpiece for, wrote a truly amazing review of us, and I just had to share it here with all of you.

"Hi Whitney!

I’m glad to hear from you and also happy to hear Amanda applied to be a SW Blue Ribbon Vendor!

I’m sure you hear this a lot from BRV references, but I have to say it—I love Fit to be Tied Bridal! I’ve actually known Amanda for about ten years now (wow, saying that made me feel really old!) and she’s always been a wonderfully sweet and caring girl with a great sense of humor and a big heart. I feel like she brings those same personality traits, as well as her master skills, great attention to detail, and love of weddings and design, to her business, Fit to be Tied.

Although we met in Virginia, she currently lives in Houston, Texas, and our friendship has become more of the Facebook variety. She began promoting her business, Fit to be Tied, via Facebook and reached out to me to let me know she’d named one of her creations after me. I was beyond flattered and really touched and began asking all sorts of questions about her designs and the business. I told her that while I’d absolutely love to support a friend and purchase a piece, unfortunately my dress or my bridesmaids’ dresses really wouldn’t quite work with a sash. I then asked if she could maybe help me with another project: a custom hair comb. I’ve wanted to wear a really unique hair comb that matched my dress but hadn’t been able to find anything that went with my gown (the “rosettes” on my dress aren’t really rosettes, more like little cloth puffs or sea urchins—it sounds bad but I swear it’s gorgeous*) Being the incredibly kind woman that she is, Amanda said she’d love to help me. And being the incredibly creative woman that she is, she didn’t even bat an eyelash at the thought of working on something outside of her line for me.

Throughout the process Amanda was excellent at listening to my ideas, asking the right questions, doing her own research (actually hunting down my gown at a Houston bridal salon!), and providing multiple options for me before she finalized the piece. She made this half-way across the country custom work experience seamless and a real pleasure!

To make an even longer story short, I now own a one-of-a-kind, absolutely beautiful, handmade hair comb that perfectly matches my dress as well as incorporates my color scheme with some extra beading I requested. I cannot wait to wear it on my wedding day—it totally completes the look I’m going for and I couldn’t be happier with the piece and Amanda herself.

Amanda’s pieces are great because they’re not only absolutely beautiful, but she has something for all different types of brides, bridesmaids, or special event attendee. The sashes are handmade in the South with lots of love and care, she can create custom pieces, and she’s absolutely the nicest person one could work with (a great quality all the time and especially if there’s a stressed out, all-over-the-place bride trying to order custom pieces!).  And did I mention that her website is gorgeous, too (http://www.fittobetiedbridal.com/#/home/)?

I think all in all Amanda’s creativity, expert handcrafting skills, kindness, and genuine care she has for her clientele makes her a perfect addition to the Southern Weddings Blue Ribbon Vender family and the Southern Weddings name.

Thank you for contacting me and have a happy holiday season!

Always,

Erin"

Um, isn't she the greatest? Seriously, I wanted to cry my eyes out when I read that. It's people like her that make me so happy about what I do. I seriously cannot wait to post pics of her wedding later this year!!

*She included a link to her gown, which I removed. And trust me, it is gorgeous! I seriously doubt that her hubby will read my blog, but you never know! Better safe than sorry, and you guys will see it anyway when I post about her wedding :)