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Top 3 tips for Designing a Custom Wedding Dress Online

Posted on by Tasha
custom wedding dress maker

Hey! Britt here! I wanted to let you in on my top 3 tips for designing your wedding dress online with us; especially if you are designing long distance where we will be shipping your dress.

  • Accurate Measurements:

Once your dress design is complete, the next step is measurements. We utilize pattern making programs to create your pattern made to fit your measurements. With this in mind, our pattern making program requires several measurements for making your dress. That’s why we then schedule a 1:1 Video Session for measurements. After booking and dress design confirmation, we will send you a link to schedule your virtual appointment for guidance taking measurements.

  • Fabric Swatches

One of the most important aspects of your wedding dress design remains in your choice of fabric. Your fabric choice can add dimension, uniqueness, and overall aesthetic of your dress. We know this is important, so we send you all your lining and base colors of your dress. While we want to prioritize lace swatches, sometimes lace that we don’t currently carry isn’t easily accessible for swatches.

  • Seamstress for alterations

While it is our goal to get the closest fit to your measurements, most dresses ordered custom or in boutiques will need some sort of alterations. When designing your wedding dress online with us, we can point you in the right direction for follow up alterations with a bridal seamstress in your area. If you are local to Southern Idaho, we are happy to adjust your gown complimentary when you order through us!

For questions regarding custom wedding dress making, please text us at 208-696-1155 or send us a message here!

Best,

Brittanie

-The Bridal Tailor

How to use our Wedding Dress Preservation Kits

Posted on by Tasha

Shipping Kits US wide

Hi! Britt here with Modern Cottage. I love how simple our wedding dress preservation shipping kits are! We can ship these wedding gown cleaning kits all across the United States, so don’t hesitate to reach out with questions even if you aren’t in Idaho.

Here’s how you can prepare your dress to ship out for a wedding dress cleaning or preservation:

STEP 1: Be sure to add your wedding dress color, fabric content, designer, and dress value to your form. These things are extremely important. You want to be sure our gown cleaning experts can address your gown color and content accurately. It is also important to know the designer and value for insurance purposes. However, in my 17 years of preserving and cleaning gowns, I’ve had great experience with our signature required shipping.

STEP 2: Mark with the “stain” stickers specific stains you would like brought to our attention. This is easier than it looks! You really can’t mess it up, just put the stickers where you want us to really dive in to cleaning that stain.

STEP 3:

Roll your dress and set in the bag gently, be sure to include any accessories you want preserved. Then ship via the prepaid shipping label. When rolling your dress up try to start from the top with the skirt being on the outside. Be sure to deflate the bag after putting your dress in it to keep the packaging compact.

How to use a Wedding Dress Preservation Kit
How to use a Gown Preservation Kit

Top 3 Reasons to have an Expert Clean your Wedding Dress

Posted on by Tasha

Hello! It’s Brittanie Cline with Modern Cottage. I am jumping on here to share with you my top three reasons why you need a gown expert to clean your gown. Number one, the biggest thing is fabric content knowledge. A gown expert is going to know what type of fabric you have and the best treatment for your gown. Number two, beads and stain treatment. So basically, what is on your gown embellishment wise as well as your specific stain for treatment?

“A gown expert is going to know how to identify the grass stains versus the dirt stains versus food or wine and how to differentiate treating that with each fabric content. “

-Brittanie

A gown expert is going to know how to identify the grass stains versus the dirt stains versus food or wine and how to differentiate treating that with each fabric content. Number three, in handling and packaging, it is important to have a gown expert because they’re going to be adequately trained to package your gown in acid free tissue paper and acid free cardboard box with the shadow box. Generally a gown expert will also know to wear gloves while handling your dress. It is important that any time you pull your dress out of the packaging as well, even if you’re looking at it after it’s been cleaned to wear clean gloves; this way you are preventing oils from your hands going on to your dress. When you do that, you’re preventing any future stains. By wearing gloves, you are preventing those future stains so that we can maintain that color and that lasting color for up to 100 years. Those are my top three reasons why you need a gown expert to clean your gown. If you need your dress cleaned, feel free to text me at 208-696-1155 and I would be happy to ship you a wedding gown preservation kit, or you can drop it off at our local location just between Sun Valley, Idaho, and Twin Falls, Idaho.

Best,

Brittanie

The Bridal Tailor

Top Three Partial Wedding Planning Ideas

Posted on by Tasha

No. 1: The first thing I think about with partial wedding planning is a coordinator, which is more of what I do alongside my alterations. A coordinator is someone that helps you basically plan out the day of and make a game plan for that that can be shared with all vendors. They help you coordinate how the whole day is going to unfold. They are generally right there with you for a chunk of time, maybe 8 hours helping you. When I coordinate, I’m generally there for 8 hours, so I let that be either heavier on the side of decorations or later in the day and heavier on the side of the reception. So that’s a wedding coordinator.

Secondly, when I think of partial wedding planning, I think of a digital planner. A digital planner is someone that you consult with over the phone. They are someone that can help you over phone meetings as you plan your wedding. You can generally book with this person as you go. So if you feel like you only need an hour, you can book a one hour consultation or you can come back and revisit that. Generally, a virtual wedding planner is going to help you create that timeline and execute that and be able to delegate that to a family member or someone else who is going to step in the day of.

The third and last one is selecting a wedding planner book. I recommend selecting a wedding planner book that is going to guide you through the process. That I could see as partial wedding planning. You will need to find a good wedding planner book that will help guide you through the process efficiently. Those are my top partial wedding planning. Keep your eye out for our summer launch of our very own wedding planning book! We will be announcing it at Instagram. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on Spotify and go follow us on Facebook. And if you haven’t yet and you’re in the middle of planning your wedding, go ahead and go to our home page and grab that free to do list. It’s called our I Do List. You don’t want to miss out on it. It’s totally free and it’s going to help you. It’s just 15 minutes of your time to de-stress your wedding just a little bit. Talk to you soon!

Wedding Dress Cleaning & Preservation Process | Sun Valley, Idaho

Posted on by Tasha

Hey friends, Brittanie with Modern Cottage Bridal & Prom. I want to jump on here really quickly and answer a recent common question. That is: What is the wedding dress cleaning and preservation process like? For starters, there are two different options when it comes to cleaning and preservation. You can bring it to me directly. That’s always an option.

“You can schedule a pickup or drop off, or I can ship you a shipping kit.”

-Britt

You can schedule a pickup or drop off, or I can ship you a shipping kit. With that, you can mark, your stains and ship that out. All shipping is signature required on your wedding gown preservation and cleaning. Once you ship out your gown, the wait time is about six to 10 weeks from there, you can expect to have your gown returned to you, boxed and preserved.

Also, when you open it up, and if you wish to pull it out of the box or look at it, it’s important to wear gloves. The reason being is the oil from your hands can actually stain the dress over time. With preservation, you have to keep that in mind. We always recommend additional storage outside of the cardboard box provided. The box does work fine as long as you have the two boxes around it. I think that would be just fine for storage, but it’s definitely important to get some sort of waterproof box around it. I think that’s important. Aside from that, it’s a pretty simple process. If you have any questions, feel free to visit our contact page and inquire there about wedding gown preservation and cleaning. Or you can text me at 208-696-1155

Best,

Brittanie

-The Bridal Tailor

Grande View Productions | Wedding Videographer | La Grande, OR

Posted on by Tasha
White Barn Estate | Grande View Pro | Periwinkle Events | La Grande, OR

I got the opportunity to interview Chris, the founder of Grande View Productions, a local videographer her in La Grande, Oregon. When asked what his “why” behind his business and what keeps him passionate about videography, this is what he had to say:

“We are passionate about telling people’s love stories & helping them capture their special day to enjoy for years.”

-Chris

Videography truly is a way of telling a story that a photograph can’t do. You can almost relive the day and feel exactly how you felt in that moment with a wedding video. He went on to talk about his passion for both the creative side and technical side of filmmaking. If you are looking for a professional videographer for your Eastern Oregon wedding, we highly recommend Grande View Productions!

“In a wider scope we love every aspect of filmmaking, whether it’s the technical side, artistic side, or getting to know our clients, it’s all a fun adventure!”

-Chris

“All our experiences with Modern Cottage have been wonderful! We look forward to every time we are able to work together, & each time we have the pleasure of filming a dress or suite that has been through the cottage! Brittanie is a delight and we loved filming her vow renewal, as well!”

-Chris

We’ve worked with Grande View Productions first hand on multiple occasions. My vow renewal was one to remember and I will treasure the vidoegraphy performed by Grande View Pro. It was executed with attention to detail, flawless lighting, and editing. They told our love story as I would imagine it. If you have a moment, take a look at more from Grande View Productions: http://www.grandeviewproductions.com/

-Brittanie

The Bridal Tailor

Tux Rentals, Suits, and Timing

Posted on by Tasha

Hey, guys, Britt here. Happy Saturday. I am jumping on here really quickly to chat with you guys about the timing of tuxedo rentals and suits.

So if you have a winter event coming up, let’s say let’s say its next weekend and you’re wondering if you can get a tuxedo rental in time or a suit in time for your event. I would recommend placing your or no later than 4 p.m. on Monday during the week of your event. Be sure to stop by to get your measurements & pick out your style before then. By getting that handled before 4 p.m. on Monday helps to avoid any rush shipping. This helps to alleviate timing as well, just in case we need to do alterations. Also, it insures that your tuxedo rental will be here in time by say Wednesday, Thursday the week of your event. We can then do any alterations and adjustments to get you ready for Saturday.

Aside from that, we do have suits and tuxedos available for purchase, and this is a great option if you have multiple formal events coming up.

If you are going to be a wedding guest at several weddings during the summer, having a nice suit jacket on hand that is tailored is a really great go-to. The best thing about ordering from us is that our alterations are complimentary. That’s no extra charge to you for either a tux rental or suit for purchase. Generally speaking, it’s really never too late to order except when we’re down to those last couple of days before the event. At that point we’re really limited on options. We want to make sure we get in to place your order for your event no later than five days before your event. I would say it’s always best to start somewhere around 30 days before your event, just to ensure that we have that sizing available for you. I hope you guys have a great Saturday and I’ll talk to you soon.

-Brittanie

The Bridal Tailor

The Right Timeline for Wedding Dress Alterations

Posted on by moderncottageboutique

Hey, guys. I am jumping on here really quickly to chat with you guys about what the right timeline looks like for alterations as far as bridal alterations go. For bridesmaid dress alterations or anything non bridal, I do recommend 8-12 weeks or more for bridesmaid dresses or non-bridal. If you are less than 8 weeks, that is not a big deal, just consider that there will be a rush fee. As far as bridal gown alterations, if your first fitting starts 8-12 weeks or more, that is a great timeline to be on. Three to four months ahead of time before your wedding date allows for plenty of time to work your dress in the mix of things.

Wedding Dress Alterations | La Grande, OR

Again, if you need to book your first fitting less than 8 weeks before your wedding date just anticipate a rush fee. That is just because we’re pushing you to the front of the line for alterations as well as working overtime. Also, if you book your first fitting 8-12 weeks or more before your wedding date, you receive our early bird discount of $50 towards accessories. So I hope that helps with the timing. Again, you can use the schedule appointment link here to schedule fitting online.

Wedding Dress Alterations | La Grande, OR

Brittanie

-The Bridal Tailor

Alisha & Kainoa | Wedding Dress Restyle

Posted on by moderncottageboutique

Lace Wedding Dress with Sleeves and Open Back

Blackbird Photography

When Alisha brought her gown to our little cottage, I was thrilled to help her make her dress as unique as her. She had vision to remove some additional details from the back of her gown to make it an open back lace dress. In addition, she requested to remove the bottom half of the underskirt lining to create an illusion skirt. Along with those aesthetic adjustments and other alterations here and there, we checked off her alterations early.

” Kainoa and I first met at the gym. We were friends and our first ‘date’ was at Stockshow in 2014. He asked me if I could swing dance. I let him twirl me around the dance floor and showed him a thing or two. We danced all night and that is pretty much the spark that created many more dates after that.

He proposed October 2018 at the pumpkin patch in Imbler. We took our son out there and little did I know, him and our Summit had it all planned. I turned around and he was down on one knee with a beautiful shiny ring. I was so excited/emotional that after about 5 minutes Kainoa was all “uh…are you going to say yes or….?” Haha.”

-Alisha

Kianoa had a vision for his look too. Grey suits paired with burgundy accents. I have to say, I think the best dressed of all was Summit, but I might be partial because he’s so stinking cute. I really enjoyed assisting the gentlemen with fittings and helping them fine tune all of the tuxedo rental details.

“I think the funniest part of our wedding was (and still is) the fact that the weather was by far the worst part of the day. It was the WORST day in October and even now, going into November, it’s the worst weather we’ve had yet haha. It was like 90mph winds, down poured all day and it never let up! I had to hide in the luxury bathroom (porta potty) right outside the barn doors before my big entrance! Haha
My friend had to knock on the door and tell me: “you’re up!” As a stand in the pouring rain and wind as they open the barn doors to walk down the aisle. Let’s just say, I think my grand entrance made a statement!“

-Alisha

I might be old school in saying this, but rainy days are good luck on your wedding day. It’s moments like walking in White Barn after hairy weather that are truly a treasure. Scroll down for more sweet images from Alisha & Kainoa’s wedding day.

Best,

Brittanie

-The Bridal Tailor

Creatives:

Venue: White Barn Estate

Photographer: Blackbird Photography

Dress: Brilliant Bridal

Tuxedo Rentals: Modern Cottage Bridal

Flowers: Fitzgerald Flowers

Catering: Local Harvest

DJ: Empire Entertainment

Stephanie & Tyler

Posted on by moderncottageboutique

Winn Homestead Wedding | Walla Walla, Washington

Stephanie first stopped in our little cottage earlier this year and I was so excited to see a beautiful classic Maggie Sottero gown. Stephanie & Tyler chose to get married at Winn Homestead tucked in on the back side of mount Emily on your way to Walla Walla, Washington.

” Right after Tyler and I met, for our first date I went to his house on his grandpas farm to go play in the snow. That night the roads got drifted and I was stuck there. The snow didn’t stop coming and I was snowed in there with him for about a week. And the rest is history! It was a great way to get to know each other and it’s my favorite memory with him. “

-Stephanie
Blackbird Photography

There’s a ton of beauty intertwined in a love story that starts with being snowed in. It was a blessing to be a part of this wedding and story by helping Stephanie find the perfect fit. Scroll down for more highlights form their wedding day!

-Brittanie

The Bridal Tailor

“Britannie did an amazing job fitting my dress to my body! She was flexible and made me feel comfortable. “

-Stephanie
Blackbird Photography

Creatives:

Photographer: Blackbird Photography
Dress Alterations: Modern Cottage Bridal
Dress Boutique: Bridal By Marie
Floral Design: Petal Me Home Flowers