Shop Small and Smart with this Custom Wedding Dress Designer
Have you been looking for the perfect wedding dress but not finding exactly what you want? Well I’ve got some great news for you! Today’s post is all about the process of customizing a wedding dress at a reasonable price, all while supporting a small business. A dream come true some might say!. I’ve been working with Jenna Eden Designs since February and it’s been an amazing experience. This quaint Etsy business is run by Jenna Vermost, a young designer from the small town of Geneseo, Illinois. Between her streamlined custom design packets, talent for bridal designs, and most importantly her extraordinary consideration for her customers, working with Jenna has been exciting and easy! So I’m here today to share with you my step-by-step experience!
1. Introduction and Custom Design Packet
Every good project starts with a proper introduction. Jenna made it easy for us to start a discussion about what I had in mind for my dream dress. She streamlines the process with her Custom Design Packet. Once that’s been filled out, throw in a couple of inspiration photos, and on to the next step. It also helps if you’ve tried on dresses previously so you know what suits your body!
2. Initial Sketches and Measurements
Jenna took all my notes and drew up several different design options for us to go off of. The sketches made it so much easier for me to really envision the dress. I used the draw-feature on my iPhone to edit the sketches. Then Jenna and I facetimed to review the changes and to discuss the needed measurements. I really appreciated that Jenna took the time out to video-conference with me; talking face-to-face made it easier for me to articulate my ideas and for her to demonstrate how the measurements should be taken. Jenna then took the edits and created the final front/back sketches (which I won’t be revealing just yet).
3. Final Sketches and Check Ins
After our video-chat, Jenna sent me the final sketches for approval. Once the design was finalized, Jenna got right to work. She was so amazing about sending me progress photos and allowing me to make slight alterations to the design! It was evident throughout the entire process that Jenna cared just as much as I did when it came to making this the perfect dress for me. Jenna sent some final photographs for approval, and then shipped the dress out in the mail.
4. Delivery and Try-On
When my dress got delivered, I was giddy! The first fitting might just be the most exciting part of this whole process. It’s the first time trying on the dress that was dreamt up from inspiration photos and sketches. And let me just tell you, it did not disappoint! Now, I didn’t include too many photos because I don’t want to give away the entire design before the big day. But don’t worry, after the day comes and goes, I’ll write another blog post about the dress and include plenty of photos. While this is a custom order, slight adjustments may still need to be made. So as far as alterations go, there are two options. First, you can take the dress to a local seamstress and have all the alterations completed there. Second, you can enlist the help of a family member or friend to pin the dress for you and then send back to Jenna to make needed adjustments. I decided on the latter, as I really only trust Jenna to fiddle around with my dress at this point!
Oh and did I mention that with every custom order, Jenna includes a veil and a hand-drawn sketch of the dress design?! Having the veil included in the order was such a weight off my shoulders! I knew if Jenna made my veil then it would compliment my dress perfectly. The beautiful sketch was icing on the cake; not only is it an adorable piece of décor, but it’ll serve as a memory of arguably the most important dress I’ll ever wear. The starting cost for a Jenna Eden Designs custom dress is $700 for a simple design. The average cost for a more complicated design, is between $1,500 and $2,000. Which is crazy reasonable when so many of these off-the rack dresses at bridal boutiques are going for over $3,000! So as you can imagine, I’m going to wrap this blog post up by telling all you future brides out there that hiring Jenna Eden Designs to fabricate your dress is a no-brainer and probably the best wedding-related-decision you’ll make!
By the way, I was so happy with my wedding dress that I commissioned Jenna to make me a second dress that I’ll be changing into half-way through the reception. Stay tuned for more on that!
Photographer #1 and Designer:
Jenna Vermost
Photographer #2 and Writer:
with love,