The Dress - When things happen for a reason
Less than two months ago I married an incredible man, my best friend, Mark. Before I would walk down the aisle to say I do to him, I needed the dress and a few other items to go with it.
First stop, White Toronto where I tried on a bunch of dresses. Some came close but didn't quite hit the spot for me...
Then we hit Queen St. and I realized I really didn't want to visit anymore bridal stores. There was only one person to contact.
My wedding dress did not exist in any bridal shop or catalogue, It wasn't hanging among the other cremes, pearls, whites or off whites I kept dancing around. I had to contact the only woman in Toronto that I knew who could make my dream dress a reality. Her name, Antoniette Catenacci , couture designer. I called to book an appointment and it felt so right. This wasn't the first time I would wear a custom Antoniette Catenacci piece. Exactly 25 years ago I had the honour of being her flower girl where I wore a mini replica version of her wedding gown. The stars must have aligned that day, it was destined that she was meant to be part of my special day as I had the honour to be for her.
We finalized on details and started our first fitting of many...
After many pattern dress fittings, it was time to see the real thing. What a feeling it was to finally feel the eggshell silk crepe against my skin. My dress was coming to life...
Just days away from my wedding, I met 80 year old Barbara who came to give a helping hand with the dress. Having her experience and expertise was pretty cool until I found out after speaking with her in Italian that she knew my mother's parents. That just went from cool to WOW!! I never had the chance to meet my Nonno Mattia and my nonna passed away a few years ago. Meeting Barbara and knowing she worked on my dress was a little blessing from my grandparents that I will cherish in my heart forever.
Thank you Antoniette for creating the dress of my dreams. I love every bit of it. Follow Antoniette on instagram @antoniettecatenacci
While my dress was being made, I was in search for jewelry and shoes! So my girls and me headed to New York City!
The two shops on my list to visit in NYC were abc carpet and home and the lovely boutique below. Here I'm standing with Luisa and Nikki who are the creators of the lovely DOMUS Unaffected Living boutique in Hell's Kitchen where I found my earrings!
The necklace above, was my something borrowed and old from my dear friend and bridesmaid Maria Tuckler who took a few of these featured photos of me in my dress, shoes and jewelry. View more of her photography at www.mitucklerphotos.com
And lastly the shoes. There was no need to travel far for these Kate Spade soft pink kitten toe silk shoes and no reason to pay original retail price! Ha! I got lucky with this find at... you guessed it... Winners! lol
Day of photos were taken by photographer Khristel Stecher. Thank you, we love them!
Lastly, I want to give a special thank you to our family friends in Chicago who not only traveled to Toronto for the special day but who also surprised me with the most beautiful bracelet filled with my birthstone, the Peridot. Thank you!
Flowers by the amazing Elaine at N'Dezine. She is a visionary!
Thank you for reading/viewing all the way through!!
Until the next post,
Daniela
xoxo