Up-dating E-mail Address: Dara Page

       Hey everyone, I know this news is about 7 months overdue since the wedding was in October, but I am officially posting on the blog that my new e-mail address is now: DaraPage@lisashay.com. You will still be able to reach me at my old e-mail address: dsmcginn1@lisashay.com, but the website/facebook, etc. have been updated to reflect the changes. Yeah, married life paperwork. Also, Nash and I are switching out sales duties (He took over that position last year while I was doing wedding planning) to give him more free time in his new design shop (Affectionately called the "man cave".) which is only fair after a year of him doing it. I can't wait to see what fun and twisted metal and wood creations come out of this.
        Have a great week everyone and may your life be full of joy and change. Also, today's photos are curtsy of my good friend, Mike Miller, who did the photography for our wedding.These are photos from my speed sewing session to throw together a last minute wedding dress in an hour and a half. I'm still a little amazed it all came together. While I've never been one for bridal as that niche was always filled by my grandfather and aunt when I came along, the experience has made me think some about adding it to my collection of custom services I offer one day.
         Mike's photos look so amazing, if you need a wow photographer, may I suggest him? His rates are reasonable and he's a lot of fun to be around. Plus, Nash and I just love him. Happy living today!
        

One Hour Wedding Dress: Speed Sewing

        So sometimes, life catches up with us. This past week we got married which was a lot of fun and very crazy at the same time. One of the big challenges was a last minute dress to throw together as the one from my grandfather got lost in transit. As some of you know, I do not sew silk as a general rule as cotton and linen are much more common around here.
        Crank out the sewing machine, a bunch of vintage lace, and handfuls of bobby pins for a simple tea length dress. Thankfully, I found this little book on Amazon called Sew A Beautiful Wedding by Gail Brown and Karen Dillon. If you've decided to DIY your wedding dress, I really recommend using it as it's packed FULL of practical advice on how to actually sew a wedding dress that looks good. A normal bridal pattern will leave you with yards of ruined silk as it's been half-translated from German or Chinese in this depressing gibberish. Surprisingly, it only took me about an hour to make mine with this great little treasure (the photographer took pictures of me sewing it an hour before the wedding) and while there's things I notice like I should have hung up the dress overnight before doing the last layer of the hemline and pinned it on me for my bubble butt...overall very pleased.
          Yeah! BTW, I would NOT leave this to the last minute if you are making your own dress. It normally takes people 2 to 4 months to sew a full wedding dress with good reason. Have a great day everyone!