Dream Dress: Raquel Couture

I only have one sibling, an older brother, Adam.  We don’t have too much in common on the surface.  He’s the serious, business type, and I’m the emotional artist. We’re both incredibly intense and passionate, but we express ourselves in opposite ways.  Growing up, we weren’t really buds, because our interests never overlapped.  I wanted no part of University of Texas football and he wanted no part of coming to see me perform at the Johnnie High Country Music Revue.  But as we’ve gotten older, we’ve become closer.  The one thing that has always held us together is how much we value family.  As he searched for his life partner, I always hoped he’d find a lady that would be as loyal and kind-hearted as he is, but never expected him to end up with someone that I would call a best friend and sister.  From the second I met Brooke, I knew she was the perfect addition to our family.  I felt connected to her on a soul level and I’m sure we must have been related in a past life.  She is one of the best people on the planet and I adore her beyond words.  Since they began dating, my relationship with Adam has blossomed and I will be forever grateful to her for that. It is an incredible to gift to get a sister that I love like my own blood and I have big dreams for the future of our growing family!

All of this being said, I think I was equally as excited for Adam and Brooke’s wedding as I was for my own.  Family celebrations of unity and love are the best part of life! And then there is the huge perk of getting all glammed up for a black tie affair! When it came to dresses for the wedding, Brooke was very generous, and allowed her bridal party to choose their own gowns within a specific color palette.  It seems that this is becoming the trend of the modern bride, and I know if I could redo my wedding, I would do the same.  It makes for a beautiful picture when every girl feels comfortable and confident in her dress.  It also adds interest when there isn’t the standard bridesmaid uniform. 

In a fantastic coincidence, the very same day that Brooke shared her wishes for us to choose our own dresses, I received an e-mail from Shira, the assistant to the renowned couture dress designer, Raquel Weinberger, of Raquel Couture, about a possible collaboration.  I met with Raquel the next week and we connected instantly.  Her experienced understanding of sophisticated evening-wear and eye for design are only matched by her heart of gold and love of her craft.  We discussed my brother’s upcoming nuptials and both agreed this was an incredible opportunity to work together to create something spectacular. I had never worked with a designer to create a dress from scratch and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to flex my creative muscles and concoct a dress of my dreams. 

I researched styles I loved and spoke at length to Raquel and Shira about what I envisioned and they shared with me what they thought would work best.  We looked at beading samples and fabric swatches and Raquel sketched and sketched.  She’s a true artist and could make anything. After decades of experience she also knows how to cater to the client’s wishes even when they’re unspoken.  I joked that she was reading my mind based on my facial expressions, but she really was. 

There is so much emotion involved when designing a couture dress for an important life event.  Milestones, both happy and sad, tend to bring out people's color.  There’s this feeling of so much being on the line for a one day occasion.  Additionally, the whole process of making the dress can be a vulnerable one.  Stripping down, taking measurements of every body part, having to ask yourself what you want to emphasize and what you want to hide…it’s really not all glitz and glamour and it could even be traumatic in the wrong hands.  Thankfully, Raquel and her team made me feel comfortable, confident, and beautiful every step of the way.  Even though it wasn’t my own wedding, I, of course, still wanted my dress to look  perfect.  Because I had only ever worn gowns off-the-rack, I was nervous about the customization.  How would I know I would like the final product when I had never seen it? Would it be flattering? Would it be too much? Not enough?  The team constantly reassured me that I would be thrilled and that if I wasn’t, they would work until I was. 

When the custom beadwork we designed came in, I went into a state of excessorized ecstasy and nearly lost my mind, but I will never forget the feeling I had the moment that I first tried on the near final-product.  I looked in the mirror and got choked up.  I never thought I would get to wear something so gorgeous in my whole life.  The fact that Raquel had taken my vision and made it into reality out of thin air blew me away.  How did she do it? She just knew.  I feel so lucky to have connected with Raquel and to have worked with her for one of the most important occasions of my life.  I am ecstatic to celebrate gaining Brooke as a sister, and having the perfect dress to do it in is icing on the wedding cake!

Gown: Raquel Couture  

Photography: Anthony Vazquez

Hair: Penina Sebbag-Weiss

Makeup: Louise Lerman

Jewelry: Meira T

Keep posted for an article about the girls' flower girl dresses designed in partnership with Margalit Azerad coming soon!