Fall is here, and is a time when a bride might find themselves in the plotting-and-scheming wedding journey. Do we have a venue booked? Do we like the color scheme? How’s your mother handling all this?
In celebration of this exciting and slightly overwhelming time, we’ve spoken to one of our beautiful Sabrina brides, Becca! Becca and her husband Kai recently tied the knot and we’ve put together a little interview about her wedding and the dress design process with Sabrina.
Photography by Andie Avery
For a little background for our readers, tell us about yourself!
Hello! I'm Becca. I work as an Associate Creative Director at a company called Purpose. I'm originally from the Carolinas, but have been in New York for about seven years. I currently live in Brooklyn with my two cats and now husband. I love live music, crafting, going to the farmer's market, and visiting galleries and museums throughout the city.
How did Kai propose to you?
Kai and I met in college and had been together for nine years when he proposed, so you could say we took our time. After what was a very hard year during the pandemic (as I'm sure many others experienced), we wanted to end 2020 on a good note. We decided to fly to Kauai, Hawaii, where Kai was born, to get engaged. Because of COVID, we jumped through many hoops to make it to the island. Kai proposed as the sun set on the beach in Hanalei, the exact spot where his father had proposed to his mother years earlier. He set up candles and played one of our favorite songs, “Love You For A Long Time” by Maggie Rogers. After I said yes, we were exhausted from an adrenaline rush and travel, so we ordered pizza and fell asleep by 9 PM. We spent the rest of the week in Kauai celebrating our engagement and getting excited about the future.
What led you to decide on a custom dress rather than choosing a dress off the rack?
I wasn't the type of girl who dreamt about her wedding dress growing up, and I think I have a fairly eclectic style, so I wasn't exactly sure what look I was going for. Sabrina has been a good friend since college, and I knew she had done custom wedding gowns before. I reached out to her because I knew that she would not only do an amazing job constructing the dress but would also be an amazing collaborator in developing a vision for the dress. I was also very excited by the idea of a custom dress because it would mean a one-of-a-kind gown that would reflect my personality and that I would treasure forever.
Where do you see your personality in your wedding dress?
Sabrina made sure that my personality is in the dress through and through! The concept is both modern and classic because I was hoping to balance a look that was fresh but still timeless. I guess you could say I'm more of a boho bride than a big, poofy princess bride, and that definitely was taken to heart. My favorite detail of the dress that shows my personality, but also is a homage to our wedding is the hand-sewn embroidery. We found floral embroidery with roses and hibiscus flowers - a nod to our wedding in Oregon and to Hawaii, a spot that has been important to us in many ways. The shape of the dress, the train, the material, and the details all feel that they match my personality.
How was your experience with Sabrina? Did you enjoy the creative process?
I loved the process with Sabrina! It was so special to be able to see the dress come together over time, from reference photos to sketches, selecting fabrics, draping, etc. Comparing the sketch of the early concept of the dress to the final dress is amazing and shows just how well Sabrina brought our vision to life. As you can imagine, planning a wedding is really stressful, but this process with Sabrina continued to be what I looked forward to. Sabrina kept me calm, got me excited, and genuinely made the process fun.
What was your favorite part of being involved in the dress design?
Being able to stay so close to the dress's design and construction was a privilege you don't get when buying a dress off the rack. I literally got to help cut some of the fabric! Working with Sabrina made the dress all the more special and gave me such a meaningful story to tell.
Tell me what you remember most about your wedding day.
What I remember most about my wedding day was the feeling of being totally present and content. Everything seemed to fall into place perfectly, and it was great to have so many loved ones there with us. As I mentioned, I didn't grow up dreaming of a dress, but Sabrina helped create the dress of my dreams and that was the cherry on top.