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W hether you love fashion or find yourself resentful of its cultural power, every bride must consent to the importance of selecting the wedding dress that is perfect for her. No photograph is more preserved for generations to come than that of the wedding day. The wedding dress expresses her personality, works for her body type, compliments the aesthetic of her other wedding choices, is stylish but not too trendy, unique but not ostentatious, perhaps sensuous while maintaining a level of classiness, maybe flirty and foxy without crossing into provocative, bridal but not matronly, practical but as extravagant as she wishes because it is, after all, her wedding day. All this and more goes into choosing this once-in-a- lifetime gown. Amidst a sea of decisions geared toward others, this is the one that is (ostensibly) just for the bride. As a recent bride (married only a few weeks by the time this is published), my wedding dress journey was a defining part of my road to the altar. Almost immediately after getting engaged, a family friend and talented seamstress offered to make my dress for me. Having seen several wedding dresses she created, the decision was a no-brainer. We set to work immediately. "The process of creating a custom gown takes many steps," she told me. And after almost a year of designs, revisions and adjustments, that may be an understatement. An interior designer by profession, Patricia Berrie's foray into sewing began with drapery in 1974. "I was puzzled by the quotes I received from drapery workrooms," she said, "specifically by the amount of fabric they said my treatments required. It seemed way too much by about another third. So, I began to fabricate my own drapery for design projects. As time passed, I became more and more confident and began to construct more complicated and intricate treatments. My efforts saved my clients a lot of money and there was little to no waste." While the jump from drapery to dresses may seem like the unrealistic territory of characters like Maria Von Trapp or Scarlett O'Hara, for Berrie, that path was forged by the desire for a gown unlike any other. "While still in design school, one of my classmates asked me to make her a yellow wedding gown. At that point, I had only made baby dresses for my daughter, but I took on the challenge and it actually turned out beautiful. I even made her a yellow veil. It was a great confidence booster for me," she said. Forty-seven years and 10 wedding dresses later, Berrie began creating number 11: mine. We began by looking at photos, and soon after I was trying on gowns at a shop to narrow down a style while she tried to conceal her sketchbook from the attendant. Though I had a very clear idea of what I wanted, I agreed to be open and try on anything. I donned dresses that were lacey, others beaded. I fell in love with crepe and was disenchanted with tulle. Some were ball gowns, bedazzled or backless. I even tried on the dreaded mermaid style. I have to admit, I liked them all. I left with a head full of gowns, and Berrie with a book full of sketches. Taking my favorite elements from the dresses I sampled, we toyed with some styles. Fairly quickly, a concept emerged. The most creative part in this process was our trip to select the fabric. Berrie was like a rock star in the recording studio. With a bit of blush lace in hand, ideas flowed as effortlessly as a riff. Soon after, the design was fixed and the muslin prototype dress was in progress. In the following months, fittings were frequent as the sketch we created materialized before my eyes. For Berrie, this is the most defining part of the process with custom dresses. 'MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE PART OF MAKING A DRESS IS THE JOY ON THE BRIDE'S FACE WHEN SHE TRIES ON HER FINISHED GOWN. IT IS A CULMINATION OF HER VISION AND REFLECTS THE AUTHENTIC, UNIQUE BEAUTY OF WHO SHE IS.' — PATRICIA BERRIE FEBRUARY/MARCH 2022 | maconmagazine.com 45