Whilst I often have clients who aren't quite sure what kind of hat or fascinator they would like, sometimes a client comes to me with a vision of the hat they're after. This was the case with one of my recent mother of the bride clients, Claire. With a dress being made for her daughter's wedding the following month, she had found the right bag and shoes but still needed the perfect hat, which is something I hear a lot!
After a chat over email which gave me an idea of what Claire wanted, she visited my online diary to pick a time that suited her to pop into my studio for a chat and to try on variations of the style of hat she had in mind. She also bought along her other accessories and a swatch of the gorgeous mint green and pewter fabric that her dress was being made from. This is something I'd always recommend doing if you can, as it helped us pick colours that could be a perfect match for both her outfit but also importantly her skin, hair and eye colouring too.
Having initially liked the idea of a pewter hat, I suggested thinking about the idea of the lighter mint green which is what we ended up going with. The tone's brighter for a summer wedding, and looked fabulous against Claire's skin and hair.
One I'd blocked the components of the hat, we had a special fitting appointment so that I could cut the crown and brim of the hat to make sure they were the perfect scale when worn.
To ensure that the hat stood out as something unique, and to further tie the outfit together, I created roses in pewter to compliment the detail of the pattern on the dress, using two tones of sinamay to get just the right depth of tone. Handcrafted swirls of mint finished it off, with another fitting to make sure all the trimmings were perfectly placed.
Following the big day, Claire kindly sent me across a few photos so I could see how the entire outfit came together, as seen above. I think we can all agree she looks stunning!
It was an absolute pleasure to make such a statement hat for her to wear as mother of the bride.
If you're soon to be a mother of the bride and are after a hat to perfectly match your outfit and personality, simply visit my online diary and pick a time for a one-to-one chat and find out how I can create a unique hat just for you!