DESIGNING THE DRESS THE ABELLA STORY GALLERY Laura’s Story Whitney’s Story Kimi’s Story Nancy’s Story Bailee’s Story Kelsey’s Story Jill’s Story Susan’s Story
Mary Jo Naive ~ Bigfork, Montana ~ 406.250.6219
Designing the Dress I have a unique talent for translating a bride’s vision into a dress she loves, with attention to detail, impeccable craftsmanship and fit. MY FORTE The dresses I design are unique to each bride. They combine design features and detail that create a beautifully made dress to last generations, or to be worn again and again for any occasion. My specialty is vintage and historic dresses with elements featuring beading, embroidery, and handwork. I also enjoy non-traditional themes and colors.
BEGINNING The initial meeting we talk about what you envision your dress to be for your wedding day. I am looking for what you are drawn to in a dress, what feels comfortable on your body, and what the setting is for the wedding. Arriving with pictures of dresses or elements you are drawn to can be a helpful beginning.
DESIGN From there I sketch out possible designs, gather fabric samples, and work up an estimate of costs. This design fee is $250.
MEETING 2 A final design and fabrics are chosen. Measurements are taken. The final cost is based on an estimate of time and materials. When I receive a payment for fabric, I purchase materials and construction begins!
PATTERN DRAFTING Working with your measurements and design I utilize pattern drafting, draping, and cut and paste techniques in cutting out the dress.
CRAFTSMANSHIP Attention to detail is my love and forte. Dresses are finished as beautifully inside as out. Hand stitched beading, hems and details are often called for.
FITTINGS Depending on the design of your dress, there can be as few as 3 fittings and up to 7 to fine tune the design and fit. Each fitting will require a payment towards the finished dress.
THE FINALE My goal is to achieve impeccable fit of the dress you will love wearing!
The Abella Story -
Abella began out of a love of fabric, design and creating clothing when I was young. Coming from a line of thrifty designers and seamstresses in the matriarchs of my family, at eleven years old I was making my own clothes and a regular haunt at the local fabric stores. By high school I was making most of my own clothes and sewing bikinis for a designer Boutique in LaJolla. I began making wedding dresses for friends when I was nineteen years old. I made the dresses, the bridesmaid entourages, and the bow ties too. I found myself enjoying the connection to the brides vision and put my talents to work creating it. I went further into crafting my skills at the University of Montana, taking classes in textiles, pattern drafting and draping, and costume design. The knowledge I gained from these classes are indispensable when I delve into a design. I have always had an eye for details, inspired by fine embroidery my grandmother did as a child. Historical and vintage clothing have always been candy to me in the exquisite details and embellishment created by hand. I have great admiration for the tiny stitches and intricate patterns.
When I became a mother I was inspired to create a line of children’s clothing, Merry Gems. This expanded into the ownership of a retail shop for seventeen years where Merry Gems joined other creative lines, accessories, and gifts in a unique boutique for children. To this day I continue to make fun and whimsical children’s items alongside the wedding attire, bringing color and dreams together.
Gallery -
A wedding dress expresses the beauty of a bride, enhances her glow and gives her a form to shine in beauty and comfort. Laura’s Story
Kimi’s Story
Whitney’s Story
Bailee’s Story
Kelsey’s Story
Susan’s Story
Nancy’s Story
Jill’s Story
Laura’s Story -
We have all the gratitude in the world for the beautiful gift you’ve given us! You’ll be famous in our family for generations to come. Your incredible talent, hard work and vision are inspiring!” ~ Laura
Designing Laura’s Dress THE INSPIRATION Laura’s story began with a vision of a vintage wedding. An afternoon of gathered friends at the lake, in an elegant dress to fit the occasion. She found this dress and from this picture and her measurements I drafted a pattern.
MAKING THE PATTERN We chose a silk and cotton blend for the fabric. Silk gives the sheen and drape and sheer deliciousness to touch. Cotton gives more comfort on a hot summer day. Making the dress was approached one component at a time. My skills in pattern drafting, draping, and a little cut and paste all came into use.
BEADWORK The beads were chosen to match the grooms suit which had a slight pinstripe that mirrored the sheen of the beads. The pairing was impeccable. I made a beading pattern from the photograph and handstitched the beads in place.
DETAILS A vintage dress of this era would not have fastened down the back. The buttons were added for detail. Draping skills were used to create the sleeve which was the most unusual element of the dress. The me it was also the most romantic. Laura had 5 fittings for her dress.
THE FINALE Laura and I celebrating!
Whitney’s Story “I seriously cannot thank you enough for making my dream dress. It was even better than I had imagined. I was able to dance all night without having to fuss with it at all. Now I just hope I can find another occasion to wear it. Thank you!” ~ Whitney
Whitney’s wedding photos courtesy of Brian Bistodeau ~ B2 Photography in Kalispell
Designing Whitney’s Dress THE INSPIRATION Most important to Whitney was a dress she could wear at her wedding that was great for dancing and one in which she was comfortable in. She had several pictures with different elements she liked in each dress. Her favorite was an open keyhole back.
MAKING A DRAWING From talking to Whitney about her dreams for how she wanted to feel in her dress and elements from the pictures, I made a drawing of the design. We chose lace with a soft hand and lovely drape for the dress, with a cotton silk underlining that gave a sheen underneath the lace, and was comfortable for a warm summer evening of dancing.
DETAILS Whitney loved the detail of the little buttons down the back. The edges of the dress were bound in the underlay fabric of cotton silk. ​ The combination created a romantic and vintage element to a contemporary dress.
IMPECCABLE FIT Whitney had 6 fittings for her dress. The design called for a fit of clean lines, as each detail was a focal point. There wasn’t a gap or wrinkle to be found in the impeccable fit.
THE FINALE Whitney dancing with her dad at the reception!
Kimi’s Story “I was completely at ease as Mary Jo’s professional experience and intuitive nature delivered stunning wearable art in the form of my wedding dress. The silk fabrics she selected and the style and fit of the pattern she developed gave me exactly the feeling I had requested. She ensured every last adjustment was made at the final fitting. I treasure the dress.” ~ Kimi
Designing Kimi’s Dress THE INSPIRATION For Kimi, this was the dream wedding to her soulmate she had waited years for. ​ As a Pisces, Kimi wanted a dress that would mirror her element of water.
THE FABRIC Silk Charmeuse was the obvious fabric to mimic like water with its luscious feel and drape. It also comes in a wide variety of colors, for which we selected a beautiful aquamarine. The top overlay fabric was a white burnout chiffon which we were also in love with. So I dyed it to match the aquamarine underlay. What was surprisingly cool, was that the background chiffon dyed just the perfect aqua color, and left the satin burnout floral design in a soft silvery grey. The dress said both water and wedding. Kimi’s dream.
THE DESIGN As the theme of the dress was water, I came up with a simple bias cut design that would allow the dress to flow on Kimi, and flatter her shape. The shawl neckline was developed from a beautiful piece of hand dyed yardage that said water in every sense of the word. The dress was so like flowing water that it was difficult to keep it from flowing right off her body. So I made a crystal necklace across the back, that both kept the dress on her, and accented the low backline.
Nancy’s Story -
Nancy’s wedding dress photos courtesy of Marshall Noice in Kalispell
Designing Nancy’s Dress THE INSPIRATION Nancy came to me with a beaded panel from her great grandmother’s wedding dress circa late 1800’s. It was in beautiful shape and we decided to incorporate it into the dress.
THE DESIGN Working with such a special family heirloom, I wanted a design that would both keep the panel intact and show it off. So the dress was designed with the panel hanging down the front of the dress. Not wanting to make it permanent it was sewn in by hand at the very end. Then when the wedding was over, the panel could be removed and stored properly again, while the dress could be professionally cleaned and stored for another bride in the future. Silk shantung was selected for the dress which had both a sheen and light crisp body for the skirt of the dress. The fabric matched the champagne vintage panel beautifully.
DETAILS Lace was tea dyed and cut to create a pattern complimenting the shape of the neckline. It was hand beaded with pearls to mirror the pattern in the vintage panel. The edges of the neckline and sleeves were bound with very small cording out of the silk.
THE FINALE The Dress blended a vintage feel in contemporary styling exquisitely.
Bailee’s Story “My wedding dress was perfect, beautiful, and unique. I’m still amazed that she took my random ideas and with her expertise created my vintage-style, country, comfortable, elegant, oneof-kind, amazing wedding dress. Working with Mary Jo and getting to wear this dress on the best day of my life is one of my most treasured moments.” ~ Bailee
Photos courtesy of Hannah Kreamer and Kay Bjork
Designing Bailee’s Dress THE INSPIRATION
ailee began wanting an ivory dress in a B simple design with a vintage feel. I began draping possibilities, and when I showed her the combination of the ivory lace over a linen lining she loved it! The dress bodice was made separate from the skirt and attached toward the end of construction. This way the bodice and waistband could be an exact fit.
Bailee had just had her baby 3 weeks before the wedding day . “Because I was changing size on a daily basis she had several fittings with me right up until my wedding day to make sure my dress fit exactly the way I wanted.”
DETAILS For easy nursing access I put zippers in each side of the dress, with the buttons sewn on for detail. The bodice was trimmed in the same silk as the buttons.
The lace had a beautiful scalloped edge that was used for the hem detail. Her cowboy boots were a perfect compliment! The dress coordinated perfectly with the groom in color and feel for the backyard wedding.
THE FINALE Oh what a day!!
Kelsey’s Story “Having Mary Jo make my wedding dress was amazing. I had full control of what direction the dress went. In the end it really felt like Mary Jo was in my head. The dress made me feel beautiful, and just was the icing on a perfect day.” ~ Kelsey
Photos courtesy of Laira Fonner
Designing Kelsey’s Dress THE INSPIRATION Kelsey had tried on dresses and knew she wanted a strapless corset top with a full skirt of tulle. Then she found a picture of a dress with a multi layered skirt using the texture of several fabrics that lent itself to the wedding’s bohemian theme. So we combined ideas to come up with a dress that was bohemian, vintage and romantic. I call it the bohemian princess dress.
THE FABRIC We chose several different textures of fabric and lace for the dress.
DETAILS The bodice was hand beaded with clear sequins to match the sequin detail on the lace of the skirt. Several hundred were applied, giving a subtle sparkle when she moved.
The skirt was layered with hand pleated silk organza and lace with overlays in tulle that was tucked to create texture and volume. The tulle created a light, full skirt that flowed about her as she moved.
IMPECCABLE FIT There were 5 fittings for Kelsey’s Dress and collaboration of the skirt design.
THE FINALE Kelsey’s dress was a collaborative creative endeavor that sparkled with her personality and vitality. She was a stunning bride that day!
Jill’s Story “My dress felt like an extension of me! Mary Jo took my vision and made it come to life with a visual richness I couldn’t have imagined.” ~ Jill
Jill’s wedding dress photos courtesy of Marshall Noice in Kalispell
Designing Jill’s Dress THE INSPIRATION J ill was getting married in Vermont in October. Her dress embodied the splendor of autumn colors.
THE FABRIC Jill’s dark coloring called for a color of equal richness to set off the fall theme. A silk shantung in a deep teal was a perfect complement to both.
THE DETAILS Silk charmeuse in autumn colors were chosen to represent falling leaves. Beading was used to attach the leaves to the dress and added a very slight sparkly element.
THE FINALE Jill was elegant in her construction site home wedding. Much like the autumn surrounding them.
Susan’s Story -
Susan’s wedding dress photos by Marshall Noice modeled by Robben Sipes
Designing Susan’s Dress THE INSPIRATION Susan and Greg planned a vintage wedding thru every detail. From where it took place at Darlington House, to the 1913 Pope Hartford that brought them there, to the attire.
THE DESIGN Susan’s dress not only had to fit the theme, but be one she would be comfortable in. It was modified from a Gibson Girl silhouette, with a puffy sleeve cap, high neck, and bodice yolk detailing. The skirt was given a later look in it’s A-line ankle length, for ease of movement.
THE FABRIC A cotton voile blend was chosen to mimic linen without the wrinkle factor.
DETAILS The bodice yolk embroidery brought color and uniqueness to the dress. The yolk was a mesh overlay on organza giving a transparent quality that the embroidery floated on. The pearl buttons down the back were reminiscent of the era.
THE FINALE Susan & Greg’s wedding day!
Mary Jo Naive ~ Bigfork, Montana ~ 406.250.6219