Wedding Dress Vancouver - Kelsie’s Custom Wedding Gown

January 16, 2020

Wedding Dress Vancouver

When planning your own wedding, sometimes you find yourself in a conundrum. Time starts to run out, and you have trouble finding "the one", or the dress you thought you loved simply just doesn't feel like you anymore. This happened to Vancouver based Communication Designer Kelsie Butterworth, and through word-of-mouth, was recommended to contact Elika In Love. She quickly got in touch with Founder and Designer Hrissa Soumpassis in the hopes that a very non traditional custom wedding gown could be created for her fast approaching nuptials. She had a few inspiration images, a quick sketch, and a tight deadline. She just needed someone to say "yes to the dress"!

At first, Hrissa was a little skeptical after listening to the voicemail, and called Kelsie back to discuss the gown in more detail. After a quick chat it was agreed that inspiration images would be sent and Kelsie should receive a response within a few days. When Hrissa opened the email from this potential client, she noticed a few things right away: the dress was wild and definitely meant for someone just as wild; the wedding was only three months away; and the signature at the bottom of the email also indicated Kelsie's website. Intrigued to find out more, Hrissa clicked and quickly landed into a world of creativity, hilarity, and style. As Keslie is a designer herself, there were tons of talented work to look through, but after watching the video of Kelsie in a remake of Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Hrissa was sold. If anyone could pull off a two-piece hot pink crop top wedding dress, it was Kelsie.

And so the process began of creating a custom wedding dress for this very special client. Sometimes you just have to follow your heart.

Read on to hear more of Kelsie's first hand experience of having a custom bridal gown made by our designer, Hrissa Soumpassis.

Interview with Kelsie | Words of a Bride-To-Be

How did you find "the one" at Vancouver’s bridal store, Elika In Love?

“I heard about Elika in Love through a friend, I was three months out from my wedding and decided that I needed a hot pink spice girls crop top dress custom made. I phoned and left Hrissa that exact sentence in a crazy rushed phone message, then followed up with an email. She responded promptly and decided to take on my crazy rush request like a boss. I trusted Hrissa through the entire process, just went along for the ride and she delivered.”

What did you love most about your custom ELIKA bridal gown?

“It was my perfect vegas, spice girls dress that I didn't even know I wanted.”

Why did you choose the brand?

“Actually she choose me, I showed up with a crazy rush wedding dress request and Hrissa decided to take me on. Still grateful.”

What was your favourite part of working with designer Hrissa Soumpassis?

“Hrissa is super profession, and hilarious. She is super fun to work with and delivers an excellent quality product.”

Bespoke client in Elika In Love studio trying on dresses to decide on final custom wedding dress design.

A custom request starts with an exploration meeting to find out more and create images, on paper or in 3D, of what the custom gown would look like. We use other dresses, skirts, and tops (finished or not!) to help the client imagine the gown she wants to have created. Even bolts of fabric can be expected to be draped on a client in the Elika In Love atelier!

Sketch of custom wedding dress by Vancouver bridal designer Elika In Love.

Sketches are created to help define the design and imagine the end result. This is a work in progress, and the design may take on a few iterations before a final sketch is decided on. Once a final design and sketch is agreed upon, fabric swatches are sourced and purchased. Then the magic begins!

Sewing machine sewing chiffon of custom wedding dress in pink for Elika In Love's Vancouver bride.

All made-to-order and custom gowns are drafted, cut, and sewn in our Vancouver atelier by hand. Each dress is given the utmost attention to detail and craftsmanship, with the highest quality ensured.

Our Founder, Hrissa Soumpassis, will work directly with custom clients to create the wedding gown of their dreams. That also means that Hrissa does most of the work herself, including sewing the gown!

Vancouver bride tries on her pink wedding dress by Vancouver wedding dress designer Elika In Love.

A mock up of the custom piece is created to help the client imagine the final gown on their own body, and make any changes to design as needed. This process also helps create a perfect fit as well, and a new gown is cut and sewn after this initial process is fitted and complete. Be prepared to have your mock up gown covered in pins! This perfects the fit of the final dress so that it's fit just for you.

Close up of tattoo on back when bride tries on her custom wedding dress in Vancouver bridal shop Elika In Love.

Vancouver bride having a fitting wearing her two piece pink wedding dress by Elika In Love.

Often it will take a few meetings to decide on a dress, and then a few fittings to create the final look. Custom gowns usually need 6-9 months from start to finish. Unless you're like Kelsie, and really need something quickly! In which case, please contact us right away and we'll do everything we can to help make your wedding dress a reality.

Fitting of Vancouver bride for her custom crop top wedding dress in pink chiffon.

Kelsie's rush custom wedding dress was finished on the day we expected it to be, and looked amazing with the Darth Vader platforms she found online! If you'd like to learn more about the process of having a custom wedding dress made in our Vancouver atelier, please get in touch and you can meet our Founder, Hrissa, to discuss the details of your custom gown.

Click below to see the final dress and wedding photos from Kelsie and Jordan's nuptials in the Mojave Desert! It was as epic as you (and we) expected!

Final wedding dress photos of bride in pink wedding dress and groom in the desert.