Wedding Tips and Gowns by Carol Hannah Whitfield

November has been a month full of many firsts for me in the wedding world.  I wrote about my first wedding association networking party that I attended, and now I am writing about my first wedding trunk show that I attended this past Friday.

The trunk show was for Carol Hannah Whitfield, an up-and-coming designer in the fashion world, practically a native of Charleston, along with being a finalist in season six of Project Runway.

Of course, I got nervous again, but the initial experience wasn’t as anxiety-inducing as the networking party.  We went to Maddison Row for the trunk show and it is a quaint little wedding boutique nestled on the corner of Spring Street; because of this, it made the whole experience more personal and calming.  Carol Hannah was gracious and polite, and very professional; a mix of southern charm with a hint of the New York hustle she has grown accustomed to.

We began by taking a little tour around the boutique and she began to introduce me to the gowns, and as we came to each one, my mouth fell open and my ooh’s and ahh’s started pouring out like water from a broken faucet.  After my initial giddy reactions, I started getting some suitable questions out about the line. Carol Hannah explained to me that she drew her inspiration from Charleston architecture, and that coincided with the gown names: they all take their names from streets around Downtown Charleston.

(The Spring Street Dress–click to make bigger)

Her creativity doesn’t stop there.  With her experience from Project Runway, there is a necessity to be unique and branch outside from the typical themes and styles to be recognized.  I mentioned to her that her creations were very organic; though the texture and embellishments are created and apparent, the gowns and dresses have a natural look to them.  She also uses different fabrics (such as hammered satin, duchess silk satin, Devore satin, etc.), application techniques, and utilizes raw edges on her dress embellishments and even on dress straps.

I left Maddison Row very pleased with my meet-and-greet with a very down-to-earth and creative designer, and even got some affordable tips from the designer herself for brides who are purchasing wedding gowns on a budget.

(The Hasell Street Gown–click to make bigger)

• Carol Hannah informed me that brides sacrifice the beauty and style of their wedding gowns because of their budget.  She recommends to look for a gown and/or dress that can be used after the wedding.  Find a dress that doesn’t completely look like a wedding gown so that you can wear it out to another event or function.

• Many of Carol Hannah’s wedding gowns are made with silk, and silk can easily be dyed into any color your heart desires.  This tip correlates with the previous one: instead of having a white or ivory dress, dye it to a color of your choice after the wedding and continue wearing it as long as you want.  With this route, you can get more out of your investment and your wedding gown purchase becomes more practical, along with being beneficial to your wardrobe.

• Go short.  I loved this tip because it seemed to go so well with my previous blog on little white dresses for wedding gowns.  Short dresses use less fabric, and the less a designer uses, the less you will be charged for the dress.

If you are interested in Carol Hannah Whitfield’s line, please go to her Etsy shop and take a look at her amazing gowns, dresses, and accessories.

If you are interested in more pictures that I took of her gowns and dresses, along with a more detailed explanation of them, go to the NoKnowsWeddings Facebook page to view the album.  My apologies, the pictures aren’t of great quality.  They were taken with my iPhone.