October 26, 2022

2023 Wedding Dress Trends

October 26, 2022/ Amanda Garrett

This week we’ll be discussing wedding trends of 2023. When we say trends we are referring to the swiftly changing fashion patterns that are displayed amongst various forms of media over a period of time.

Wedding dresses are typically imagined as being comprised of tulle, taffeta, silk, chiffon, crepe, and lace. Designers, however, put inventiveness front and center this season and offered fabrics that you might not generally connect with bridal. This season is about stepping out of the box and trying new and innovative styles. With fashion constantly pivoting back to previous decades, we’re seeing a lot of sheer fabrics, elaborate ball gowns, mock-necklines and a significant amount of asymmetrical necklines as party dresses for those receptions. Over Skirts are also incredibly popular from the aisle to the reception being able to remove and then enjoy the dance floor. We have 3 custom dress and pant suits for 2023 and 2024 that will have over skirts. These styles are typically associated with 1980’s fashion.

Tulle and wedding gowns have always been a perfect fit, and the Fall 2023 collections introduced a fresh collaboration with this cherished bridal fabric. This season, we’re seeing designers worldwide enthusiastically embraced tulle, creating dresses entirely comprised of the fabric as well as gowns with enormous tulle skirts.

Moving on, shall we? Next, let's not undervalue the influence of a ball gown, particularly in bridal attire. We have seen a lot of elaborate gowns in the A.M.E.G. Designs repertoire in the past, however the option for how extravagant you want to customize your gown is limitless with this particular style of dress. Designers tend to ensure that this classic silhouette is included in their collections every season. You can never go wrong with feeling like a princess gracing the ball on your special day, according to the Fall 2023 runways, no matter what your wedding style may be.

What else is on trend for 2023? Bold blooms and blue hues with simple accessories so the gown does the talking. Bridal suits like, I said we have a few for 2024, extremely high slits and the oh so low open back as well as those straight necklines from the infamous Victorian Era.

I am really in love with the trends for next year because they are a beautiful shift from the previous years. Many of the pieces from our newest collection “This is Love” collaborate so much with the new trends. All the captures above are straight from the runway and my heart.

What will you be choosing for your wedding , will it be on trend?

Your Designer,

Amanda Garrett

For all inquiries and booking for your custom designs or alterations clicking here. You can also purchase and browse our online selection on our site, Instagram, or click here for more custom accessories such as hand-crafted veils, crowns, and more!

October 20, 2022

Black and White Wedding Inspiration

October 20, 2022/ Amanda Garrett

This week we’ll be discussing black and white weddings!

Black and white weddings are a classic and simple concept that we absolutely adore!

These are two colours that have been associated with weddings for years! When you were a kid most likely you were picturing your husband in the black tuxe, it was always a black tuxe, white boutonnière, and a long white princess dress for you haha.

However, times have changed. Though these are common colors for such a special occasion, this palette is however not for everyone. There are hundreds of new themes and styles for weddings but is this classic one still chic?

Both black and white are simple to dress up or down. No matter how lavish or simple your nuptials are, these colours are simple to obtain and work with. Black and white are excellent options if you want something simple, affordable, and attractive all at once, unlike some other colours or current designs.

If you are like me and love lace, which is very chic these days, add that as the white in your black/white, but as a twist try it in both black and white in your wedding decor and fashion accessories.

This shoot was featured on Today’s Bride Magazine Blog >>Click here to see more<<

I hope this has inspired you!

Your Designer,

Amanda Garrett

Connect with us on our social media to stay updated on our latest creations, promotions, and posts”

Photographer - @ec3moments

Venue- @davinci.banquethalls

Florist - @dynastyflorist

H&MU - @icabee.hairandmakeup

H&MU - @missbaglione

Event Coordinator - @foreverframedevents

Wedding Signage - @the_lavishco

Cake - @sweetstarbakeshop

Resin Pieces - @norhyme_justresin

Models - @courtney.jessome.official @natashaacomand

Host - @aweddingsoiree

Featured on @todaysbridemag blog

Bridal Accessories - @gorgeesbrides.ca

September 28, 2022

Train Goals

September 28, 2022/ Amanda Garrett

Yesterday I posted a really awesome dress with an fantastically long train. And so that's what we're gonna talk about today is #traingoals. There are so many ways that you can achieve trains and I don't even think that people really know.

For example, right now I'm doing a dress that has the hem is to the floor. There's no train on the dress, but the veil she's wearing is a incredibly long cathedral veil. It is 122 inches, which is really, really long. The Bride just wants that for the ceremony. She wants that little bit of elegance and drama for walking down the aisle. This is a perfect way so that you can then take it off and you don't have to worry, no bustle, nothing like that, you can just go on your way and have a great time at the reception.

If you don't know what a bustle is, a bustle is when you hook or tie, pieces of the back of the train so that you can move around and dance without the train being stepped on or getting in the way. It's a really great way to do that. However if you don’t want a train on your dress, this is a perfect option.

You can also achieve your train goals without, having to do a bustle by having a removable skirt, so you can have a dress completely made for you and then have a piece that goes over top that you remove. That gives you that huge, long length that you want for a train. You can also, if you want even more, have a very long veil over that long train to give you that even more extension for your train goals.

Then we have different types of trains. There's sweep, chapel, cathedral and royal. The history of wedding dress trains goes as far back as 800 years ago, when the length of the train was used to indicate wealth and social status. The longer the train, the wealthier the family—and naturally, longer trains provided a more dramatic effect to impress any guests in attendance. Of course these days it’s not like that, Brides can wear anything they would like to. A lot of the time the train is for the aisle and for the pictures. If you're looking for that, extensiveness of a train, because you love them then there's so many options, especially with custom.

If you have been dreaming of that beautiful dress with that royal feeling contact <<< us!

I hope this was helpful towards making those dream dress visions come true!

Your Designer,

Amanda Garrett

September 22, 2022

Demi-Couture, Couture and Haute Couture

September 22, 2022/ Amanda Garrett

Lets talk about the different type’s of couture gowns that you can order here at A.M.E.G. Designs!

First we have our Demi-Couture which are gown that are our own creations, like you would purchase from a boutique however they are still made to measure for you, still custom. We have ready made patterns and we know the fabrics and everything that needs to be used for our Demi-Couture lines, which you can find on our website. All we need is your measurements and we can create everything made to measure. You can alter them slightly so you can remove or add sleeves, adjust the necklines slightly, change the back a little bit and/or you can adjust the length. Other than that, they are preset designs but still custom, completely customized for you to fit you. Demi-Couture Gowns take 4 to 6 months to create.

Couture is your vision, your vision, which you bring to us and we create for you. When you have a couture piece made, we create the pattern and a keepsake sketch for you to have and frame after. You choose the fabrics and we make everything, it is your design we're just creating it for you. Couture Gowns take 8 to 12 months to create.

Haute Couture is everything is basically made by hand, even the lace is pieces together with beading added. It is very much like art, with all details and every finishing detail down by hand. These can take 100 or more hours to create. Haute Couture Gowns take 12 to 18 months or more to create.

So that is the difference between each of our Demi-Couture, Couture and our Haute Couture gowns that we create here at A.M.E.G. Designs. I hope that this helps you to narrow down what you would love for you dream dress vision! You can take a look at our Demi-Couture on our website >>>here<<<. and to find out more about our Couture and Haute Couture options >>>contact<<< us, we're happy to answer any questions that you may have so that you can have your dream dress visions come true.

I hope this helps you narrow down what you would love for your wedding dress!

Your Designer,

Amanda Garrett

September 14, 2022

Alterations

September 14, 2022/ Amanda Garrett

Happy Wedding Wednesday!

Today we are going to discuss Alterations as that is a BIG part of what we do here at A.M.E.G. Designs!

The Alteration services that we provide for include the entire Wedding Party, from the Bride and Groom to the flower girl and ring bearer. Any dresses and suits that are involved in or going to can be altered here.

I am mainly going to be speaking about dresses today however I will discuss briefly about suits and how it works. Let’s dive in!

Hemming, the number one alteration we do here and you would believe how many types of hems there are and how many layers some dresses have. The main questions that I will ask; how many layers is your dress? Is there lace, horsehair hem, are there any layers attached? This all allows me to provide the most accurate quote. Counting the number of layers is important, make sure you peal those beautiful layers apart so you make sure you have provided the right amount. I have had clients send videos to ensure they count them correctly.

Lace and Horsehair hems are the most costly as we need to remove, cut and replace most of the in order to cut the hem to the desired length. Horsehair can be on one single layer of your dress or multiple, we had a dress recently that had 8 layers and 3 of those had horsehair hems. It does take a bit more work so that is why it can be on the higher end of cost for alterations. There are also hems where the fabrics are connected and may even have horsehair in between which is where you’ll find the cost goes up in terms of hems.

Lace trim is a similar process to horsehair hem as we need to remove, cut and replace or we can raise from the waist, or we can add some more tulle underneath and if you are wanting a little bit more volume this works well and its quite cost effective. Now when replacing the lace trim we want to make sure we do not change the pattern of the skirt and have to consider the appliques or lace. Some brides so cut it and aren’t too worried about keeping the same look and others want us to adjust those appliques as well. Which in turn of course is a premium cost. We can raise at the waist as long as it makes sense to do so because you have to take a lot into consideration when doing the hem this way, the zipper, lace, pleats, beading, to name a few.

Tulle hems are fairly easy as we just need to precisely cut it the length we need. Rolled hems are the most common, we cut and If you are keeping your train then we only cut and hem the front while blending it out to the sides , this way we can easily bustle the train for you and keeping it all floor length at the front.

Next the most common alteration is taking in and letting out. Since the pandemic letting out has been something we have been doing a lot more of which definitely gave us an opportunity to figure this one out more because our brides needed to get into their dresses. This can be done in a few different ways; most commonly adding a lace up back however, you can add panels, which I would only suggest on lace dresses and only letting out about 2 or 3 inches and to find lace that will match seamlessly. A lace up back would require to remove the zipper and create the pieces , loops, back cover piece and ribbon. This is something that does change the look of the dress and not everyone is a fan so you have to be completely open to it if it is the only option for you to wear your dress. Taking in can mean we need to remove and replace lace and/or bead, if the lace is in the seam it is much easier for us to take in however this is hardly ever the case. There may also be boning which creates more structure to your dress that we have to remove and replace in the side and bodice.

A bustle is something that lifts your dress and train up so you can dance the night away and enjoy the reception. We have done 1 point bustles to 12 point bustles it just depends on the style of dress. When you come for your fitting we figure this out either the first or after we adjust the bodice and hem. We need to play with it, it’s very much like a puzzle, which I love to do. So when we do them you can see what it will look like once we’re done.

Everything else, adding illusion necklines, adjusting necklines, adding lace for more coverage, adding sleeves, and straps in all different ways. You can have them removeable or completely attached. You can also have a complete deconstruction done if you love a dress but it isn’t exactly your vision we can make it so. Also know this will change the style of dress and if thats what you want then fantastic! Also be sure to ask a seamstress or a few to see if your dress can be turned into something you absolutely want to wear on your wedding day.

We also can do any of the above for any other dress in your wedding. All suit and shirt alterations are also available here pants, jacket, shirts, take-in, tapper, hem, adjust sleeve length, vents and more!

I hope this serves you and has provided some wonderful information for you in terms of alterations on your wedding day.

Your Designer,

Amanda Garrett

September 07, 2022

Fabrics, Colours and Bling Bling

September 07, 2022/ Amanda Garrett

Hello, we're back. It's a wedding Wednesday, once again, and today we're talking about fabrics, colors, bling-bling all the things that make every single detail of your dress magical. I believe that details matter so much, the littlest things can matter to create your vision.

When it comes to custom, what happens is you get to choose your fabrics completely and totally 100% all you. So this is how this dress is uniquely yours, right? When we have our visionary call, we talk about all the things you love about certain fabrics, satin, lace, tulle, chiffon and the colour you would love.

I then go and I search for options for you, and then I send you those options. Typically I like to send four or five depending on what we're looking at and a lot of the time this is for lace and other things like trims.

This way it's not overwhelming and you get to choose what you want to have for your dress. A lot of the time, my brides they're very decisive. Some are not, but that's okay. We work through it and we find whatever we need.

This bride wanted to have an very light off-white wedding dress.

Now during the process of choosing fabrics we must find it in the colour you are wanting. Whether if be Bright white, off-white, ivory or even PINK! I've had brides ask me, will this color worked for me. When you try dresses on, you'll see what colors work for you, and you'll know that you either want white, white, or another variation. I also have samples of fabrics that you can place against your skin to see. Most of the dresses we create are off-white, however, we’ve even dyed fabric to get the exact colour that our Bride envisioned her dress to be.

Then we have the bling bling bling! Bling-bling, jewels and beading can be incorporated into many aspects of your dress. If you have lace on your dress, it can be incorporated into the applique, added to trim or the edge around your hem or train. Adding a belt is always a way to add a little something extra or it can be just in your hair.

With the addition of a glitter fabric under neath and a small sequin throughout the lace appliques gave this bride just the right amount of shine for her wedding day.

Every Bride is so different and have such a unique visions. They either want the entire dress covered in beading and crystals or very few sequins that give only a little shimmer when the light hits the fabric. It's going to be for your personality, that fits you best. So BLING it up or tone it down, with custom you can have all that your heart desires.

Those are some of the main topics during our visionary call your fabrics, colors and your bling bling. the fabric and the color that comes first after we do our measurements. Then you receive options , once you choose, the fabrics are ordered and we get started on creating your dream dress!

Head over to our Instagram as that is where we hang out the most and will find loads of information in our stories and posts.

Your Designer,

Amanda Garrett

August 24, 2022

Wedding Wednesday: Heirloom Dresses

August 24, 2022/ Amanda Garrett

“Every design begins with an even better story.” - Lorinda Mamo

The best part of doing a deconstructed dress is that mom is involved. Typically the ones I've done, they've all been from mom. But I have done ones that are from a address that you purchased and you want a complete overhaul on it.

Then there's also, from grandma, from great-grandma heirloom dresses, they're so much fun to do and create a modern style from to bring your personality forward, but still being really sentimental because they're from your Mama. Right? So I love this topic. I love talking about deconstruct dresses.

I love creating from deconstructed dresses. I've had a few this year and the first one I did, I created it was a big ball gown dress with poof sleeves, the nineties, right? A lot of them are very similar and lots of intricate beading. I love the way the lace and the beading and everything is on these dresses from the nineties.

It was done really, really well so for this one, I took the bodice out and I removed the skirt and made a mermaid instead of the ballgown. But we reattached the ballgown as a removable back piece. And she looked like an absolute princess, as you can see.

What we did was we created the mermaid, but we used the top and we made the sleeves, small, like quite a bit smaller actually. An off the shoulder look, but they still had a little bit of poof because she wanted that princess look, that, almost Disney princess look and we were able to create that.

Then I just took pieces from the skirt that I had cut and I put them on the bottom parts where the fitted part of the mermaid went and, then it kind of trickled a little bit over, onto the flare of the mermaid, it was absolutely gorgeous. We also had to alter it quite a bit and she came from Ottawa.

We did quite a few fittings and she drove six hours to do this because she really, really believed in the investment of making this dress exactly how she wanted and she wanted it done by me. That was amazing. So, there was quite a few fittings and we altered the back completely. I added functional buttons that went all the way down the dress back. And we really worked together to create something really beautiful for her, her mom was so excited because she was wearing a piece of her on her wedding day.

The second one I did this year was another one from the nineties. A very big ballgown, really high neck line with gorgeous lace detailing and fringe beading. The bride specifically said, “I can't have that beading, uh, the fringe beading can not happen”, so we made sure that was used in a different way. However, this one, I just removed the pieces of lace appliques and put them all over the piece that I created.

Basically I created a dress for her, that was a very beautiful flowing dress she had tulle, on the top, like a tulle mesh that was see-through. Covered it with the appliques from her mom's dress and did a little bit more simpler on the back. She had her mom's buttons down the back as well, such a nice touch.

I also removed all the beading, all those fringe beaded pieces, I created a belt for her and it just made the dress.

Doing it this way you still get that sentimental value of mom's dress or whoever's dress, and be able to do it to the style you would love most. So wonderful.

I've also created pieces from these heirloom dresses, where I created a type dress. I used the bodice and then I created a bottom and I added the bottom lace to it and to the knee basically. It was just a reception dress and it was absolutely stunning.

You can do anything with a dress, either from either an heirloom dress or a dress that you see potential, and you see that there is something in it that you love, but you want to create it and make it your own exact uniquely to you. And that is what we do here.

That is why I do what I do to make things and create things to bring your vision to life so that it is uniquely yours. No one else is going to have these pieces ever. And, and that's the beauty. The whole point is that you feel beautiful and confident and, you know, looking back on these pictures from your wedding day, you're still going to be swooning over these pictures and you're going to be so happy that you made the investment and you did.

So wishing you a very happy Wednesday, and I hope that you have a fabulous rest of your week.

Your Designer,

Amanda Garrett

www.amegdesigns.com

March 01, 2019

Bohemian Styled Wedding

March 01, 2019/ Amanda Garrett

Bohemian is one those styles that has come back with a BIG BANG! It’s everywhere and it’s coming from so many different perspectives of brides and designers. Allowing you to experiment with a non traditional imagination, mainly off white laces, tied knots and jewelry for your, head, hands and feet. The gorgeous photos you’re about to see are a collaboration of all things bohemian created by some amazing designers and photographers. This style has really transformed what your dream wedding may look like. The images below are just a few of my favourites with so much beauty involved.

For more inspiration from this shoot, it was featured on Elegant Wedding Magazines Blog, Strictly Weddings Blog, Let’s Bee Together, and Lovely Day Journal.

Love this Bohemian style of a dress? Let’s Chat!

Featured Venue

Now the venue for this shoot was unlike most, the Oakview Terrace Reception Centre, a hidden gem in Richmond Hill. With so many diverse areas to take your wedding pictures, for the ceremony and your reception can be indoors or outdoors. Any season is perfect for this venue and the views from the reception hall are incredible. Inside is not a large space, so if you’re looking to have 200 people most likely won’t be happening here BUT if you’re having something smaller it is idyllic. I did a small wedding show there and the venue itself is so spectacular, the food was delicious and the owners are kind. OH there is even a chapel that has beautiful wood details and can be paired with so many different wedding styles. I would totally recommend this fabulous venue!

Check out -> Oakview Terrace