Today I am sharing a very special Bridal Muse. My beautiful sister Karen, who a year ago married her soul mate. 

There is no doubt that designing a dress for a bride is a big responsibility. So when your sister asks you to create her gown, you know you have to design something very special. When I design for my brides I believe that a dress should reflect their personality and style. Lucky for me I have known Karen for quiet some time! So today she is sharing her experiences and advice for your wedding day.

What is your best memory of your wedding day? 

I loved the entire day, I would do it again tomorrow and not change a thing about the day. Having travelled home to Ireland for our wedding I really enjoyed the wedding morning with my family and bridesmaids. I went for an early refreshing beach walk first thing with my sister and baby niece before the preparation began. It was so lovely and unforgettable.

My best memory is probably the ceremony, myself and Brian couldn’t stop smiling and giggling with each other. We had done a rehearsal the afternoon before to banish nerves which meant we got to enjoy the readings and music that we had personally chosen. It was our parish, our town where we both grew up and our people. It was just lovely pledging our love to each other surrounded by our favorite people from home and abroad on our turf.

What is your advice to a bride to be? 

Don’t let the planning take over your life in the run up, take time to have fun and don’t lose sight of why you are getting married and that it is about your future together and not the actual wedding day! We really wanted our day to reflect us as a couple but we also had a cut off point and decided if it’s not done by this date ….. it’s not important and not getting done. I would advise others to do the same as this meant we really enjoyed the days leading up to the wedding with the people we loved.

The biggest piece of advice I can give and that was given to me was to make time for you and your new hubby. The way we planned the day meant that we went for photographs (just the two of us) before we travelled to the venue for the official family ones. This gave us two hours together directly after we said “I Do” and it was amazing. We had so many laughs and moments of silliness before celebrating the night away with everyone else. On reflection, it helped that we loved our photographers and official driver (my favorite brother in law) which meant we just had the banter and soaked it all up.

Last piece of advice is to make sure you gel with the suppliers you book and that they get you and what you want. It’s so important, I’m sure it would have a massive impact on your day as you spend a lot of time with your photographers, your hair stylist and make up artist etc– trust your instinct on this.

What was your biggest worry about getting your dress made?

That I’d give my sister a nervous breakdown because I’m so indecisive, married with the fact that I don’t live in the same country as her.  Despite having grown up literally surrounded by Sarah Foy wedding dresses, I never really thought about what my own would look like. Luckily Sarah was paying attention over the years and had a better idea. She travelled over to me (any excuse for a get together) to try on assorted styles in the UK and we designed it from there. I was very lucky as I had 100% faith in her.

What part of the process of having your dress made was most fun for you?

Probably, when we sourced the most amazing pink guipure lace. We had a vision of this almost impossible fabric, something very subtly but delicate and to be honest we didn’t think we would find it…Sarah rose to the challenge and sourced the most amazing fabric exceeding my expectations and we both fell in love with it. From there she took all the elements of different dresses I loved and made them work together. I ABSOLUTLEY loved it and still do! I felt so comfortable, happy and special in the dress that my sister had designed and handmade just for me, it’s an indescribable feeling. At the end of the evening it suddenly dawned on me that I’d have to take it off and never wear it again, it was such a devastating moment but luckily I had another fabulous Sarah Foy dress for the following day….I am one lucky sister.

Thank you Karen for sharing your memories of the day. It was certainly a day I will always remember. It is an honour to be your sister and personal designer!

The Dream Team

Photographer - www.mhphoto.ie

Venue - www.rathsallagh.com

Hair - www.michelleohalloran.com

Make up - Helen Henry 0876167607

Dress - www.sarahfoycouture.com