“As soon as I knew what a wedding was, I was fascinated with wedding dresses,” says Kelsey McIntyre, owner and designer at Edmonton’s Serendipity.
While her company is often known for its ready-to-wear collections, she also brings her passion for vintage-inspired, girly clothing to the custom wedding and bridesmaids dresses she creates.
“I’ve always been drawn to older movies, and I’m a Jane Austen fanatic,” McIntyre says. “I’ve always had a ‘pretty’ sense of style. But I’m not limited to just super-feminine, ruffly and pink things. But my dresses do tend to have a throwback, vintage feel.”
Recently she did a wedding dress for a court house ceremony that was modelled on Audrey Hepburn’s 1960s minimalist style, and last October she sourced vintage details for one of her customers.
“The bride was in love with pearls and I wanted to sew them down the back of her dress like old pearl buttons,” she says. “But I couldn’t find buttons like that anywhere, so I bought vintage pearl necklaces and pulled them apart and sewed them onto her dress.”
It’s this creative thinking that has inspired McIntyre to remake a dress that belonged to one bride’s mother, and incorporated lace doilies another bride’s grandmother had made into her one-of-a-kind dress.
She is happy to do custom bridesmaids dresses as well, something that can be hard to find in town. “It’s tricky to find one style that looks good on everybody, she says. “Often brides will make them all the same colour but different styles. It’s nice to be able to customize for each girl and make them look good!”
And custom does not need to be more expensive than off-the-rack, either, she emphasizes. “My dresses tend to start around $2000, but often when you buy a $1500 dress in the store, by the time you get alternations done, you could have had something made specifically for you for the same price.”
“If you’re doing a shorter, more cocktail length dress, it’ll also be less,” she says. “And cost depends a lot on the details, fabric choices, and design you choose.”
Your best bet? “Go try on a bunch of dresses and figure out what you’d like. Then get in touch with McIntyre for a free consultation and let her give you a price quote. Who knows? You might end up with the dress of your dreams for the same budget as a store-bought one – all while supporting a local artist.
For more information on her bridal wear or to contact Kelsey McIntyre, please visit her website or email her at [email protected] . Please note that custom dresses must be ordered a minimum of 4-6 months before your wedding.
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