Cheers to 2014... Thank you to everyone that made it a beautiful year xo!!!

2014 was another great year for Victoria Sdoukos Couture Bridal.  I have so many people to thank for making it a productive & positive year.  The year gone by started off with some amazing editorial features from Debi Lilly @ A Perfect Event, Crain's Business & Splash.  Following a fun debut with Vince Gerasole from CBS2 covering highlights of a live fitting at the boutique, a great morning segment on WGN at City View Loft featuring some of my designs, A Perfect Event & Pure Kitchen Catering, & an educational sit-down on the Steve Harvey Show talking business with Tabetha Coffey.  Also early in the year I participated for the 2nd time in wonderful Bridal Fete event, hosted by Leah Hamilton & met with some amazing bakeries in the city that made beautiful creations to coordinate with my gowns.  It was wonderful to once again work with Carasco, the amazingly talented couple that captured the gorgeous imagery that was at Bridal Fete. Spring was full of shoots at The Hellenic museum, City View Loft &  Kaiser Tiger.  I met some amazing hair & makeup maestros from Ramsay Marston who can make your hair look like a pinup model!  Thanks also to Amy Banas flawless makeup - what a talent!  Extremely thankful for fabulous features in Splash, CS Brides & Chicago Bride.  Wrapping up the year I did a couple more shoots with Tamara Gruner Photography, Megan Saul & Andre LaCour.   I was also very fortunate to make new contacts and work with people that brought a different perspective to my work, which is always so inspiring to me as an artist!  In between hosting my beautiful brides in my Madison shop & sewing new gowns 2014 was a year that often found me as one busy woman!  I worked hard to make it all happen but couldn't do any of it without my wonderful family and friends.  A special shout out to my fiancé, sister & family for their continued support. I would also like to thank Oliver Dogwood Floral Co. for providing many beautiful bouquets at many of my shoots, Lati from Bridal Beauty Salon, Latoya De'Shaun, Caroline Shaw The Wedding Dresser, Cathy Demetropoulos, Constantine James Haritos, Tasia Apostopolous & of course all my Lovely Brides!!!

Pretty Petals!!!

When preparing for your Wedding Day, every detail matters including the bouquet. Today I'm  sharing some beautiful examples of how the perfect bouquet enhances your overall dream bridal look.  

Look #1 is pretty pink petals from Debi Lilly The complete look is perfect for the bride searching for a couture princess feel.  Debi's beautiful bouquet is full of texture, romance & girlie fun!  Featured gown, veil & jewelry are complete from the Victoria Sdoukos Couture Collection.  Hair & makeup provided by Beauty On Call located in Chicago. Photo Shoot venue at City View Loft in the West Loop.

Look #2 comes from Tiffany at OliverDogwood  Tiffany's bouquet has a vintage vibe & goes perfectly with this alencon lace gown.  Complete look from the Victoria Sdoukos Couture Collection. Hair from Lati at The Bridal Beauty Salon located in Wicker Park. Makeup from Elise at Leesi B Cosmetics located in Chicago.

Look #3 comes from Debi at www.debililly.com  This angelic look is complete with the ivory bouquet Debi created. Bridal gown, veil & jewelry complete from Victoria Sdoukos Couture Collection. Hair & Makeup provided by Beauty On Call.

Look #4 is for the sassy bride!!  These gorgeous tulips are from Debi Lilly.  My theme for this shoot was pinup style & this bouquet couldn't be more perfect!  Since I make custom wedding gowns, I always have a unique client base.  Lately, I've been inspired by pinup models & creating this red wedding gown was the best way for me to express what I have been dreaming about.  The complete look, gown & jewelry are from the Victoria Sdoukos Couture Collection. Hair & Makeup provided by Beauty On Call.

xo,

V

Top 7 Bridal Looks from the Victoria Sdoukos Couture Collection..

1. Chic: This is my beautiful bride Maggie wearing the Despina from the VSC Collection.  Her gown is a trumpet cut style & is made with double faced duchess silk satin.  Along with her  look, I handmade  the jewelry using Swarovski Elements, her beautiful silk bolero & veil.  Perfect look for the City Chic Bride!

2. Timeless: Here we have Kelly wearing the Samantha wedding gown from the VSC collection.  Her gown is a trumpet cut style, accented with Alencon lace bodice & beautiful vintage brooch on her sash.  Her look is timeless & will be adorned for many years to come..

3. Classic: Say hello to Maggie our Classic Beauty!!!  She is wearing the Christine gown from the VSC collection.  What I love about her look is the simplicity that allows us to really see her true beauty.  She is wearing a white double faced duchess silk satin A-line gown with a ivory ribbon, to add just a slight contrast to her Wedding Day look.

4. Romantic: Here we have Erin with her romantic wedding gown from the VSC collection.  She is wearing the Agape gown, which means LOVE.. Can't be more romantic then that :)  The gown is made from our beautiful imported alecon lace, which only comes from one place in the world... France!  I just love the floral pattern on this lace, it's gorgeous & a  must for the Romantic Bride.

5. Traditional: Nieve is my featured bride for this traditional bridal look.  Together with Nieve I created this one of a kind look for her.  She had a December wedding & was dreaming about a gown with lace sleeves.  She is wearing a A-line skirt wedding gown made with double faced duchess silk satin & her bodice is hand stitched alencon lace.  

6.  Beach:  My favorite place to be :)  What I love about beach brides are the amazing photos  they have walking along the beach in a couture wedding gown.  Kristina is wearing the Dionna one shoulder wedding gown, accented with handmade silk flowers.  This look is perfect for her dream wedding in Hawaii!

Unique:  Being a designer is all about being unique!  Emily chose the Viki gown from my collection which is handmade in 3 colors to complete the look.  Her bodice is light ivory, the sash is taupe & her skirt is dark ivory.  When you combine these colors together you get a beautiful rustic color pallet, which I think is unique for a bridal gown.  

Hollywood Glam!

Congratulations to my Hollywood Glam Bride Leslie!!!  She tied the knot this January in Chicago  with her amazing reception held at the Knickerbocker Hotel, might I add one of my favorite places.  I adore her city skyline photo, it captures the mood of what it means to be a Chicago Bride & of course I had to add the cake cutting photo bc it's one of my favorite Wedding Day moments..  Leslie wore a custom made gown from the Victoria Sdoukos Couture Collection  & added her own personal touches in the sash color, jewelry & layout of her Swarovski rhinestone studded flower on her shoulder.  The cut of the gown is a one shoulder trumpet cut, also referred to as fit to flare.  It's featured in ivory double faced duchess silk satin & is highlighted with a glamorous floral shoulder.  The shoulder has hand cut silk flowers, that are layered with two textures of silk chiffon & double faced duchess silk satin.  Leslie added her unique touches to the gown with the color tones that she picked out to highlight her look.  I loved her idea of mixing gold & silver tones together, as she loves those two metals just like me.  Her shoulder detail has beautiful muted gold & silver Swarovski rhinestones mixed in the flowers which makes the shoulder very interesting to look at & is like a piece of art.  I also cannot forget to mention the back of the gown, it has about 100 muted gold Swarovski rhinestone buttons along the back which is outstanding!!!  One of my favorite add ons to Leslie's gown, was a personal hand stitched heart made from a  piece of fabric from her Fathers clothing, as a memory of him.  It was so beautiful & seeing Leslie's reaction to the added piece in her gown was very touching, it made me so happy :)  More pictures of Leslie's Glamorous Wedding Day are available on my FB page!  Once again congratulations Leslie, you were so wonderful to work with & you looked like a Doll :)

Latest Feature in Debi Lilly's Magazine..

So excited to be featured in Debi Lilly's latest magazine...  As I work on gowns in my Chicago Boutique, I always snap pics of the work in progress as a fun way to showcase the dress/jewelry making process.  I had no idea that Debi Lilly had pulled a couple of them to create this beautiful spread.  I was so excited when I saw this bc it really showcases who I am as a designer.  I love creating bridal gowns, veils and jewelry but the fun part is the process of creating these pieces.  So while I'm working away, I'm snapping away...  Hope you enjoy these fun behind the seams bridal inspirations!

The first stitch... my first blog.

I'm excited to get started on writing my first blog. I have so many great ideas and inspirations for brides-to-be. On my blog posts, I'm going to start sharing my Behind the Scenes. What does that mean? Well, it could be anything from what new bridal jewelry designs I'm working on, to the process of sewing a bridal gown, to a snapshot of my excited brides as they come in for a fitting. I love what I do and enjoy sharing this special moment with so many wonderful Chicago brides. Stay tuned!