Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The High-Fashion Bride, Original Inspiration

I have always loved beautiful things and the thoughtfulness of each choicefully made detail. Just flipping through wedding magazines, it is amazing how many options a bride has when creating what will make her perfect day.

My inspiration to paint wedding day bliss and develop www.thepaintedmemory.com was spawned by the bridal gown! Hearing a bride talk about her selected dress and all the beautiful embellishments from lace, to pearls, sequins and satin sashes, it is as though the dress itself mirrors the bride’s personality and her desired tone for the wedding day. I love when a bride says, “...wearing my dress was my very favorite part of the whole wedding”.

After hearing many newlywed gals say this very same thing, and a big nudge of encouragement from my sister, Page, I began painting a handful of friends’ dresses in watercolor as a whimsical keepsake, thus beginning my new adventure.(http://www.thepaintedmemory.com)

Once the gown is worn, it is swept away to be cleaned and boxed up for years before maybe it’s reopened for an inquisitive daughter to see and enjoy. I thought it would be such fun to create a wedding series of not only the dress, but the bouquet and church or gardens where a bride is married in hopes that she would gain as much pleasure from seeing them hang above her vanity as she did living such a magical day.



In the process of all my wedding research, I came across the most interesting facts on (http://www.eee.typepad.com)
Who knew that being a bride is almost equal to a full-time job!
* Once engaged, brides-to-be spend over 30 hours a week planning for the “Big Day,” practically as many hours as an average work week
* The wedding dress is the number one most researched item among brides-to-be
* The average wedding dress cost is $1,075, which is less than a 2% increase since 2006, when the average cost was $1,056
* 86% of brides make sure to wear something old, new, borrowed and blue

With this in mind, I see a new trend on the horizon... a watercolor painting of your dress as being a fresh twist to the familiar, framed wedding invitation!




Thank you for visiting my blog; I hope you’ll stop back for future updates, or visit The Painted Memory on Facebook!

(http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Painted-Memory)