THE MONTHLY DRESS SERIES: THE JUNE DRESS

THE JUNE DRESS

June is traditionally the most popular month to marry, so The June Dress is all about the bride! I put my own spin on this dress and created a wedding gown inspired by the old English saying that all brides walking down the isle need ‘something blue.’ I’m already married. Consequently, an elaborate blue wedding gown was a fun twist on the traditional saying and a nod to the wedding season.

I’ve been more excited about this dress than most of my other dresses in this series (it was hard for me to keep quiet about it on insta stories). I came up with the concept of a wedding gown for a June bride clear back in November. My hands have been itching to create this wedding gown of my dreams. I loved my own weddings dress, I love looking through pictures of brides and wedding gowns, and coming right off of the Royal wedding, a wedding gown theme for The June Dress was just begging to be done!

I am so grateful and thrilled for all of your excitement over the announcement of The Monthly Dress Tour, and I have to say, if you come to the tour just for one dress…it might be this one. This dress is meant to be experienced in person! (If you haven’t heard about my Monthly Dress Tour, I will be taking all 12 of my dresses on tour in a dress exhibit where YOU can see them up close! I’ll also be speaking all about my experience with this series. Check out this post to find out where I will be touring and take this quick 1 minute survey to help me plan the tour! I can’t wait to meet you!)

THE FABRIC

I chose the shade of blue for this gown very carefully. I didn’t want a true baby blue, because that would have given the dress too much of a youthful look. I wanted the June Dress to be elegant and luxurious. The right dusty blue shade of the tulle on the flowers in the bodice caught my eye while I was shopping for fabric and I knew that was the shade of blue I wanted. The bodice fabric is one of the most exquisite fabrics I have ever seen. The embroidered detailing along the bodice is more of a silver than a blue, and it allows the crystals and pearl details to pop.

The flowers on the bodice are really what steal the show. The tulle petals are the perfect shade of dusty blue and they are so exquisite! I cut the bodice so that the flowers were positioned a bit asymmetrical, almost like they were placed organically rather than perfectly symmetrical (a fun contrast after May’s perfectly symmetrical dress). I had a little bodice fabric left over, so I hand stitched a few of the extra flowers I had onto the sleeves for a dramatic effect. I love the look of the cluster of flowers on each sleeve! They balance out the fullness of the skirt.

I backed the beaded bodice fabric with a silvery grey lining, allowing the dusty blue flowers stand out. I experimented with lots of shades of light blue for the lining, but decided against all of them because they all competed with the floral design of the bodice.

The silver color faded into the background and looked richer and more elegant.

The tulle on the skirt of the dress was tricky. It took 3 different trips down to LA to find the right tulle that would perfectly match the dusty blue on the bodice flowers. So much of the tulle I found was baby blue, and didn’t have the depth I was looking for. I found a pale blue that was a pretty close match in my last trip to the LA fabric district, and I tried mixing in some light grey tulle layers. It was perfect. The two different shades layered together create a 3D effect that really comes through in the images (but I have to say…it’s even more magical in person 😉 )

Can you guess how many yards of tulle I used for the skirt? I ended up buying 60 yards of tulle (40 yards of light blue, 20 yards of grey), thinking that I would have plenty left over, and I used every single piece. So that skirt is exactly 60 yards of tulle! I laid out each layer (there were 14 layers of tulle total) and it stretched from my dining room all across to the end of my living room, about 16 feet wide. You will see how crazy I looked gathering and sewing up 60 yards of tulle on my Behind The Dress video next week!

THE DRESS

I designed this dress to be the prettiest wedding gown I could imagine. I found the crystal floral beaded bodice fabric first, and I wanted to create a skirt that was just as breathtaking and dramatic. The deep V neck in the front and back felt very romantic. (The February Dress had a sweet scoop neck and a high back, which felt sweet and youthful. I wanted to up the elegance factor with June).

I wanted the skirt of this dress bigger and more dramatic than anything I have created so far. The skirt of this dress measures 6 1/2 feet in diameter. That is the same diameter of the chandelier above me in the rotunda I’m standing in!  It was huge and I loved it. The moment I came home with the fabric for the skirt of this gown, I pinned everything on my mannequin so that I could finally see the dress I had been envisioning in my head for so long. I stood staring at the pinned dress with tears running down my cheeks. This dress is the dress I am the most proud of in this series.

 >>SHOP MY SHOES HERE<<

THE MAN

I’ve been waiting for the right month to have Mr. Barlow make a cameo in one of my dress reveals, and this wedding-themed shoot needed a groom! There are two things that made this shoot extra special for me. Number one is that Garrett got to get dressed up and be in these pictures with me. Number two is that we shot The June Dress on our 11th wedding anniversary!!

I didn’t even plan it that way on purpose! It was such a fun shoot with him there. I got to wear a beautiful gown on my wedding anniversary. Also, I got to have my man there dressed up with me! We were married on May 31st and had our reception on June 1st, so I felt like I was a May bride and a June bride. 😉

Side note- it’s also my parents wedding anniversary today. Consequently, that made for an extra perfect day to reveal the dress!

THE DIAMOND

It wouldn’t be a dream wedding dress without a dream wedding ring. I partnered with Simon G Jewelry for The June Dress and hand-selected the most incredible diamond ring and diamond earrings to wear with The June Dress. Don’t get me wrong. I love my own wedding ring. However, it was such a dream to get to wear these beautiful pieces with this dress! I picked white gold for the ring to match the silver and crystals along the bodice of the gown.

The ring is just as intricate and spectacular as the dress! It has 2 rows of diamonds along the band. Also, a smaller row of diamonds along either side holding up a brilliant round cut diamond. The earrings are also round cut center diamonds with a small row of diamonds surrounding the larger stone.

I felt like a princess in this dress and the diamonds were the icing on the cake. Simon G Jewelry makes amazing fine jewelry and any bride would be so lucky to have a Simon G ring to wear on her wedding day.

THE LOCATION

I wanted to shoot The June Dress in the prettiest wedding location I could think of, and the Rotunda at The Resort at Pelican Hill is a wedding day DREAM! The iconic Rotunda is set on a hill that overlooks the resort and golf course on one side, and the ocean on the other. It doesn’t get dreamier than that. I got ready in their bridal suite, which is just a short distance from the Rotunda. I kept thinking how convenient it would be for a bride and her wedding party to get ready in the suite and walk right out to the rotunda for the wedding.

Every staff member we worked with at Pelican Hill was so gracious and accommodating. Their resort and services really are first class. They went out of their way to make sure we had everything we needed for the shoot. Garrett randomly asked for a big glass of milk when we arrived (…? I have no idea. I was most likely rolling my eyes in the background) and they brought it out for him in minutes!

We shot most of the other monthly dresses at sunrise, but for this dress I wanted a romantic sunset.

When the sun sets right next to the ocean at Pelican Hill, there is nothing quite like being under the rotunda with a slight ocean breeze. Also, hundreds of tiny crystals in a 6 foot chandelier sparkling all around you.

I worked with Finishing Touch Weddings for decorating the Rotunda and they were absolutly incredible to work with! They draped each of the columns with classic ivory sheer columns and installed the amazing chandelier. Doug at Finishing Touch Weddings walked through each detail of the shoot with me. Explaining how to untie the bottom of the drapes when the wind died down if I wanted them to really make a statement, and trained me on how to dim the lights in the chandelier.

The chandelier was perfectly secure in the ocean breeze and we never had to worry about it swaying or moving. We opted to forgo any floral decoration because I wanted The June Dress to be the main focal point, but you have to check out their online gallery – they have done some of the most beautiful wedding decor I have ever seen! I love how quickly Finishing Touch Weddings caught my vision for this dress and made it happen!

THE SHOES & MAKEUP

I don’t know how it happens each month, but I found the most perfect shoes for The June Dress. I couldn’t believe how spot on the dust shade of blue satin was! You better believe I will be displaying these shoes along with this dress when I take these dresses on tour because (like the dress) they are better in person!

While most brides opt for a white wedding dress, these dusty blue embellished sandals would be a perfect little “something blue” touch with a wedding gown!

I didn’t wear any other jewelry in addition to the Diamond ring and earrings.

That was plenty, and any other jewelry would have taken away from the dress and diamonds. I picked OPI’s Bubble Bath for my nails and toes (it’s currently on sale with free shipping here). It’s such a soft romantic shade of pink/nude that I think is the ultimate wedding day nail color. It is a bit sheer, so 3 coats of gel polish will get the perfect shade.

I’ll be doing a separate post about my makeup and all of my recommendations on bridal makeup, but I did want to share 2 of my bridal makeup musts. I kept my makeup pretty natural, with soft pinks and nudes. Also, I would highly recommend Mac lipliner pencil in “Boldly Bare” as the base of a bridal lip. If you follow me on insta stories, I talk about this lip liner quite a bit. It isn’t too brown and it isn’t too light. It’s just the right shade for over lining your lips just a bit to get a fuller look to them, and it combines beautifully with so many different shades of light pink.

I also recommend Urban Decay’s overnight setting spray.

It keeps my makeup in place for hours (I rarely need touchups when I use this) and it is a wedding day must if you are prepping for your big day! You can read more of my favorite makeup produce that last all day in this tried and true beauty favorites post. I kept my hair in a low, slightly undone bun so that the neckline of the dress would really show. It is also the same hairstyle I picked for my own wedding day!

This is one of my favorite time lapse videos to date! The time-lapse video for how I created The June Dress…

worn during the draping:  WHITE CREW NECK ||  DENIM VEST  ||  DARK DENIM JEANS  ||  CORAL SPERRY’S 

Here is my inspiration board and sketch for The June Dress!

The June Dress sketch done by Jill Paz Illustration

SHOP MY LOOK:

Next week a new episode of Behind the Dress will go live. Where I take you through the entire process of shopping for this fabric (just wait until you see me find the petticoat for under this dress!). Sewing the 60+ yards of the dress, and the dreamy shooting day at Pelican Hill!

Until then, you can see my other Behind the Dress episodes for:

• January Behind The Dress
• February Behind The Dress
• March Behind The Dress
• April Behind The Dress
• May Behind The Dress

Don’t miss any of my dresses from The Monthly Dress Series. You can follow along on instagram at #themonthlydressseries, or click on any of the dresses below to view the full post and time-lapse videos for that month.

OCTOBER DRESS

NOVEMBER DRESS

DECEMBER DRESS

JANUARY DRESS

FEBRUARY DRESS

MARCH DRESS

APRIL DRESS

MAY DRESS

Location: The Resort at Pelican Hill

Decor: The Finishing Touch Wedding Design

Dimond ring/earrings: Simon G Jewelry

Shoes: Badgley Mischka –  Huges T-Strap Evening Shoe

Photography: Jordan Zobrist

Follow along with me on instagram and in my newsletter for updates on The Monthly Dress Tour! Over the next few months we will be prepping to bring these dresses to you so you can experience The Monthly Dress Series in real life! If you haven’t take this quick 1 minute survey I would really appreciate your input! If we do add more tour date locations, I will be using the information from the survey to determine where we take the dresses. Make sure you list your location! I will also picking some winners who took the survey to give free tickets to the tour to!

Want to learn how to sew? Let me teach you with my online video sewing courses! I offer a beginner course and an intermediate course. I walk you through every step of how to create and sew your own clothing. The videos never expire, so you can watch and re-watch them at your own pace. They also make for a great gift!