A family thing of. As you can imagine, Claudia and I had long discussed what she would want, and by the time she woke up in the morning I had her dream dress designed on paper. We never deviated from this initial design and when I got in touch with my seamstresses, they created the lace motif exactly how I had drawn it. I did worry that with the wedding being postponed twice due to Covid-19, Claudia might change her mind, but she didn’t at all – in fact she said that every time she saw the When Claudia became engaged, what were your first thoughts about dress, she fell more in love with it. The only thing she had to do throughout her dress? the pandemic was not gain or lose We were actually in Las Vegas any weight as the dress fitted her with Claudia and Dean when Dean perfectly and to change it would popped the question. After a night mean unpicking the motifs, resizing it of celebrations, when everyone had and putting it back together again. Not gone to bed, I stayed up sketching something even I wanted to tackle. the dress she had always dreamed
Veni Infantino of Ronald Joyce talks to us about designing her daughter’s not one, not two, but three dream wedding dresses for her very traditional Sicilian wedding
62 ♦ W E D D I N G T R A D E R ♦ J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 2
Did Claudia really know exactly what she wanted right from the start? Claudia was a very decisive bride. From day one she always wanted a Sicilian look – a high neckline, and her hair tied back. Even though Sicily can be very hot in the summer, Claudia was set on long sleeves, which I feel add elegance to any dress. The gown features lace appliqués on top of Chantilly lace. I then designed a further two dresses: one for the wedding breakfast and one for the party. For the second and third gowns, Claudia wanted something non-restrictive to allow for movement and dancing. Therefore, we opted for a stretch crepe fabric and smaller trains which looked stunning and also allowed her to move more freely. This is something I am hearing more
