White Orchid Bridal — Attraction in Avondale Estates

It has been a year since my wedding, and I finally find the time to describe the wonderful experience. My husband and I received our wedding photo album recently, and looking at the pictures cultivates memories of joy and beauty.

While planning for our wedding, we decided to keep it simple, natural and frugal. We each selected one item we would "splurge" on, and the rest was very low budget (wild flowers for bouquets picked and arranged by a friend, for example). Since my husband is a talented professional photographer, and I adore simple, flowing, and lovely attire -- we reserved the majority of our funds for a photographer and a custom made gown. Justin took care of the photographer, and I carefully researched options for a gown. After visiting White Orchid Bridal, I knew Colleen (the owner and seamstress of this local Knoxville shop) would be the one to create my gown.

I came to Colleen with simple parameters for what I wanted -- comfortable, simple, lovely, easy to move in -- a dress cultivating beauty and simplicity. She spent time visiting with me to understand my personality and desires. A week later, Colleen presented a few simple, detailed, and lovely sketches of her ideas. She was attentive to my input, and together we decided on a gown well-suited for the special day. I was so excited!

After that, I regularly met with Colleen to try on the gown, assess the progress, and share my thoughts. In the end, she created a dress far exceeding my mind's imagination and heart's desire. It displayed pure, simple beauty -- a perfect fit, made of flowing material, and unlike any other wedding gown. Wearing this gown, I felt comfortable, natural, and beautiful. I could not wait to share this with my husband-to-be.

At the last minute, the weather forecast drastically changed. The cold predicted temperatures caught me by surprise. I am naturally cold-natured, and I didn't want to shiver on my wedding day. My simple outdoor ceremony was by a lake, which was sure to share a breeze. Colleen came to my rescue and made a sweet, custom-made cardigan -- beautiful and matching the gown perfectly.

I received abundant compliments on both my dress and cardigan. It was the perfect gown for me and my special wedding day. I am so thankful. Since then, I have kept in contact with Colleen. She has become a friend. I highly recommend her creative services. She has background in dancing, so the flow and movement of fabric is vitally important to her. Her creative thoughtfulness manifests itself in her beautiful, unique designs. She considers every detail. I consider her talents a huge blessing to my...

Colleen was absolutely fabulous to work with. Through my wedding attire, I wanted to create an antique/Victorian/steampunk/turn-of-the century yet still feminine look. I scoured the big box wedding gown store, a few small local boutiques, searched magazines, and even online. I could not find anything remotely close to what I was looking for. From the first time I spoke with Colleen over the phone, I knew immediately she was going to be able to design and create for me exactly what I wanted. Being an artist myself, I sometimes find it difficult to convey my idea where another person can visualize what I'm talking about. Colleen was instantly able to pick up on my style. She was a great listener and took note of all the ideas I threw at her. She was able to compile my ideas into the wedding gown of my dreams. Alongside my suggestions, I gave her creative freedom to work her magic. She threw in her own ideas and gave the look her own style, and it was absolutely perfect. From there, she made custom accessories (a belt and a headpiece--which included a gorgeous flower clip) to compliment my custom gown. Colleen is so knowledgable about the various historical periods of dress, fabric types, textures, drapery, and she has an excellent eye for design. She took special care to encorporate my hair cut and color, skin tone, and body type into her designs. The entire look captured my unique personality, it exuded elegance, and I felt 100% comfortable wearing it. Colleen was fun yet professional to work with, she was empathetic to my emotions, and she exhibited great skill in her craftsmanship. My wedding was in September (of 2012), and people are still talking about my gown! I completely enjoyed my entire experience at White Orchid Bridal, and I would recommend her to any bride-to-be. She will...

I feel incredibly fortunate to have found White Orchid Bridal to alter my wedding dress. It seems like a small part of the wedding planning process, yet during a time when all the planning seemed so stressful, this part was my FAVORITE. I came to her with a cheap dress bought online, with a rushed deadline and I couldn’t be more grateful for her honesty and thoroughness in assessing what I had on my hands. It didn’t work out with that dress and I am so glad it didn’t. I realized it wasn’t worth spending the money on alterations. Then, I was able to get a gorgeous dress from my dream designer at a sample sale. (Meant to be right?) The timing was incredibly challenging, yet Colleen found a way to work with me and didn’t skip any details. Her vision, creativity, and expertise really made a huge difference in the final result. It is rare to cross paths with someone with this type of focus on quality and attention to detail who also has the kindness and work ethic to always go above and beyond.

Aside from her pricing being reasonable for the level of work she does… between the dreamy space, perfectly decorated to make every bride swoon, the vintage couch where you get to spend some time around her cool and inspiring personality, and the sparkly accessories gleaming around you, you really soak in the wonder of being a bride. Colleen is pure magic and I am so lucky to have had her involved in one of the most important events of my life and to now keep some of that magic with me forever! I am seriously looking for an excuse to work...