A Bride and Her Mother

A couple of months ago a bride in another state got in touch with me about making two special bags for her wedding day.

She sent us a remnant of fabric left over from the fittings of her wedding gown. We made this ruched luxe clutch with the beautiful pearl-colored material. The button is her "something old," and we lined the purse in her "something blue."

She also sent this silver brocade fabric that she selected for her mother's bag. We paired the silver with a piece of the wedding dress material and topped with with a vintage button.

Bridal Collection in Chocolate and Vanilla

The bride's Olivia clutch, left. Bridesmaid Luxe Clutch, right.

The bride who designed these bags had a neutral-themed wedding in mind.

Three ribbons and one vintage button form textural layers.

So she used tones of vanilla and chocolate in luxurious textures to create a special collection.

Distinct button choices make each bridesmaid's bag look special.

The tone-on-tone palette puts the emphasis on the sparkle, shimmer, and shape of each element.

California Wedding Wristlets in Action

Back in March I told you about an upcoming wedding in sunny California and showed you these wristlets. Recently, my customer checked back in with me and posted this lovely picture of the couple and their attendants, each with a Laura Bee Designs wristlet.

I dig the green dresses in various shades, paired with cowboy boots. Don't they look like they're having the best time?

Thanks Danielle, for making LBD a small part of your wedding day!

Wedding Collection: Black and Red and Classic All Over

Wedding season extends through September in Seattle. Rich colors, especially reds, are perfect for the fall season and pair beautifully with the gorgeous dahlias in bloom right now.


Our customer on this collection was a thoughtful bride who wanted to capture each of her bridesmaid's personalities with her design choices.


I love the layered tuxedo look on this clutch. The red satin pleated ribbon perfectly sets off the off-white damask stripe.


The vintage silver-tone flower button makes the clutch one-of-a-kind, just like the girl carrying it.

Ruched Bridal Clutch

clutch_bridal, originally uploaded by Laura Bee Seattle.

While the average bride never wears her wedding dress again, she can carry their bridal bag years into the future, no matter how much waistlines and fashions change.

A special bridal bag can be used on dinner out each anniversary, and ultimately passed along as a 'something borrowed' to future generations.

Wedding season continues, and I've made many wedding collections thus far in 2011. Most focus on bridesmaid gifts, sometimes to the neglect of the bride herself. Even if a bride doesn't carry much in a purse on her special day, she'll need some tissues, lipstick, and her phone and/or camera.

The bride who designed the above bag chose a lovely soft blue lining as her 'something blue.'

June Wedding in Illinois

This ruched bag is for the bride who loves everything green.

The young bridesmaids will carry these clutches with their green dresses.

Celeste in Painterly Print

Mustard, gray, taupe, and teal scatter across this cotton print like Impressionist brushstrokes.

I topped off the bag with a creamy vintage button and aqua lining.

Celeste Clutch with vintage button embellishment - $61

Three Luxe Clutches in Vintage Navy Floral

Our Luxe clutch design has long been a popular bag for bridesmaids and many other customers. The simple rectangular shape can be made unique with endless fabric combinations.

Here is a short video where I explain how I used one vintage cotton print to make three different Luxe Clutches. This size is perfect for the essentials - phone, lipstick, keys and small wallet.

Ruched clutch withe vintage button embellishment. Learn more here.

Single fabric clutch with ribbon and vintage button embellishment.

Bisected clutch with silk accent and vintage button embellishment. Learn more here.

Wedding Party Celestes Featuring Orange Pleats

Our customer is a bride who loves orange (a girl after my own heart). She brought some bright orange dupioni silk with her when she came in to design clutches for her bridesmaids.

She came up with two totally different designs, one for each attendant. Both are pretty, fun, and unique, just like the women who will receive them as thank you gifts.

A Very Special Lola Clutch

Our customer came to use with this rose gold brooch tucked into a little box. She told us that is was a gift from her father to her mother years ago, and held great sentimental value.

She chose glossy merlot faux leather for the body of the bag and dusty brown ruffle ribbon as an embellishment. The simple design showcases the vintage piece perfectly.

San Diego Wedding: Avocado, Mandarin, Sunflower

Our customer is a former neighborhood regular who now lives in San Diego. She emailed to ask us to create a custom wristlet collection featuring her wedding colors.

She asked us to choose the avocado, mandarin and sunflower embellishments for her eleven wristlets.

I love the cheerful colors and think they will look amazing when carried at a Southern California wedding later this year.

Peacock-inspired Bronze Collection

The bride who designed these clutches was inspired by a natural color palette: a peacock feather.

Her attendants will wear rich navy blue dresses, and they will carry these bronze Luxe Clutches.

This design features faux sequins, pleated ribbon, and a vintage rhinestone button.

 

The ruching on this bag is topped by two vintage glass buttons with woven detail.

Green brocade accents the unifying bronze tone on this bisected clutch.

Tones of bronze and copper make this design a study in monochromatic texture.

Gold hardware and removable wrist straps complete this collection.

Wedding Collection: Accenting Summer Navy

Our customer is a bride who wanted to design a unique bag for each of her bridesmaids, who will be wearing navy blue at her upcoming summer nuptials.

For a bridesmaid with classic style, the bride chose glossy navy blue topped by a multicolored floral ribbon and simple red button.

She created a frothy confection for another attendant. The pink and taupe brocade is embellished by cream-colored braid layered over a lovely ruffled ribbon.

A vintage floral fabric in navy and rose inspired this design. Our customer found the print and large button to be the perfect look for a willowy bridesmaid.

The ten-year-old junior bridesmaid will feel like one of the big girls with a purse of her own. I wonder what treasures she'll carry in her new Bette bag.

Exploring Navy Blue: Monochromatic Olivia Clutch

Navy blue has been making a comeback the last few years. In the 1980s navy was the color of power suits and preppy sport coats. Now navy can be a fashion-forward alternative to black. Our navy microsuede is soft and luxe, making it perfect for the ruching on this Olivia clutch.

I topped off this bag with a sky blue and rhinestone button to add some sparkle. The lining of the purse is the same light blue. While we love patterned fabric on the Olivia clutch, this monochromatic look is a clean, versatile alternative.

Olivia clutch with vintage button embellishment, $63.

An Autumn Palette

A Pop of Pink

This combination is an example of the type of images I send to customers for custom orders from afar. We often put together JPGs of materials for wedding orders before sewing them up to get approval. These pink fabrics are destined to become a Sadie Wristlet or Luxe Clutch.

Bridal Clutch with Vintage Fabrics

Since wedding season is upon us, I thought I'd share a clutch that we made using fabric from the bride's grandmother's wedding gown. We paired the pretty fabric with ecru accents, and used the tiny buttons from the dress as embellishment.

A Bride's Purple Purse

Once she received her bridesmaids' bags, she decided to add a Luxe Clutch for herself.

We decided to go with a Something Old, Something New theme. The vintage button is both something old and something blue. We topped the bag off with a soft blue lining.

We also used the gorgeous purple trim from my stash of vintage finds. This is the same color as the attendant dresses in the bridal party.

Celeste - One of a Kind Quilted Fabric

With an interplay of textures and soft green colors, this Celeste is pretty and sweet. We only had a small piece of the quilted material and we used it up on this bag.

This bag is available in our shop - $61.

Purple Wedding in Virginia

Our bride chose a deep rich purple for her attendants' dresses. They plan to wear silver shoes and to carry these bags.

Each Luxe Clutch is slightly different to suit each woman. I combined the rich brocade with vintage purple and silver solids and various ribbons. The purple satin is an exact match for the dress color. I topped the bags with vintage crystal buttons, each one slightly different than the next.