Craftsy Couture Dress - wedding outfits

My brother got married in June, I've been waiting (not so patiently) for some photos from the wedding, but as none seem to be forthcoming I thought I'd put this post together anyway. 

In February I decided to make my dress for the wedding, following Susan Khalje's couture dress course.  I thought it would be a good way to pick up new skills, and it far exceeded my expectations.  As a novice, I learned so much from the course. 

I had picked up a gorgeous medium weight silk-cotton blend last year, and I knew it would be perfect for the dress.  I underlined with silk organza, and lined with china silk (both ordered from Dharma trading).  The dress itself is nothing special, I used the pattern that came with the course, Vogue 8648, the sleeveless, slim skirt version. 


I think I did a pretty good job fitting the front, but the back was not as good.  I have lost some weight since the wedding, so I think it fit me better back then.

I used swarovski seed beads in pewter to accent the hand picked zipper.  The dress was fairly plain and I wanted a little extra oomph.
The dress took a _really_ long time to sew.  Most of the techniques were new to me, and I estimate that I spent 60-70 hours on the dress.  At the same time I was making vests and pants for the three ring-bearers / junior ushers.  Two of them live across the ocean from me so I had to mail trial versions (yes multiple versions) to get the fit right.  I got a great deal on a British super 100s lightweight wool suiting.  It was a dream to sew.  The vests were fully lined and had real welt pockets (my first time doing welt pockets), but for the pants I ran out of time, and did fake fly fronts for the two littlest boys. 
I left my son's outfit behind, so all I have is this iphone picture from my sister:

This was well into the wedding, he's working on a chocolate sucker.  I made his backpack as well - but not specifically for the wedding :)