Wedding Planning Decisions, This vs That with Kelly McWilliams

Behind the Scenes: Designing the Enchanting Collection of Evergreen Bridal with Danica Hazard

• Kelly A McWilliams • Season 6 • Episode 11

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Unveiling the intricate process behind wedding dress design, we're thrilled to bring you an in-depth conversation with the insightful Danica Hazard from Evergreen Bridal Collection. Together with her business partner, Kay, their dynamism has brought to life their debut line of 22 gorgeous bridal gowns, all in a span of just six months. Get an insider's peek into their collaborative journey - from sketching initial concepts, curating mood boards, selecting the finest fabrics, to fiercely negotiating modifications with their manufacturer to perfect each masterpiece.

We also delve into Danica's personal experiences in wedding planning, her dedication to simplifying this overwhelming process for brides, and her expert tips that may well save you a sleepless night or two. 

https://www.evergreenbridalstudio.com/
https://www.instagram.com/evergreenbridalstudio/

Special series season in partnership with Coded Agency

Places to go - People to see:

Kelly's Site: http://www.kellymcwilliams.com
Kelly's Blog: https://www.kellymcwilliams.com/blog
Instagram: @kellyamcwilliams


About Kelly:
Kelly knows how incredible a well planned wedding can be. Every moment counts and every decision plays a part. Wedding planning should be fun and as easy to do as possible. Besides planning weddings, Kelly travels the globe as an industry speaker. Kelly is a Martha Stewart Top Wedding Planner & this podcast won Brides magazine and WeddingWire's best podcast.

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Speaker 1:

Hello and welcome to this Versus that making wedding decisions with Kelly McWilliams. This podcast is for you if you're making a wedding decision and want to know what to consider before saying I do to all the things that will make your wedding experience a great one. I'm your host, kelly McWilliams, and I'm so glad to be a part of your wedding planning journey. In each episode you can count on me and my expert wedding co-hosts to give you everything it takes to make the best decisions for the wedding that you're dreaming of. Hey, we're back here in the Coated Agency podcast studio at Milan-Siblanck at New York Bridal Market Fashion Week and I'm in the middle of all these cool, cool interviews with all these fashion wedding gown wedding gown fashion designers. I feel like I've gotten those words all out of my tongue tied at this point. So this is Evergreen Bridal and we're talking with the designer, danica Hazard. She's spectacular and I can't say enough.

Speaker 1:

This is another one where I was just strolling through and drawn in. I said I need you on the podcast. I'm so glad that I did. I can't wait for you to go look at their stuff. They're newer on this scene and I love that they have this opportunity to sit with me and talk about their brand, their collection, and I just I really like them and I like their gowns, so I thought they need to be on the show. So here we go. Here's Danica from Evergreen Bridal Collection. Hi, danica, thank you for coming into the studio today. Thank you so much for having me, absolutely so. I was just walking through Everyone was still at Melange de Blanc and I was just. I had some time between a couple of like pre-scheduled episodes and I saw these two lovely ladies and then I saw the sparkle that was there hanging on the rack. I said I need to go in here.

Speaker 1:

So we've got talking and said, oh, I need you to come on the podcast. And she's like, well, my partner's, like you know, hoping you would just say like let's go now. And you did so. Tell me the story, or tell the audience the story about how you guys came to be, because I think this is really interesting.

Speaker 2:

Definitely so. My background was in swimwear design. I did that for like six or seven years and then eventually got into bridal alterations and meanwhile my business partner, kay she was had been working in bridal as a stylist at a few different stores. She was on the East Coast mostly. She moved to Washington, where my store was as well, and she opened a bridal shop. So we started working together as shop owner and alterations seem stress. And from there we decided to create a collection together. How?

Speaker 2:

long ago, was that? So we have been working together for about three years. Oh, so you knew that's amazing. And then our actual collection that we designed just launched in July. So brand spanking new brand spanking new.

Speaker 1:

Like most people haven't seen it Like.

Speaker 2:

This is the first time it's out there, the debut. This is like this is so exciting, I have goosebumps. That's amazing.

Speaker 1:

So how many dresses do you have in this first line?

Speaker 2:

So we have 22 dresses that we're bringing Twenty two. I think we've got about 13 here at the market to showcase our favorites.

Speaker 1:

But yeah, this first collection was really successful as far as like the designs landing and making sure that they were what we wanted and then do you and your partner collaborate in all the designs, or do you each, like, come up with your own dresses and then they all go to the collection?

Speaker 2:

So I do all the designing, we have our like, our roles and we work really. We really compliment each other on that. So, I have all the designs, but she has been working with brides for so long that she really knows what they like, so I bring her something. I go oh my gosh, what about this? And she goes. You know what they would love this, but at a slit.

Speaker 1:

And you're right, it needs a slit.

Speaker 2:

So we're kind of collaborating that way in, like she's bringing a perspective from the brides, I'm bringing like the technical, the design, the sewing, the fabric, that kind of thing.

Speaker 1:

That's so exciting to me. You're the only things that I really know about fashion come from watching Project Oneway. Oh yeah, that's why I go back to 5th. I mean. I mean it is really fun and you get to see these creations. How close would you say that it is in real life to how they design?

Speaker 2:

their. So I'm definitely not making a dress in two days, for sure, right.

Speaker 1:

Well, let me ask you then how long does it take?

Speaker 2:

So, being a seamstress, I have made a few custom designs. I mean, we go through this process that takes like six months because the bride's coming in for fittings. I'm sewing something, she comes in for another fitting, we change her mind, we add new fabric, this. That, as far as the sewing, I mean it really depends on how you know what the design is.

Speaker 1:

But not two days. And even I'm like I can't. I don't know that I could sew like a napkin together in two days, but like so the dresses that you have out there, from like the instant the idea pops into your head until it's hanging on a wrap, like the first one. How long?

Speaker 2:

is that process. So we started designing this collection in January.

Speaker 1:

Oh, so quite a while.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah. So I get together all the ideas, I'm making mood boards, I'm doing sketches, I'm asking our manufacturer for swatches, I'm picking which fabrics go together, and then I'm submitting my designs. Our manufacturer's coming back and saying hey, this one doesn't work, or what about this with this one? Or which zipper do you want? And so it's a lot of back and forth, ok, and then I think these designs actually got shipped in June, and that was the first time we got to see them.

Speaker 1:

So I was like this is going from paper to real life.

Speaker 2:

That's so exciting we got to try them on. We got to put them on brides, take pictures and then from there it's OK. I don't like the hem on this one. Or let's add more buttons, so there's more back and forth after that, and then finally, a few months later, we landed at market and the dresses are what they're going to be.

Speaker 1:

Was it. Is it different for you now that because you said when you were making the bathing suits you were doing that, yeah, and now you send it out to be done? So is it like you're sitting there, are you so nervous, or they're going to come back like what you think and expect? Or is it the kind of thing where you kind of put one together in the shop and then you send it out.

Speaker 2:

It's a little bit of both. Luckily, we have a manufacturer that we really love. He does amazing work, so I trust that they're going to have high quality dresses. But yeah, I'm not there sewing myself, so I can't control every little part. So, sometimes I'll have fabric draped on my mannequin. I'll send her pictures and say we need it to be here. We want it to hit on the shoulder this way or whatever it might be.

Speaker 1:

So there's even a collaboration there outside of the two of you at the shop.

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah, oh OK.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I didn't know that Things we learned. So tell me a little bit about the dresses that you have in there, because I saw lace, is it?

Speaker 2:

lace, yeah.

Speaker 1:

And then there was a lot of really sparkly ones that totally caught my eye.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

So tell me about some of the dresses that you're in there, like some of your favorites, some of the kind of fits that you have in your line.

Speaker 2:

We have a lot of dresses in this collection that are kind of that corset top.

Speaker 1:

It's really popular this year.

Speaker 2:

Exposed boning. It's kind of like lingerie-esque. Our bride really wants that moment, though, like that sparkle when you saw the Celeste gown, she's a moment.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, she's all glittery. Well, I'll be honest with you, even in DC I thought I was going to be dressed up, even though they all felt like they fit together. They all felt very individual to me, which I think is probably why I was drawn in there to your little. What do they call these little shops? Yeah, little booth, yeah, little booth, but I mean there is. It seemed like you guys kind of hit the mark in. If you're some looking for someone who wants a little more romantic, that one with this Detached sleeve would you call that I can do okay little puffs sleeve, did you, yeah?

Speaker 1:

and then they're super sparkly one and with the course atop of love, that one. What else was in there that I didn't see?

Speaker 2:

we have a couple designs that are like crepes, so they're simple plain ivory gown. But even that it's like okay, let's add a little something. Yeah, has lace in the slit.

Speaker 1:

another one has meeting all over the back.

Speaker 2:

But from the front it's like you get that sleek, clean look. Yeah so, even though it's like we want them to be classic.

Speaker 1:

Yeah timeless, but like let's add something fun, and that was another thing that I noticed like nothing in there to me Look too trendy.

Speaker 1:

Do you mean like it looked, like it fit in right now, but it also and I've been in the wedding industry for over 20 years, so you know I feel like I have a seasoned eye and I can look at something, say this is not gonna work in two years, but everything there felt like really good. You know, they were really truly beautiful. So I mean kudos to you. If you, I'm gonna ask you a couple questions, like if you had to do this versus that, would you rather do Sequence versus lace, which we do?

Speaker 2:

Personally yeah sequence yeah, I think our brides really love lace. I love a little party moment, so I love the sequence. We have one dress that has Star-shaped sequence on the back, which is just like my absolute favorite.

Speaker 1:

Oh, and I wonder like how does that? Something like that take longer to to make? Is that?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so some of the sequins are part of the fabric.

Speaker 1:

So they're integrated. Okay, it gets sewn in like that.

Speaker 2:

Other ones, like the star sequence, are hand sewn on, so each oh, wow sequin and bead is sewn onto the mesh.

Speaker 1:

What do you think? Where do you think that will see the trends going with? What brides are purchasing with off of these lines? Do you think that they'll go more with the sleeves or the more sweetheart shapes, or do you have a feeling on that? I?

Speaker 2:

kind of think that brides are headed towards like they want options right so we have quite a few styles that have detachable sleeves. They have little clear snaps, so you can put the sleeves on with some snaps, take them off while you're dancing, change to a different pair of sleeves.

Speaker 1:

That's so cool Kind of versatile.

Speaker 2:

You can get a couple different looks out of your one dress, because you only get one day for your wedding. You want to have a little variety.

Speaker 1:

Exactly. Well, I love that about your line. Just like you said and I think I brought this point up earlier was that I felt like there was a little bit of everything in there, so saying that there's options available is awesome. Well, I am just so appreciative that you came in today, of course, and I'm excited for everyone to go and get to see your line. We would be the easiest way for them to go now that they know your personality. They're like oh, we like her. Oh, options, where do we find them? So what's the easiest place for our brides to find you?

Speaker 2:

So you can find us on Instagram at Evergreen Bridal Collection on one word, and our website is the same evergreenbridalcollectioncom.

Speaker 1:

Great. Well, thank you so much for coming in today, and I can't wait for everyone to hear about this.

Speaker 2:

Yes, thank you for stopping by my booth, and bringing me in here. Absolutely.

Speaker 1:

I'm so glad to be able to share my wedding experiences and expertise with you, and that my co-hosts are so giving it theirs. We truly do want you to have the best time at your wedding, and our hope is that this podcast is helping you to make your engagement time while planning your wedding that much easier. May I ask a favor of you? If this is the case, would you just take a moment to leave a review of this podcast on your listening platform? It helps people just like you to find the podcast and to also find out their answers so they can make decisions. I would also absolutely love for you to give this Versus that podcast a shout out on your social media. You can find us at this Versus that wedding podcast on Instagram, and if you would like me to help you with a specific question, a wedding decision, please by all means ask. Send me a DM. I would love to hear from you and maybe, just maybe even have you as a wedding cast on a future episode. How fun, and here's to another great wedding.