Wedding Planning Decisions, This vs That with Kelly McWilliams
An award winning wedding planning podcast hosted by expert planner-designer Kelly McWilliams. In each episode Kelly and her wedding professional co-host will help engaged couples navigate planning by weighing the pros and cons, "This vs That", of each decision they'll need to make from engagement to honeymoon and everything in between. Kelly is a 21 year veteran of the wedding industry and is a Martha Stewart Weddings Best in Class: The Top Wedding Planners and Event Designers. This vs That has been recognized as a top podcast by BRIDES.com and WeddingWire.com!
Wedding Planning Decisions, This vs That with Kelly McWilliams
The Magic of Personalized Bridal Gowns: Weilu Fresolone's Vision
This bridal fashion designer has spun magic with her 25-piece timeless line, blending in contemporary fashion, and we can't wait to share her inspiring journey with you!
In her lively chat with us, Weilu takes you back to her humble beginnings, sewing alongside her grandmother and her evolution into a renowned designer - from attending fashion school in China to working with the celebrated Monique Lhuillier in Canada. We walk you through her awe-inspiring studio, a wonderland where brides can add personal touches to their dresses. Moreover, we explore the perennial allure of detachable sleeve trend and how it ties in with the timeless elegance of bridal fashion
Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weilufresolone_atelier/
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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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. Welcome back to the wedding designer.
Speaker 1:Bright old ground designer mini series here at Melanche de Blanc. I'm in the coded agency podcast studio. Lots of noise, because there are hundreds of people walking around, as I've explained on every single episode, and I'm sure you're tired of hearing it, but I'm going to keep saying it in case you started with this one. So I will say also that, yes, we're in New York City and it is October and it is the most beautiful weather outside, but I'm excited to be inside in all of this commotion. It's so cool.
Speaker 1:So when I first got here, I took the time to walk through all of these. I guess you I don't even know what to call these. It's like these little mini showrooms that each designer has within Melanche de Blanc and within each of the showrooms, the designers there and a couple of people that they work with, and they have all of dresses there and mirrors and models and they do little runway shows or they present to the buyers. And as I was walking through just to kind of get a grip on what was going on in here, there was this one where I was just so drawn in like from where I was. Oh, you know how you describe it, you know how your IKEA, and you're like there's the path and it has the arrows in it, and then there's like all the rooms off to the side, like this is what you get in 500 square feet, kind of imagine like that and each one of the rooms quote unquote it has a designer and her gowns or his gowns in there.
Speaker 1:So as I'm walking through, I am drawn to this designer, wei Lu Fresalone, and I see that in the wall and I go in and I'm just looking at the dresses and I'm like wow, and I turn around and then there's just beautiful woman sitting there and I said are you Wei Lu, by chance? And she was like yes, I need you on the podcast right now. The look on her face was like complete fear in like two seconds and then her friends stopped by and her husband and they're like do it. So she was incredibly nervous, but I think once we got talking it all went away. We got along so well and I went back again later to look at all of her dresses again and I was just dumbfounded by how this one that had literally zero seams I still cannot understand how she did this, but there is no seams on this dress. It's unbelievable. So make sure you look it up and gosh now. I wish I could remember what the name of it was.
Speaker 1:I think I'm sure it's like on her Instagram where they explain this. If not, we're just gonna have to call her about it, but it's so cool. So here is Wei Lu, fresh Lone and Wei Lu, if I have said your name wrong. If it's Wei Lu, I think it's Wei Lu though. Oh, my goodness, okay, here we go. Hi Waylue, thanks for coming into the podcast studio today. Thank you for having me. And you said you've never been on a podcast, right?
Speaker 2:No, this is my first time. Yeah, I hope it's not your last.
Speaker 1:Don't be nervous. Don't be nervous because we're going to talk just like. I was over there in your little booth looking at your pretty dresses and we were talking just fine. Then I said, do you want to be on a podcast? And you were like Like mm.
Speaker 2:Mm. Do I?
Speaker 1:So we're still here in the Coated PR lounge inside Melange de Blanc. Is this your first time showing at Melange de Blanc?
Speaker 2:It's my first officially showing with Melange.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, great. So what do you think so far?
Speaker 2:I've been loving it. I always heard of them and they've been doing a great job. I see different designers popping up like, like with them and see them getting like a lot of attention and getting into stores and that's what you want to do?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what.
Speaker 2:I want to do so. I'm here.
Speaker 1:Well, I want everyone to see your dresses too, because I mean, I was. You saw me like drawn in. I was like, oh, what is over there on that rack? And you had so many beautiful dresses. So tell me first about you and how you started your brand. Like, where brought you into bridal fashion?
Speaker 2:So I was like growing up. I always sew with my grandma. I grew up with my grandparents and my grandma taught me how to sew.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I was always into fashion and in college I went to fashion design and after graduate from, like a certain university. That's where I'm coming from.
Speaker 1:I'm from China, so I moved from China to here, like Wait, did you go to fashion design school in China? Yes, okay.
Speaker 2:Yes, I did. I went to there and I finished with my bachelor's. I met my husband while I was still in college. I moved back to New York together because he's from line, and then I was starting looking for like a job in fashion and I was lucky to get into a like a custom until I ate oh. To do like a hand sign work. So that's where, like that's where I really shop in my skills in custom, like dressmaking.
Speaker 1:So you were actually making dresses?
Speaker 2:Yes, I was I was making dresses Because I went to school for fashion. So I always have the theory and knowledge about like patterns and I just didn't have the ability to be on an industrial machine.
Speaker 1:Oh.
Speaker 2:To create the fit. But in that shop I really nerd like everything. And then I got into Monique Lune oh, canada.
Speaker 1:We all know her name yeah.
Speaker 2:So I worked for her as a tailor for about four years Wow yeah. And during COVID I was like I was furlough, so I got tons of time on my hands and I'm like I always wanted to buy brands, so let's just do that. That's where I have the time, so I start producing samples in my little apartment.
Speaker 1:So oh my gosh. So you have the. You have like the Epic store. I didn't know pulling you in here I was going to get this story. That's amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm very grateful for what I have been through and all the talent I have worked with my director at Monique Lune. She is so talented and I learned so much from her and that's how I am able to like, like, construct the dress and create the perfect fit. She taught me so much. I'm so grateful.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's so awesome. That's really really awesome. Okay, so let's talk about wedding dresses.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that's what everyone's talking about.
Speaker 1:Okay, so how many dresses do you have in your current line?
Speaker 2:So right now I kind of lost track of the dresses.
Speaker 1:Oh, does that help me.
Speaker 2:But right now I'm showing about like 25 dresses. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you have lots to choose from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot, yeah. So my first collection. I only did eight pieces, but I started adding more pieces into the collection and I want my collection to be timeless and elegant so they never go out of style. So even the ones from like two years ago I first made, they're still my bride's favorites.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:So I'm still showing this, even yes.
Speaker 1:Because they haven't gone out. Yeah, so I will say that as I was looking through your dresses, all of them like felt very unique, like they felt like they all fit together, but they all felt very unique. But there wasn't one where I was like this is not going to make it for a long time.
Speaker 2:You know what?
Speaker 1:I mean Because you know, it does happen where there's some dresses that are meant for like one time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah yeah Like, yeah Like 18 months and never needs that.
Speaker 1:But yeah, we evolved in there. But the thing that remember when we were over there and we were talking and I started asking you about was you have the one dress that has the detachable sleeve?
Speaker 2:Right.
Speaker 1:And I asked you I said, do you think that that came from? Like you know, way back in the day there were, you know, people wore gloves with their dresses, or were them always Right, and then that went by the wayside. And then we had, like back when I got married, sleeves, which was 25 years ago, long time. Sleeves were a big deal then, and then after that it was about like sweetheart.
Speaker 2:Right, Right, you know, do you have? Did you have some in there? I have some yeah, we always see fashion as always a circle Like 10 years, 20 years, something like very popular in the past will come back again and in a few years people will get over it and it won't start on your frame, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but that I mean maybe that's the good thing about bridal is that it all does come back. So we did like so often it's it does come back. It's easier to say that it's timeless because they do return eventually, but I will say I feel like the detached sleeves. I know I'm going back to this again, but I don't think we've ever seen it before, like that's very, very new Right.
Speaker 2:That has been in the industry for quite a few years.
Speaker 1:Oh, really, yeah, oh, I'm just out of the loop, that's okay, yeah, because I'm like so into this, like.
Speaker 2:I'm in this industry. So yeah, right now it's probably been around for four, five years. Oh, okay, oh not that long though.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I'm thinking like, like I said, I've been at this for like over 20 years, so I think a long time, I think 20 years, and then you know, I got married 25 years ago.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So that's newer, but I think it's gonna hang out for a long time, just because there's so many things Like you didn't have options, you know, yes, yes, exactly so of your line that you have now. So has anyone seen any of those yet? Or is that brand new? Like here today, like surprise?
Speaker 2:you use all the dresses. Like what I said, I had a few pieces from like two years ago.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:The first start producing samples and they are still like a very like a more. I still loving them, so I'm showing that, but I also have a few pieces that are brand new. Okay, and I just added to this collection and we just started like we had a shoot like two weeks ago and they are just starting to show like okay, on our social media on our website.
Speaker 1:I hate to ask you this, but do you have a favorite?
Speaker 2:Oh my God, it's hard. It's like they're all my babies. Can you pick your favorite child? I know?
Speaker 1:And people ask me like that all the time as a living player. Which was your favorite design? Listen, I like all of them. I made them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So there's an aesthetic, there's a style for third and bride. This style is perfect for them and it looks gorgeous on them, it's pretty and you loved it so much. And then for another bride, that's definitely not an option at all, and yeah, it's just so different?
Speaker 1:Do you have like a shop where they come in and they see them all I do.
Speaker 2:I have my Hattie-Lay in Greenwich, connecticut, in Greenwich.
Speaker 1:Oh, so you're not too far from here.
Speaker 2:No, not too, far. I live in Westchester and I drive 25 minutes to Greenwich every day.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's not bad at all To make my bride, so do they get to meet you in person? Yes, I work with a bride as well. Oh, that's really cool.
Speaker 2:And in my Hattie-Lay. Yes.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's awesome. I do fully custom dresses as well. Oh, you do.
Speaker 2:Yes, so from my collections they can take their inspirations and then we can like finalize all the details and maybe change something Like they are not filling 100% of themselves. Just add their unique touch to the dress and just create something custom.
Speaker 1:So do you ever have a bride walk in, or has this ever happened where someone walked in and instantly you were inspired by them?
Speaker 2:I do. I actually have one bride Like she's not a bride's mother of the bride and she's so the pleading. I have my pleated dress at the window and she loves the technique so much. And then she came in and she wanted something more coverage with more like a sleeve, because she want to look timeless and elegant, but she want to be.
Speaker 1:She's not like, comfortable showing her dress and everything she wanted, everything covered up. Yeah, so a little more conservative, exactly.
Speaker 2:And it's not like that for her. We had more like a I sketched out and yeah, and then she came in, for she actually lived in Colorado, so she fly in for fittings, oh gosh.
Speaker 1:Oh, she really loved you. Wait, did she come out specifically to meet with you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's so cool. Yeah, so yeah. And she she just had her daughter's wedding like a mass out of the area. Wait, I would get pictures from her, so you haven't seen it.
Speaker 1:You haven't seen it yet. No, no.
Speaker 2:But she just got married From the wedding yeah.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, you must be so excited waiting for those pictures.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm so excited and she had a pink color. So like I actually loved the style so much and I understand some brides are more conservative and they wanted to cover it, so I actually take her idea and create a white dress for my collection and a name her name.
Speaker 1:Did she know that yet? Yeah, she knows. That's so cool. She must be so excited about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, her name is Leslie, so she said make sure it's L-E-Y.
Speaker 1:L-E-S-L-E-Y instead of I-E. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay. Because this is my you need to suspect her. So now, when?
Speaker 1:yeah, so when everyone, you're listening and you want to go see what Leslie's dress looked like.
Speaker 2:You can go on the website. Well, actually is that not on the website yet, but we will work on it. We'll work on it. So when?
Speaker 1:something like that happens and someone comes in and they're you know, you're inspired by them, or they come to you to get something and you end up loving what you create. Does that sometimes turn into part of your, your collection, Like?
Speaker 2:it does Okay, because it's something. They bring fresh ideas. They bring fresh perspective. Like you hear it from your client side and I think that's very, very important to make the dresses that will represent my client. Yeah, Because sometimes we, when people, we have ideas. I always want to stay true to myself, but I also want to create something to make other women feel beautiful and themselves.
Speaker 1:Well, that's, and here's the thing. This is the one thing I don't like about podcast I love podcasting Is that you can't see her sitting here and, like I can see the passion in your face, like the second I start talking about things that really are lighting you up, like you just glow. So I love what I do. Oh, that's so exciting. So I'm excited for everyone to get to see your dresses. Can you tell everyone where to find you online? And I want you to spell it out, like everyone's going to go to Instagram, but spelled out, because I hate when you're on podcasts or you're listening to podcasts and they're like oh, I'm at Chevrolet.
Speaker 2:And my name is.
Speaker 1:Alizzo, your name is Alizzo. And then you're like where Okay, so if someone goes to Instagram to find you, what are they going to type in?
Speaker 2:Yes, so my Instagram handle is waylufesselonatida, which spelled out as W-E-I-L-U. That's my first name, waylu, and my last name is my married name, which is Italian. It's press alone and it's spelled as F-R-E-S-O-L-O-N-E.
Speaker 1:Okay, perfect. So I'm going to say it one more time it's waylufesselon W-E I-L-U-F-R-E-S-C-L-O-N-E.
Speaker 2:And the last name is F-R-E-S-O-L-O-N-E.
Speaker 1:Okay, perfect, and then your website is the same.
Speaker 2:And wwwwaylufesselonatidacom. Okay perfect.
Speaker 1:Thank you for coming in the show. I'm so excited and your dresses.
Speaker 2:Oh, absolutely, oh, my gosh.
Speaker 1:You're like a pro now.
Speaker 2:You're like, yeah, I've been on podcasts no, I can tell everybody about it.
Speaker 1:Well, that's the point. But yeah, your dresses really are beautiful. I do want to ask you, if you had to pick between, like, a mermaid style or an A line, which would you if you had to? A-line versus mermaid, I think personally.
Speaker 2:I'm definitely a more fit to flare type of girl.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, okay.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm like I'm small and I wanted to, like, have something. I'm pretty so I want to have something more like a fitter, so I can show my figure.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But you know everybody's different.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's totally valid, so I have all different silhouettes for everybody. And then if you had to choose lace versus beading?
Speaker 2:I think I'm definitely not a beading girl, I'm more like a lace, and then I get solid fabric with textures.
Speaker 1:You had a lot of textures of that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I'm very into like creating texture with solid fabric.
Speaker 1:That was something I noticed over there when we were looking.
Speaker 2:Expertise, like how you manipulate the fabric and the mermaid.
Speaker 1:And that was very striking about a couple of your dresses that I saw over there. There was one that was like very covered. I don't know if that was called pleading. It was kind of high up here Pleading, the one it was like, but it also had layers in it. Yeah, oh, so pretty. It's so much like a texture it has so much interesting details to the dress and also your dresses look like they would look like fun on the dance floor.
Speaker 2:We're gonna have fun getting it right yeah exactly.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much, Wayloo. I'm really glad you came in.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much Okay bye, bye.
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. Here's to another great wedding.