Continuing our blog series with Bride Kristin and Groom Sven, we have the final part, part three! In this blog we will share more about the couple’s love story and how they navigated their wedding plans during the unpredictable moment of the pandemic.

Kristin and Sven had a long engagement and meanwhile were traveling the world together. After three years of being engaged they had some exciting wedding plans in the works for 2020. They decided to get married underwater by the President of Palau (Micronesia) in May 2020 and then to come home to a lively New York City 350-personal black tie wedding party on June 20, 2020, Of course, the pandemic completely wiped these exciting plans away. 

The couple ideally wanted to wait to re-plan the wedding celebrations until the pandemic was a thing of the past. But sentimentally, Bride Kristin, felt it was important to find a way to move forward with some type of celebrations. Wearing her grandmother’s wedding gown and honoring all the women who had worn it before while also inspiring future generations of brides was very important to her. As the pandemic continued to carry on, Kristin began dreaming up a “deconstructed wedding” where special parts of the wedding would all be celebrated individually. And then, their plan B for the wedding began to take form.

In the end, the couple opted to do a small elopement, traditional Tahitian “ring” ceremony, at a small island in southern French Polynesia called RURUTU (Australe Islands north of Antarctica) in October 2020. Then they came home to Maui, and Bride Kristin worked together with Jennifer to finish the restyling of her grandmother’s dress. She then began planning a bridal portrait celebration and a blessing which would take place on their island home of Maui. Kristin wanted to include some special women in her life, junior and senior bridesmaids. They held a lovely procession at the Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center under a rainbow and then were blessed with a rain shower as the officiant did a traditional Hawaiian blessing. They did a pikake lei ceremony which was common in Hawaii in the early half of the 1900s. They also shared their vows on their 81st month anniversary in the fast ice of the Weddell Sea near Snow Hill Island on the continent of Antarctica! 

In the end, the couple had a very beautiful and memorable wedding celebration. We were so happy to get to work together with Bride Kristin and we are very happy that they were able to find a way to make their celebrations special even amongst the chaos of the pandemic. Congratulations Kristin and Sven! We wish you endless love and happiness in your new life together!

 

Wedding Vendors:

Dressmaker/Restyling: Jennifer Oberg Atelier | www.jenniferoberg.com | @jenniferobergatelier

Jewelry: Vintage Yves Saint Laurent limited edition | www.ysl.com | @ysl

Shoes: FENDI | www.fendi.com | @fendi

Photographer: Sean Michael Hower | www.howerphoto.com | @seanmhower

Photographer: Madelynne Lorraine | www.madelynnelorraine.com | @madelynnelorraine

Venue: The Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center | www.huinoeau.com | @huinoeau 

Makeup: Jessica Waite | www.jessicawaite.com | @jessicawaite 

Hair: Catalina Drouillard | www.threesixteenhairhaven.com/catalina-drouillard-hair | @catalinadrouillardhair 

Floral Designers: Jeanne Givens | www.dellables.com | @dellablesfloraldesign 

Officiant of Blessing: Euta Lightsy | www.kahulightsy.com | @maui_officiant_lightsy

Continuing our blog series with Bride Kristin and Groom Sven, we have part two! In this blog we will share how this gorgeous 1940s heirloom wedding gown became strapless and all of the extra pieces added to complete the look.

Jennifer has always been passionate about heirloom pieces. When working on heirloom dresses she is careful to maintain the integrity of the gown. For this particular gown, there were a few tweaks made to the dress in order for it to be more comfortable for Bride Kristin and to give it the personalization it needed to fit her as if it were a custom wedding gown. 

The Bride decided on going for a strapless dress. Jennifer cleverly tucked the bodice inside, and retained the sleeves, so that the dress could be completely reconstructed if needed in the future. The dress had already been worn by several women in the family, and it was very likely it would continue to be worn by future family brides.  It was exciting for Jennifer to work on this gown, knowing its history over the past 80 years and knowing that it could be worn again 80 years in the future.  

The addition of a built-in corset and petticoat under the dress gave the gown shape and fullness. A silk charmeuse ruffle was added to the bottom to provide the length needed for the bride. These few tweaks completely transformed the gown on the bride while maintaining the elements that made this family heirloom piece uniquely one-of-a-kind. 

In addition to restyling the dress, a beautiful peacock feather train was created. Bride Kristin wanted to honor Queen Kapi’olani and the historical monarchy of the Hawaiian Kingdom. The train was inspired by a famous peacock feather gown worn by Queen Kapi’olani, commissioned for Queen Victoria’s Grand Jubilee in 1887. Lastly, a 1940’s antique veil and headpiece completed the look.

And below is the final look with Bride Kristin. Stay tuned for even more photos from the wedding day in the next blog!

In our final blog, we will share the exciting twists and turns the couple went through in the planning and changing of their wedding. Stay tuned for the final blog!

At the Atelier, we have enjoyed meeting the many brides courageously finding ways to make their weddings possible during the pandemic. One very memorable Bride and Groom we met was Kristin and Sven Lindblad. Their love story, their eloquent navigation of their wedding celebrations amongst the constant changes, and of course, the 1942 heirloom wedding dress worn by the bride, left a very large impact on us. This is a story we just had to share with our clients! As this is a longer story, we will share it in three parts.

Kristin and Sven are travelers, environmental conservationists, and passionate about philanthropic causes. Kristin Lindblad is a former PR and communications consultant.  She now focuses on managing philanthropic efforts and serving in an advisory capacity to NGO’s focused on cultural and environmental conservation. Sven Lindblad, is a second generation Swedish explorer and founder of Lindblad Expeditions. Sven’s father, Lars-Eric Lindblad, is known globally as one of the “fathers of eco-tourism”. Together, Kristin and Sven, have traveled all over the world. Naturally, their wedding plans were just as exciting as the life they live.

Kristin came to Jennifer in 2019 with her grandmother’s gorgeous heirloom ivory satin wedding gown from 1942. The dress had since been worn 4 times by other women in the family.  It was in amazing shape for being worn many times, and the satin was clean and intact.  It was a very special gown and Kristin wanted to find a way to wear it for her wedding but with some new additions to personalize the dress. Jennifer collaborated with Kristin to restyle this vintage gown into something truly special and unique. 

The first issue to be solved was that the wedding gown was too small for Kristin, both in the bodice and in the length.  Apparently the women in her family were extremely tiny!  So Jennifer started the process by taking fabric from the long train and adding panels in the sides to make the bodice larger.  

The next decision to be made was whether or not to keep the sleeves.  They were typical 1940s style long sleeves with covered buttons at the wrist.  Kristin and Jennifer went back and forth on this decision for a while, taking time to sleep on it, thinking about it.  In the end, they removed the sleeves, which resulted in a strap over the shoulder.  Then they discussed whether or not to remove the strap and make the dress strapless. 

Kristin was concerned about making too many changes to the dress, and consulted with her family.  They gave their blessing to whatever she wanted to do.  In the end, that was the final decision – to make the dress strapless.  What a change from a traditional 1940s style gown with long sleeves to a modern strapless wedding gown!  

Stay tuned for part two where we share how the gown became strapless and the extra items that were added to complete the look.