The (Epic) Story of Kristi

Kristi contacted me months ago about the Heidi gown.  She lives in New Jersey so coming out would be a huge effort.  After a while she emailed me and said she was coming.  Her bridesmaid was game and they decided to make it a girl's weekend.  

Then it snowed and snowed and snowed back East.  

Her bridesmaid was stuck and couldn't make it to the airport... but Kristi could.  So she scrambled to switch the bridesmaid's flight to her future mother in law.  It didn't work, despite having the most helpful airport ticket counter woman trying everything she could.  In tears,  Kristi got on the plane and flew to Utah.  It really wasn't what she had envisioned.  That is a lot of effort for a gown, especially now that it became a solo trip.  

Kristi came for the first measure on Saturday morning.  She stayed and played legos with the boys while I made the pattern and sewed the muslin for the first fitting.  It was so pleasant to have this great woman hanging out and engaging with the boys.  It makes me tear up just writing this.  The boys knew it would be a good weekend.  They knew this bride is cool.  

Well, she is.

Here is a bit of background on Kristi....

  Kristi has wanted to teach children with disabilities for most of her life.  She teaches 10 sweet kids with the help of 5 wonderful aids.  The way she talks about her kids is amazing.  As a mother, I would be in heaven if she was my children's teacher.  Not only that, these kids are with her for their whole elementary education!  She will have all of her kids in her wedding including 4 that have moved on to middle school.  From the looks of things, Kristi is a major influence of greatness in the lives of these kids and their families.  I know I sound a bit over the top, but if you were to meet her, you would agree.  

(Note, the dress isn't finished in this pictures)

Because it is such a fast paced dress, the house is catastrophic by the time the dress looks like a dress.  It is okay, though, because the kids were so content.  Every time Kristi came for a fitting, the kids benefited by having good conversation and play time with her.  

Kristi told the boys that she has bears coming up to her house regularly.  It is quite crazy in our heads.  We live in the middle of no where and there has only been one bear sighting in 16 years.  She has bear and she lives close to NYC. On the last day of her stay, the boys went on a hike and brought their stuffed bear and moose.  They wanted to take pictures of them to show Kristi.  Slade is showing her a picture of a "moose" and "bear" they saw in the wild. 

While my brides are visiting, I love to suggest places for them to eat and visit while here.  They will go to my favorite places for dinner while I sew.  This time, I pushed the process along so I would have a few hours to get dinner with Kristi.  On the last night we went up to Sundance and while we had dinner I beaded.  I know that makes me the dorky dressmaker, but it was really nice to escape the house and have extra time to visit.  Oh, and I had the best steak sandwich ever!  

I feel so lucky that Kristi made the effort to come out despite the change in travel plans.  I am always so impressed by the people I get to work with during the dressmaking process.