Alexandra Fuentes–Campos

How We Met

My first encounter with Loyce was at my brother’s wedding. My sister-in-law was getting ready and while we were waiting for her, a sweet lady approached my sister to help her pin her dress. It was obvious this sweet lady had experience with tailoring/couture. At this time, I had no idea that she had designed my sister-in-law’s dress. When finally the bride came out of the dressing room and looked beautiful. Her dress was unique and visible that it was custom made to fit the bride’s style and personality. I had not yet been engaged but, said to myself “Self, keep this woman in mind when you get married.”

The Shopping Begins and Experience

A few months after my brother’s wedding I got engaged and begun shopping for a dress. I already had a concept in mind that had to be in line with my wedding theme. I wanted to keep some traditions from my Mexican ancestry with a movie feel. Therefore, our theme was a vintage Mexican movie from an era known as “Cine de Oro” (Golden Era). From the invitations, décor, music, food and of course my dress would reflect as being a unique fiesta.

In terms of my dress, I wanted a Spanish style design as well as incorporate some of my mother’s wedding dress. It was very important to utilize my mother’s dress as she had passed away when I was the age of 9. In addition to using her headpiece and bouquet I wanted to use part of the dress without having to destroy it completely. So I visited many boutiques and no one had what I was looking for until I made an appointment with Loyce. From the minute I described my theme and the sentimental value of my mother’s dress she envisioned my dress. We were both very engaged and excited to collaborate our design with her talent. What made it more special was that Loyce had me become part of every detail to create my dress. She was like a professor and explained the purpose of every detail. She understood the importance of staying within a budget, so she always presented options in terms of quality and price range. Although I did not sew the dress, I felt I had because Loyce included me in every detail from selecting the material to the bead work. In addition, Loyce became my mentor and friend. She always had lovely words of advice on wedding etiquette, the role of a wife, the purpose of marriage/wedding day but most importantly we were able to exchange biblical passages and meditate on the many blessings God has provided us. It was definitely a blessing from God to have had Loyce become part of one of the most important days of my life. Her contagious laugh and dedication to her work made every visit to her studio a memorable one. Even though, my mother was not part of this beautiful journey, Loyce never left my side until the moment my father gave me away. I truly felt special on my wedding day, I was not stressed out because I was confident that Loyce would keep her promise and make me look like Spanish royalty. Well, she certainly treated me like royalty till the end. She personally delivered my dress and on the wedding day assisted me with putting on the dress. Loyce made sure every detail was perfect; it was so perfect that I surprised my siblings and father when they recognized the accessories and a portion of my dress were from my mother’s wedding gown.

Thank you Loyce for everything, without your talent I wouldn’t have worn the dress of my dreams. You kept your promise; I looked like Spanish royalty and had a part of my mother on my wedding day.