Letter from the Founder
March 2024
Hi everyone, Sarah here!
I'm still here, I'm still doing things. A LOT has happened over the last six months, and I wanted to share some updates with you all.
About a year ago, my fiancé Amadeus and I started the planning process for our wedding. After 14 years of testing the waters, we decided we'd vetted one another enough to take the next step. ;)
We looked at a handful of venues and ultimately chose the Julia Morgan Ballroom in San Francisco, a beautiful building that's full of history. After the 1906 earthquake, Julia Morgan, the first woman architect licensed in California, was tasked with redesigning he building. (In addition to what would eventually become our wedding venue, she also designed Mills College, The Greek Theater, The Fairmont in SF, and major aspects of Hearst Castle). We held our ceremony in the atrium at Julia Morgan Ballroom, which is full of light with marble and gold detailing everywhere you look. The ballroom has cool geometric wooden ceilings, with wood details throughout. After we booked it, I discovered that my grandfather actually had an office in the building in the 1950's; it just felt right.
Admittedly, I wanted to plan most of the wedding, right down to the vases holding flowers on each table. We hired Samson, my Deco Denim patternmaker (who's actually a master tailor who happens to be great at patternmaking), to do Amadeus' suit, and Samson and I both designed my dress. I wasn't interested in a traditional white dress- not just because we aren't a very traditional couple, but also because I wanted to incorporate denim (surprise, surprise). I came to Samson with a silhouette in mind along with some fabrics I wanted to use, and through numerous iterations we finally landed on a design.
Samson came up with some genius ideas for the dress, like having a removable train, attached by a zipper underneath the skirt of the dress. That way, I could have a dramatic look for the ceremony, but wouldn't run the risk of tripping for the rest of the night. Everything was sewn by hand, and Samson spent over 100 hours working on my dress alone, with another 80 hours for Amadeus' suit. He's an amazingly talented designer, tailor, and human, and I'm so happy he was able to help us create garments that are a reflection of us as a couple.
Flowers were also a big component for me, as I wanted to incorporate cotton as a focal point. Our florist connected us with a cotton farm in central California, and Amadeus and I drove down a few weeks before the wedding. They were so kind, and told us to fill our car with cotton plants. It was my first time visiting a cotton field; I've been wanting to visit one for many years. It was so beautiful, truly gorgeous. (Side note: Now all I have to do is visit a cotton gin and then I'll have seen every aspect of how denim is made!)
Denim was even a part of our wedding favors for guests. I had the zipper pouch (the same one we sell on our website) made from some deadstock Cone Mills denim, with a custom leather patch embossed with a cross section of the Golden Gate Bridge. Our friend Aldana made some delicious brown butter toffee to slip into the pouch. I know many couples mean well by gifting items to their wedding guests, but personally I've received a lot of things that either don't last long, or aren't items I really want to keep around forever. I also didn't want to give someone something with our names and wedding date on it- no one wants that. My hope is that people will use this pouch for years to come, because it's designed to last. Aside from the metal zipper teeth, it's made from all natural materials, so I won't feel bad if someone does toss it (although I don't think they'll want to).
There are so many aspects of a wedding and so many opportunities to infuse bits of who you are, both as individuals and as a couple. Amadeus didn't have many opinions about the wedding aside from the food and drinks that were served. (It's not that he didn't care, he's just easy). I had opinions, aalllllllll the opinions. And with opinions come expectations. I've heard many people talk about how after your wedding is over, what you got never lives up to the expectations in your mind. This was true for me- I was disappointed by some of the elements for many weeks afterwards. Thankfully I had so many people reach out to share how much fun they'd had, how good the food was, and how gorgeous they thought it was. And most of all, I had Amadeus telling me to get over it and let the negativity go. It took weeks, but I think I'm over it... mostly.
And here we are, married. Nothing has changed really, except how we're doing our taxes. Everything is the same, but I wasn't expecting anything to be different. It's weird calling Amadeus my husband. He was my boyfriend and partner for so long, so him being my husband hasn't quite sunk in yet. He does send me husband and wife memes now ("This is you", "Is this me?"), in addition to cat memes, so that's different.
Thanks for reading this update, so before I sign off I want to ask: Is there anything you'd like me to write about? Whether it's about Deco Denim, or life stuff, let me know! It can be hard for me to share things regularly, but I want to get better, and your input would go a long way in helping to propel me in the right direction. Admittedly, one of the hardest parts of this business is being accountable to myself. With practice, I know I'll get better. Until then, having some nudges from all of you will help motivate me, so nudge away!