Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/80908
Monica FRENG A Made-to-Order Mission It's the morning of Monica Freng's wedding, and to any other bride, the scene would be an absolute nightmare. Her dress isn't done. As she and her mom frantically add the final touches to the bus- tle—quickly stitching a button here, adding a loop there—Freng briefly wonders if she was crazy to make her own wedding dress. She concludes that yes, she probably was—but the end result was more than worth it. "I grew up in this hands-on, if-you-need-it-you-make-it kind she first ventured from bridal boutique to bridal boutique, hunting for that perfect gown. "I spent as much time eyeing seams and asking about fabrics as natural to sew her own. Freng dove in, laboring over what formed into her dream come true. "I just fell in love with making wedding gowns," she says. And that's how this crafty 26-year-old, armed with a degree in of environment," she says. Freng hadn't intended to create her own gown. Like many brides, I did trying on dresses," Freng says of her shopping adventures. So when she couldn't find her dream dress on the rack, it seemed theology from Michigan's Ave Maria College, became the owner and sole operator of Monirose, a custom wedding dress shop she runs from her home on the near east side. Age 16 Freng's love affair with fabric begins while she works part-time at a fabric store. Childhood Freng grows up watching her mom sew and assisting in various projects. 44 BRAVA Magazine September 2012 Age 18 Heads to college with her first sewing machine and starts working her way through garment patterns. "There was a lot of trial and error." Age 20 Develops a reputation for always finishing her dress at the very last second—a trait that will re-appear on her wedding day! Age 21 Gets engaged and begins dress shopping. Frustrated, she decides to make her own wedding gown. Total cost: $450 in fabric, $35 for a dress form she bought off Craigslist.