Jupiter Magazine
Jensen Beach Resident Creates Local Wedding Focusing On Florida's Best Assets
by Amy Woods | Mar 2018
Planning a wedding can turn the most calm, cool and collected of brides into sleep deprived ones dithering about the details—and rightly so. The bonds of matrimony are not to be taken lightly, and neither is the ceremony leading up to them nor the reception that follows. One local bride-to-be doubled down while planning her wedding, making each of her 12 bridesmaids’ dresses as well as her own gown.
The Concept
Jensen Beach resident Kristen Alyce, founder of Vivre Canvas Couture, an inspired line of wearable original paintings, always dreamed of debuting a bridal collection.
“I wanted to do it in general, but when I got engaged, I realized it would be so perfect to do it for myself,” Alyce says.
Her collection, worn by her and her friends on the special day, includes gorgeous gray-and-green garbs and her one-shoulder stretchy silk gown wrapped by a tailored train of tropical leaves.
“[The collection] is based on South Florida paradise, basically all of the lush leaves and greenery that we’re surrounded by,” Alyce says.
Banana leaves and monstera leaves. Ferns and fronds. Palms and plumeria. All acrylically added to the fabric by Amanda Wilson, a North Carolina-based artist.
“We actually didn’t really use flowers at all,” Alyce says. “I think I literally spent $75 on some to put in the bouquet.”
The Handiwork
Each bridesmaid’s dress—from the designs to the cuts to the seaming and sewing and stitching and finally the painting—has more than 30 hours invested in it. Alyce crafted different styles including asymmetrical, halter, strapless and tank accented with peplum, pleats and princess lines. Addison’s dress had capped sleeves, and Christine’s had a pencil skirt.
“Also, each dress was made for each bridesmaid’s individual style and personality,” Alyce says. “I wanted them to wear a bridesmaid’s dress that made them look and feel their very best.”
She started sketching the dresses last summer—six months prior to the Dec. 30 nuptials—and because many of her bridesmaids were from out of town, she measured them via FaceTime.
“I worked on dresses until 2 o’clock in the morning many, many nights,” Alyce says. “My dress alone took over 100 hours of hard work.”
The I Dos
The 31-year-old exchanged vows with Roel Vanmuysen, a Belgium-born bicyclist who used to race professionally and now owns BelgiumBike in Stuart. They met at a bar on Clematis Street and became friends, then started dating.
“He’s not the most romantic guy in the world, but when he does things, it’s really sweet,” Alyce says. “And the way he proposed…”
It was during a surprise trip to Andabeløy, Norway, a tiny island on the southern tip of the country where Alyce’s great-great-grandfather built a house that still belongs to the family. The 35-year-old popped the question as they watched the sunrise.
“He makes me a better person every single day in every single way,” she says. “I could never have dreamed him up.”
Eight months later, they joined hands at The Mansion at Tuckahoe, a historic Martin County venue overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway, and said their I dos in front of 175 guests. Everyone retreated to a clear-top tent by Eventmakers for the reception and enjoyed music by New York Sounds DJ & Entertainment, signature cocktails by Code Rum and a buffet dinner by Bolay. The happy couple posed for pictures in front of a Rolls-Royce Wraith, compliments of Braman Motorcars. Katrina Resch, owner of FResch Perspective, coordinated it all.
“They really helped make my dream wedding happen,” Alyce says. “But at the end of the day, the best part of this wedding is Roel. I’m just ridiculously lucky.”
“At the end of the day, the best part of this wedding is roel. I’m just ridiculously lucky.”
Read the whole story: here
The Details:
Wedding Date: Dec. 30, 2017
Venue: The Mansion at Tuckahoe, Jensen Beach
Photographer: Cassi Claire, @cassiclaire
Design: Vivre Couture, @vivrecouture
Men’s shirts: Versattire @myversattire
Florals/Artist: Amanda Wilson, @amandawilsonart
Wedding Planner: FResch Perspective, @freschperspective
Rentals: Eventmakers, @eventmakersstuart
Caterer: Bolay, @eatbolay
Hair & Makeup: Beauty Boutique and Medi Spa, @bbsalonmedispa
Shoes: Jimmy Choo, @jimmychoo; Steve Madden, @stevemadden
Jewelry: Provident Jewelry, @providentjewelry
DJ & Uplighting: NY Sounds Events (Jason Salerno)
Cocktail Hour Musician: Summer Gill, @summergillmusic
Transportation: Rolls-Royce, @bramanmotorcars
Favors: Tracy Stern Tea & Co., @tracysternteaco
Bar Provisions: Code Rum, @coderum; Honey Bubbles Wine, @honey_bubbles_wine; Natalie’s Orange Juice, @nataliesoj