Bride-to-be Designed Her Own Wedding Gown in Old Hollywood Engagement Session

Bride-to-be Melissa Williams of Luxe Collection Bridal wore her own custom gown in an intimate at-home Old Hollywood engagement session.

The bride-to-be, Canadian wedding dress designer Melissa Williams of Luxe Collection Bridal, wore her own custom gown in an intimate at-home Old Hollywood engagement session.

Meeting 7 years ago through a mutual friend, Melissa and Jesse knew they shared a special connection. After dating for a year and a half, they both admitted, “We knew we couldn’t be without each other.”

Following a sweet surprise proposal on Christmas morning, they celebrated their engagement at a family home with an intimate backyard engagement session. The couple chose an Old Hollywood theme inspired by Jesse’s fascination with old mob classic movies, music, and Old Hollywood fashion.

The groom-to-be embodied the theme by wearing a sharp black Fendi suit over a white botton-down with gray slacks and classic gold jewelry.

As a wedding dress designer herself, Melissa took the theme as an opportunity to create her own custom gown! She used leftover materials in her studio to create a sustainable two-piece styled dress. The fun and flirty look featured a cowl neck with feather trim, lace peekaboo details, and a removable skirt (for dancing, of course!).

She accessorized her look with chic heels (custom-designed with bows inspired by Jimmy Choo), a pearl headpiece, and Chanel earrings. The finishing touch was Melissa’s custom-designed ring jacket paired with her Vera Wang Engagement ring.

Following the photo session with Re-Moment Studio, the pair celebrated their love with friends and family!

Couple: Melissa Williams & Jesse Totino
Occupations: Melissa is a wedding dress designer for her company, Luxe Collection Bridal, and Jesse is the owner of a landscaping and maintenance company, Totino’s Landscaping.
Wedding date: Summer 2025
Wedding location: TBD
Location of Engagement shoot: Richmond Hill, ON

How we met…

Through a mutual friend at the time (7 years ago).

Our first date…

We had dinner together.

When we knew we found “the one”…

We both realized after the first year and a half that we couldn’t be without each other.

Our proposal story…

Jesse surprised me on Christmas morning! He told me to close my eyes and made me think that he was surprising me with another Christmas gift, but when I took off the blindfold he was down on one knee.

My gown…

As a wedding dress designer (Owner and designer of Luxe Collection Bridal) I created my own custom creation, sustainably made from extra fabric in my studio.

I designed the dress as a two-piece style with a detachable skirt to be removed for dancing. The dress features a cowl neck, feather trim, and peekaboo lace details on the sides.

Inspired by Jimmy Choo, I also custom-designed the bows on my shoes. My other accessories consisted of pearls and a bespoke custom-designed ring jacket paired with my Vera Wang engagement ring.