Janay A Eco Bridal

Ultimately, my custom dress was unwearable and I had to buy something off the rack 3 days before my wedding. I will start with that for those that don’t want to settle in for the very long story. I will also say that I am generally a very laid back and reasonable person (really) — as I think any other vendor who worked with me on my wedding (or otherwise) could attest to (including the fact I, was, able to buy a dress off the rack I was happy in and fit me much better than my custom dress — huge thanks to J. Lynn Bridal in Lawrence for that!).
After shopping at traditional bridal shops and not falling in love with anything I thought I would check the custom route out. I had two family heirloom dresses that I could use and now I go back to the decision to use my these dresses in the first place — perhaps that was the mistake. But, I brought them to Janay with the statement,“I have these dresses IF you think they will work — if not, totally fine.” I am not a seamstress and trusted her opinion that they would work for the style I was going for.
The issues that prevented me from wearing the dress were all issues that became apparent during the, first, fitting. Namely — the arm pit not being properly fitted to my arm, excessive bunching and general ill fit around my mid-​section, the general short waisted look of the dress and it not fitting properly under my bust, and other very basic fit issues like the straps falling off my shoulder.
I was absolutely vocal about these issues, and at certain periods Janay was in agreement, perhaps I should have been a little more forceful — I don’t know… I voiced my concerns while trying to remain positive. Nonetheless, I decided to put my faith in the process and believe that after the 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th fitting they would all be resolved. When they still persisted during my final fitting, 4 days before my wedding, after some argument (where she defensively stated that the arm pit seam should, not, be in my arm pit or I couldn’t move my arm — quite the opposite) I resolved that I was just going to have to make the best of it and try to talk myself into feeling beautiful in it. It was the week of my wedding, multiple conversations about the issues with her had not fixed them in the past, that day she was defending the issues, and I just didn’t know what else to do. So, I smiled, said thank you, and took my dress that day (probably my biggest mistake).
Later that night, was when the reality really hit me. I was trying on different bra options — trying to make up for the fact the dress wasn’t properly placed under my bust when I said to my mom, «I’m not unrealistic… I don’t expect to look like Julia Roberts or something but I feel bad in this. It is ill fitting and — I feel frumpy. Putting it on puts me in a bad mood. I want to take it off — it’s making me upset.» Like, I felt prettier in the $ 12 sundress I had on that day. My mom and I discussed contacting Janay at this point but the saying «the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results» came to mind. These had been issues that had been discussed many times — and had never been resolved. Between that and her defensive stance earlier that day — I didn’t have faith that time would be any different. So, off to J. Lynn I went the next day.
It felt like Janay tried to fix the issues for awhile, maybe they improved some but it created other problems, maybe it was never right in the first place — but then at some point she just gave up and instead spent her efforts trying to convince me they in fact, weren’t, issues rather than properly addressing them. Moreover — the dress just looked, poorly, homemade to me. Not custom, couture, handmade… homemade. I’m sure her intentions were good, that she thought it would really work and then when it didn’t maybe she felt too far invested to back track, I don’t know. But it, didn’t, work.
I was able to use the belt I got from her and the veil. A hair clip she made me wouldn’t grasp my hair because of how she had sewn thread inside the clip — and after a few tries, just broke.
All in all, obviously this whole situation resulted in a lot of extra stress, two ruined heirloom dresses, and wasted money (I did contact Janay with all of this information and more before I wrote any reviews — she apologized and refunded my hair clip but still stood by the dress and did not refund me any money for the gown). I enjoyed getting to know Janay and was a fan of her work generally — just not the work she did for me. So, be aware if you go this route that this scenario is a possibility — and be VERY vocal about concerns you have and get out EARLY if they aren’t being resolved.

If you are shopping for a wedding dress, look no further. Seriously, don’t even go to a bridal gown shop. Have your dress custom made by Janay! The cost is virtually the same as purchasing a pre-​made dress, and the benefits are incredible. First, it feels amazing and is truly light and airy. Cotton is the way to go! It also doesn’t look like cotton, if that’s a concern of yours. Second, no one else has or will ever wear a dress like yours. You can incorporate your sense of style in it. Third, it will be the best decision you ever made about your wedding.
I live out of state and Skyped with Janay. I had some concepts of what I wanted but wasn’t totally sure. She took my ideas and transformed them into an ethereal creation. Within minutes she was sketching via Skype and showed me my dream dress. Weeks later, I received a more thorough sketch with fabric swatches. She sent me an extensive measurements list to get from a local seamstress. After I sent her the measurements, she created the dress. She was incredibly accomodating, as I would only be in Kansas City around Thanksgiving. During that four day time period, I had three fittings. She worked tirelessly within those days to do what takes most people months. It was incredible.
It also was a really special experience. I’ve been in other bridal shops while a friend tries a dress on, and typically you have to wait to use the mirror, you hear women talking about their wedding, and you feel like just another bride. At Janay’s, you are the only one there, and the shop has a vintage eclectic feel. You feel like you’re going to a ball!
So how was the dress? AMAZING. I’ve received compliments for weeks following my wedding. Everyone was astounded by it. I will definitely be using Janay again to transform my wedding dress into an everyday dress I can wear forever. Highly, HIGHLY recommend.

Let me just start with, I’m not much of a girly girl and have never had the best self esteem, so when you put that combo together, it can make wedding dress shopping feel more anxiety ridden than fun like it’s supposed to be.
I did the initial wedding dress shops where I tried on a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I do have to say, that in the over all grand scheme of things it did help me out doing that. I felt like that way, I got to start at these big places that had a little bit of every fit and at least gave me the chance to hone in on things that I liked and didn’t like. My fiancé, at the time, and I went to a wedding show at the Rivermarket event space. Janay was set up in the little loft area up the steps. I hadn’t even noticed, until he pointed it out to me and said I should go look. That’s where I met Janay for the very first time. She was so nice and welcoming and just sitting down and talking dresses with her, made me start to feel like a bride. Even at that first little consultation, I got to go home with a sketch of a dress idea. I went home and thought about it and talked to my mom some. I ended up asking my mom what she thought about the potential of me using some of her dress to make my dress, if I were to have it handmade. From there the ball kept rolling.
I continued to work with Janay, and when my mom got a chance to come into town, we got to take her dress to her. There was a moment on nervousness when she started to cut a piece off my mom’s dress, that my mom would have a panic attack! But alas, she didn’t! Janay was able to take apart my moms dress and put together a masterpiece that combined my style and my moms style into one beautiful gown.
For one day, I truly felt like a beautiful princess and the girly girl I was always meant to be! I honestly can’t thank Janay enough for giving both me and my mom such a meaningful dress for me to wear on my wedding day!

Janay A made an absolutely incredible, one-​of-​a-​kind dress for my wedding. Discouraged by the experience at the usual dress shops, I desperately reached out to Janay for help. She was so easy to work with throughout the process. She listened intently to my wishes for the dress and she offered up some fantastic ideas along the way. In the end, I cannot imagine having had any other dress.
If you are looking for something elegant and unique, don’t hesitate to call Janay.

Janay sculpts in fabric! While she primarily does custom wedding dresses, she also redesigns vintage wedding dresses (i.e. your mom’s), and does limited alteration work.
I got beyond lucky in the alteration department. She took an off the rack, sample dress and made it and me look like an absolute dream! I have never felt as beautiful as I did in my recreated-​Janay-​styled wedding dress. Having seen what she can do with alterations, I wish I would have just had her make my dress, but alas, I didn’t know about those skills until after my dress was purchased. However, I don’t know how anything could have been more perfect for me. There really aren’t words to describe the magic Janay can work.
Everyone at the wedding was begging to know where my dress was from. But they didn’t realize it was Janay’s special touch that made the dress. My bridesmaids and close friends saw the before and after pictures. Now, they all want to get a custom dress from Janay on their big day. I only hope they get custom bridesmaid dresses as well, because I want another of her luscious and flattering creations!