Kpoene Kofi-Bruce is a brilliant designer and I am so glad to have worked with her on four amazing wedding shoots. As owner of Mignonette Bridal, she has taken her ten years of crafting awesomeness and established her dream to make custom bridal gowns. Kpoene has worked in many creative spaces, been in too many fashion shows to count, and has been recognized for her work in museums, galleries, newspapers, and television.

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Kpoene got into weddings by chance after being asked to design a dress for a bride out of New York. She found it intensely rewarding to get to know the bride and work with her to create the dress of her dreams. Because Kpoene works so closely to custom design a dress for her clients, they have more input on the style of the dress. Most of her brides do not want the “princess” experience but want to look gorgeous on their wedding day. She works with a lot of plus-sized brides, lesbian couples, and women who are not looking for the typical wedding experience.

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Mignonette Bridal is also very sustainable. Kpoene likes to use environmentally friendly fabrics and she loves working with Tencel (fabrics made from wood pulp cellulose) and bamboo. She explained to me that fabric is actually difficult to source, so she has found ways to reuse fabric from estate sales and pieces that otherwise would have been on their way to a landfill.

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If you haven’t aready been by her shop in Lakeview, definitely check it out. Kpoene opened shop last year and offers everything from jewelry to menswear- and of course, lovely dresses! This talented lady is a one-stop resource for indie couples looking for something unique for their wedding.