Brains, beauty and dressing up.

Terri Spaeth-Merrick is the brains behind two companies whose primary goal is making brides beautiful: Olivia Luca and Embellish. I had the privilege of first meeting her while working at a small ad agency as an intern. She may well be the most talented and skilled lady I know. And modest about it! The agency was tasked with branding one of Terri's brainchildren: Olivia Luca. When she came to the agency, Terri had a fabulous idea for a semi-custom 'design your own wedding dress' site. But she needed a name, a logo, and a robust website. So we got to work. By the end of the process she was armed with a custom name, logo and very interactive website. And seriously, it's the coolest thing ever. You can enter the 'design studio' and design your very own wedding gown. Or bridesmaid dress. Or mother-of-the-bride dress. Or I-need-something-to-wear-to-that-black-tie-event dress. No matter what the occasion, Olivia Luca can dress you for it.

Since the launch, Olivia Luca has had mention on TheKnot.com, Fast Company (twice!), Style Me Pretty and InStyle Weddings, to name a few. You can also find more information on the blog. There are many reasons for the attention, but one of them is the eco-friendly approach Terri's taken to bridal haute couture. She makes all the white out of everything green: organic cotton, organic linen, hemp, bamboo and soy knit (coming soon).

Long before OL was conceived, Embellish existed. Embellish is the fully-custom bridal design studio that Terri runs out of Portland, Oregon. The process she uses is so smart. You can read more about it on the Embellish website. She and I recently worked on re-branding Embellish. I love being a part of a creative process with her. It's like getting a little glimpse into how she works her fashion magic.

In September I got to wear an Embellish gown for an after-session photo shoot (read more on the Soulmates Photo blog). What fun! I'll testify to the fact that all the brains Terri has poured into her entrepreneur endeavors has bloomed into two great options for procuring the one thing that can elicit a skip in a groom's heartbeat and a star-like glow from the bride: the perfect wedding dress. Thank you, Terri.