MEET THE EXPERTS

The wedding party is at the hall. All the gowns and tuxedos have arrived safely. What could possibly go wrong? Let’s see. Zippers break, beading falls apart, veils rip, the flower girl catches her heel in her dress and tears it. The bride’s mother is so anxious that she makes the bride cry, and her makeup is ruined. The best man snags his shirt while trying to put on a cuff link. The groom’s mother objects to an iron stud in the bridesmaid’s ear, and no one can get it out. Enter Anne Fiser, right, Olivia Vaatete and Julia Fiser of A Stitch in Time. The mother-and-two-daughter team comes equipped with pressers, tulle, makeup, hair spray, static remover, hooks, double-sided tape and hot glue guns--absolutely anything a bride might need to make sure everyone looks perfect coming down that aisle. Eva Longoria had a lot of eyes on her when she married Tony Parker, and she relied on this trio to fantastic success. Stitch will stay with the bride until the reception, attending to every detail, sartorial and otherwise. “This is a very personal service, and you have to feel it from the heart,” Vaatete says. To underscore the message, one of the women always stitches a light blue bow inside the bride’s gown, over her heart. “They know that one day they can stitch that bow into their daughter’s wedding dress,” she says. And a new tradition is begun. www.asitbridal.com

--Laurie Winer