Joe, a friend of mine, who has shown interest in my new hat-making venture from day one, e-mailed me one day out of the blue and asked if I’d make a hat for his fiance… as a surprise! They were going to a wedding at the end of September and he wanted to surprise her with a beautiful hat! No pressure so! It was hard to know how to go about it. I’d only met her once briefly and didn’t have a clue what her style was or what she’d like. At the very least Joe had sent me on photos of the dress she was planning to wear and some pictures of her in hats she’d previously worn. The dress (or so I could tell from the photo) was a baby pink, crepe, chiffon dress with a black sash around the waist. I decided to make a petit, black sinamay hat with a baby pink, chiffon underlay. I feel black at times can be quite harsh, so the touch of pink intended to soften it and bring out the colours in the dress. I thought it should be classic and restrained, but also elegant and, as always, feminine. I kept it simple, making a series of overlapping curves, suspended over the pink base and finished with a large, black satin rose and two baby pink reeds looped around the outside. I was really happy with the end result, but would she like it? Thankfully, I was able to present it to her, so I could see for myself. I watched her face as she opened the box, and then the tissue paper. What would she say? How would she react? When she was finally able to see it, her eyes lit up and I could tell she was really pleased with it! There were ooohs and ahhs and compliments were flying. She was delighted and I was relieved! A few days after the wedding I got a text message from her just to tell me how much she loved it, and that her mum did too! So much so, that come their own wedding in the new year, I may be called upon again! So, watch this space!