Why This Local Lingerie Designer Decided to Make Her Own Wedding Dress

Maddie Flanigan and Ryan Kulig’s Ridgeland Mansion wedding was a pandemic pivot. Photography by Love Me Do Photography

There’s something so bittersweet about incorporating late family members into your wedding details — whether it’s by creating a memory table or donning a unique something blue. For Madalynne Intimates’s founder Maddie Flanigan, whose Ridgeland Mansion wedding was filled with woodsy romantic touches, and designing her gown with fabric and buttons from her late mother’s dress ended up being the perfect way to honor her memory. Love Me Do Photography captured the final look here.

Ryan Kulig’s Bumble profile stood out to Maddie Flanigan not for the image, but for the words he used to describe himself: kind, gentlemanly and compassionate. “From our first date at Olde Bar, he’s been that and more,” says the Fort Lauderdale-born lingerie designer, who owns Madalynne Intimates in Brewerytown. 

After they’d been together for a year and a half, Ryan, a Hazleton-born insurance consultant for Aon, told Maddie — on her birthday, December 27th — that he wanted to propose sometime the following year, and that he hoped to do so with the diamond from her late mother’s engagement ring. (She passed away from breast cancer when Maddie was 18.)

The bride-to-be set an appointment with L. Priori Jewelry so the couple and designer could discuss the ring. Though Maddie knew what was coming, she says it was still a total shock when Ryan proposed six months later, after the duo had spent the day on a friend’s boat.

The couple always wanted to have a small wedding in a unique location that they could revisit in the future, so they settled on September 26, 2020, at Male’ana Gardens in Hawaii, with 20 guests. When they had to cancel that plan, they turned to a romantic local spot: Ridgeland Mansion on September 25, 2020, with 45 attendees.

After saying “I do,” Maddie and Ryan spent time alone. “Neither of us cried during the ceremony, but in this moment, we teared up,” says the bride. The dinner was held outdoors in the mansion’s adjacent courtyard garden; its lush foliage and leafy trees suited the moody-bohemian theme.

There were dreamy bouquets of roses, ranunculus, eucalyptus, and dried and spray-painted palms by Flowers by Nora (carried by the bride and her bridesmaids). The modern balloon installation added a note of whimsy and playfulness. And Whipped Bakeshop’s cake was decorated with deckled buttercream edges, with blush, beige and gold-leaf details.

In one of the most meaningful and sweetest aspects of the day, Maddie donned a gown she made herself, using buttons and fabric from her mother’s dress. “She looked absolutely beautiful in it, and I couldn’t have been more proud of and for her,” says Ryan.

While Maddie was initially hesitant to sew her own gown, she’s glad she went through with it. “This was the best way for my mom to be at my wedding without physically being there,” she says. “Even though she’s not here on this earth with me, she still lives on.”

THE DETAILS
Photographer: Love Me Do Photography | Venue: Ridgeland Mansion | Event Coordination, Design, Gown & Makeup: Maddie Flanigan | Florals: Flowers by Nora | Catering: Joshua’s Catering | Bridesmaids’ Attire: Vow’d Weddings | Hair: Francesca Brittingham of Crimson Hair Studio | Groom’s Attire: Indochino | Entertainment: The Other Wedding DJ | Cake: Whipped Bakeshop | Invitations: Paperless Post | Balloon Installation: Peonies Events | Floral Wall: Nicol Floral Design | Photo Booth: Proparazzi Photobooths | Engagement Ring: L. Priori Jewelry

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