Twin Brides by Cat Mallard of Darkling Woods

(just a peek!)

My twin and I(being twins) were born a month and a bit early.  We ended up being born in October and it is our favourite month.  We love the weather, how it cools again, and the "Spooky Factor".  Not all the gorey stuff(however, we do love Edward Gorery!), but we love old Ghost Stories and have always made our own costumes(thanks to our mom always making ours from the start).  We would start thinking about what we wanted to be for Halloween months ahead of time and be so excited for our birthday party which would be held in our family's barn with all our friends.  Lots of bobbing for apples, mummy toilet paper wrap rolls, s'mores around the fire and hayrides on the old tractor and wagon-fun!

(I do a lot of Halloween Art too! The Invitation and Gift of a mixed media painting for my twin and her husband for their Halloween Wedding)

Below is Jer is being the Bride of Frankenstein with one very goofy Dr. Frankenstein(She is with her then boyfriend and now husband Doug.  This photo was taken over 15 years ago. You can just see my 2nd attempt at one of my dolls in the background and I have made over 100 easily by now) I think her costume is just divine!  She somehow got her hair to stand up like that, added some black colour to it and the white streaks, made a collar of ribbon with bolts glued on it and is carring a bouquet of some dying flowers.  Her dress is vintage one that has been so long in our family that it is decaying.  I love my brother in law because he is always ready to dress up too, be so silly that is scary and loves it. 

He now makes all the costumes for his family(he is the stay at home parent) and last year he made each of their two little boys Power Ranger Outfits, as well as one for himself and one for Jer(she has a super stressful job and yelled, 'Make it Work!' as she ran out of the door. Doug is a triathelete, has completed many Iron Mans, and coaches many other atheletes, but his secret wish is to be on Project Runway.  He also bakes fabulous pies(makes up his own recipes) and makes the best cosmos ever.  I always see him baking in his cycling clothes.  He is truly a Rennisance Man!

(Run Doug Run! You have pies to bake and sewing to do at home!)

They even planned a Halloween Masque Ball Wedding in an old 1900s Ballroom Complete with Gilt Mirrors and Chandeliers covered in cobwebs.  They had black and white striped candles everywhere, purple and orange twinkle lights, tons of black spiderweb fabric draped everywhere, and Cinderella pumkins(those short and  squat cool shaped ones covered in glitter as the centerpieces).  Jer wore a purple velvet Regency style coat over a blush pink regency dress that I designed and my mom and I made and Doug wore his family's plaid kilt.  Everyone dressed in costume(I dress up as a bridesmaid-ha!) and I made one million hand held masks(ok, so it only felt like that!)

(Wedding Day October 30 1999)

They also both make a wee bit sick as here they are 10 years later dressed in the same wedding clothes with their two little boys(love these boys!) at a fancy Medieval themed Event.  My nephews are very serious about trying to find the Holy Grail.  May the force be with them. Are they not the cutest kids ever?  Both boys asked to take dates to the event and Doug and Jer were thinking little girls but they picked lovely grown women who are in the background.  Watch out ladies!

Now we come to the really fabulous part! When I came across the art Cat Mallard of  Darkling Woods  and LOVED IT ALL-especially her Fairy Tale and spooky Halloween pieces.  I contacted her(she really couldn't be any sweeter or more humble about her amazing talent and work)to commission her to do a painting of twin Brides of Frankenstein for my twin Jer as a gift. 

(This is Jer's Bride.  Look how much her gown looks like Jer's Wedding outfit!  And, I never told Cat about it!   Cat is amazing!) 

One would be wearing purples which are Jer's favourite colours and one would be wearing turquoise and aqua which are my favourite colours.  What Cat sent me was beyond what I could ever imagine! 

(Jer's Bride!)

She made a 3D piece with amazing layers of paper-divine! 

The "chandeliers" are made of lace.  Our ballgowns float off the paper which is attached to hard backing.  Our gowns are embellished with all kinds of velvet pieces as well as vintage flowers and ribbon. 

(My bride. I really want this dress!  I mean hanging in my closet to wear to the next fancy event or to wear everyday!)
 The end result just made me scream out loud!  When I gave it to my sister she did the same thing.  And then she just cried and cried and said, "This is one of my most favourite things ever!".  I knew it would be!

Now, the big reveal!  I wish I could have taken a better photo because it is a thousand times more gorgeous than this.

Thank you dear Cat! You have made us slightly freaky twins who mumble in our own language still and can scare folks off with our "twin stare" feel very cool.  We shall walk around like these gorgeous Brides now and remember our Spooky Beauty!