Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News
U.S. Army Capt. Riane Nelson smiles while being fitted by instructor Carol Franklin and student Hilary Caldwell, right, in her custom-designed wedding dress Wednesday at the International Academy of Design & Technology.
Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009 | 6:58 p.m.
Dress You Up In Love
The International Academy of Design and Technology in Las Vegas called upon its students to design a wedding gown for a special bride. The couple met while on tours of duty as a combat nurse and a combat medic in Iraq.
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Riane Nelson and Alastair Addie aren't famous. "We're not anyone important," Nelson insists.
But the couple has made a difference to hundreds of wounded soldiers they've cared for during the Iraq War.
A group of future fashion designers now wants to make a difference for the couple — she is a former Army combat nurse and he is an Army medic currently stationed in Iraq — as they prepare to get married Saturday in Green Valley. They are donating a custom-made dress for the occasion.
Nelson, a former captain, and Addie, a sergeant, fell in love two years ago during a tour in Iraq. This week, they returned to his home in Green Valley for their nuptials, a brief reprieve together after 11 months of separation. After their honeymoon in Germany, he will return to Iraq to complete five more months of duty.
“This is our way of honoring two people who have served our country,” said Julia Szkiba, a fashion design instructor at the academy.
The strapless cream wedding dress is made of eco-friendly silk and hemp (no silk worms were harmed in making the fabric), which Szkiba said makes it worth about $3,500. The “peace silk,” as it’s called, has a raw texture that seems to carry heavier than a typical silk.
"I wanted something flowy and unique," said Nelson, 26.
The silk is gathered on her left hip and is sealed with a cream flower. It flows into a two-foot train.
"I've never seen anything like it," Nelson said.
On Wednesday morning, the bride-to-be headed to the International Academy of Design & Technology to be fitted.
She raised her arms like a ballet dancer as the alteration pins went in and out of the dress. Her half-carat diamond ring sparkled on her left hand. Nelson's green eyes sparkled like the diamond.
Her friends and family, who were gathered in an office at the academy at 2495 Village View Drive for the fitting, gushed.
"When you walk it's just going to flow."
"Did you lose weight, Riane? Well, that's better than gaining it!"
"That color looks perfect against your skin."
Those are the things a bride wants to hear. She beamed and turned in front of the mirror as hands patted and pressed against her.
Things are coming together now, but Nelson and Addie's love story wasn't made to fit from the start.
The couple met through military friends in June 2006. From the start, the relationship was discouraged. Nelson was an officer and Addie is an enlisted man. Even though they weren't in the same chain of command, the relationship, which they kept secret for three months, raised some eyebrows.
They fell in love while deployed together at a hospital in Iraq.
When Nelson left the Army, there was no longer an issue with their rank, but they had to date over the phone. He'd call every day, just to say that he was OK, she said. Sometimes the calls were just five minutes, but it was enough. He proposed in December 2007.
"We had to learn how to communicate with the distance," Nelson said. "But we really understand each other because of my military background. I think that helps. When he says, 'There was a sandstorm in Kuwait' I have an idea of what that means."
Addie, 22, is stationed in Baumholder, Germany, with the 1-35th Armor Division. Nelson found a job as a nurse at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, a military hospital, so they could be close to each other.
After the honeymoon, Addie will return to Iraq for about five months. Then the couple will settle into their new home in Kusel, Germany, which is halfway between her work and his post. Nelson said she found them the perfect little house.
The wedding dress project started out as a contest for the fashion design students, Szkiba said.
After Nelson selected a design by senior Teresa Lastowski, the two met in September for the only design consultation. Wednesday was the first day Nelson had seen what her designer had been working on for the past three months. Lastowski is now in London on a fashion internship.
Fashion design student Hilary Caldwell is helping to complete the job. She has three days to complete a silk bolero jacket, which will have two red silk organza roses on the left lapel. Her eyes get big when she says it, but “it must get done.”
Fashion design instructor Carol Franklin is doing the alterations.
Becky Bosshart can be reached at 990-7748 or [email protected].
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