Now an elegant accessories shop and studio, each of her unique vintage and contemporary pieces (custom-crafted with fine millinery techniques from 14K gold or sterling silver wire, top-grade freshwater pearls, and sparkling Swarovski crystals) has been inspired by generations of women, from Audrey Hepburn to Lady Gaga.

For an epic 2018 Saratoga Bride photo shoot, at the request of Denise Eliopulos, founder of Something Bleu Bridal, Marie created a handful of pieces with effortless elegance, inspired by Audrey’s enduring style, from movies including “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and “My Fair Lady.”

“The majority of brides who come to me don’t have a vision. They come to me for vision.”

A Flare for the Dramatic

In 1980, Marie Hunt began studying at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and after graduating with honors, she continued to teach herself the techniques of the great millinery masters.

Having designed for thousands of brides since, she is now the world’s leading expert in wax flowers, and has repurposed pieces from every decade since the 1940s. Prisilla Presley’s timeless 2-tier AB crystal and pearl crown (with short bouffant veil) is one of her favorite looks.

Each era comes with its own challenges, she said, but from the mid-to-late 1970s and on, the advent of glue, mass-produced, inferior-quality elements, and hairspray, makes these pieces among the most difficult to deconstruct and salvage. In the late 1990s and 2000s, over-the-top looks weighing as much as 3lbs, and cathedral length veils made with so much tulle the bride could barely see, were popular.

Fashion is cyclical, said Marie, and even before today’s vintage rage, the requests from brides asking her to reuse these heirloom pieces never stopped coming. For the award-winning Headpiece.com, these projects comprised approximately 70% of business until two years ago. That’s when a @headpiececom Instagram reel went viral, garnering 700,000+plays and 22K “likes.” Now nearly 95% of Marie’s clients are requesting vintage redesigns!

An Eye for Fashion

Whether creating a custom-length, hand-cut veil, or replicating a bride’s grandmother’s headpiece using a photo (and comparing it to the size of the iris in the grandmother’s eye) Marie’s focus is always on the bride.

“I want the whole picture and to know what the vibe of the wedding is. Each piece is designed based on that vibe,” she said.

When a fall bride getting married in a cemetery on October 30th wearing a black dress asked Marie to redesign a piece she’d made for a Paris haute couture fashion house - with black crystals and a spider in the center - Marie’s one-of-a-kind creation turned heads.  She’s even made her dog, “Chappie,” 8, a five-pound Morkie, a crown.

One item Marie said she’d ask her younger self to design differently, to stand the test of “fashion” time, is her 1982 wedding gown and the puffy hat she wore with it. Then, she’d give her a piece of advice… “God created you with certain gifts. Don’t ever doubt those gifts because they are going to blossom. Just wait until you see where you’re going to be 25 years from now!”