The tale of a DIY wedding dress!

  I can pin point the exact moment in my life when I decided to make my own wedding dress. It was one of those special days that stand out in your memory so vivid you can recall all the little details. Those are the moments in life that you tuck away in your heart.

Right on main street, in a little "old Florida" town, stood my  very own castle. A  Victorian home, built in the late 1800's and one of the original structures to the town. That old house holds some of the happiest memories of my life.

 My grandparents bought it early on in their marriage and raised their children (my father) in it and then their grandchildren.

Wearing my favorite nightgown of Grandma's

We spent many an afternoon rocking back and forth on the handmade rocking chairs that lined the wrap around porch. The house was built long before a/c existed and during the summers the house would be sweltering. My sister and I loved to sit out there with an ice cream sandwich , enjoying every last morsel of the cold, sticky treat before it melted away.  The heat was enough to force my sister and I  outside, into our secret fort under the walnut trees. We would spend hours in the tree talking.  If we ventured into the house we would plop down in front of the oscillating fan just waiting for a blast of air to cool your hot, damp skin.

The heat and humidity caused the layers of wall paper to peel away revealing the different decades. Some  corners of the house never saw the sun's rays, and floor length bookcases lined the walls. One room in particular was a mysterious place to lose yourself in. It was a huge room chalked full of treasures in precarious piles and all of it covered under a layer of dust. Floor length windows were revealed as you pushed away the heavy curtains. A pool of sunshine would illuminate beautiful old paintings tucked away into the corners, piles of antique furniture and boxes of trinkets.Exploring the dark corners of this house, perusing the endless rows of old books, and being surrounded by antique everything is how I acquired my love of vintage treasures. 

The tale of this special dress started one afternoon during an overnight visit at the grandparent's house. I loved to play dress up as a little girl and my Grandmother would always indulge my desires. Walking into her closet was like stepping into a little girls fantasy.  She had an array of clothing dating back decades. My favorite were always the dresses she wore as a young lady. Unfortunately, many of those early dresses didn't fit since she was the size of a toothpick but what a stunning woman she was. 

Whenever, I came to spend the night she always let me pick out one of her gowns to wear. I would pull open the bottom drawer of her dresser and see it spilling over with lace, silk, and chiffon. I had one gown in particular that was my favorite. I wore it almost every time I came over. It was a baby doll gown made of delicate French lace for the bodice and then pooled out into a generous layer of soft pink chiffon. I used to love to flounce down the grand staircase or dance over the old creaky floor boards with chiffon twirling around my legs.

Of course it was much too big to fit properly on my little girl body so after I had it picked out she would open the top drawer of her dresser and an amazing array of jewelry would spill out before your eyes. She always pinned the excess lace for me with a beautiful cloisonne broach.

  Time seemed to stop inside my Grandmother's room that afternoon. As the sunlight poured in through the windows we stood in front of her wardrobe admiring her beautiful collection of dresses as she told me the stories behind each one. It was then that she started to tell me the story of how she and Grandpa married.

Late night

Back in those days it wasn't unusual at all for women to be married off by the ripe old age of 18 but her mother was against such a young marriage. Not only was she too young in her mother's eyes but too good to be marrying a penniless Gypsy boy.If she truly wanted to get married she would have to do it on her own and make her own wedding dress.
And so without another thought my Grandmother set out to make her dream come true. She married my grandfather and they had a happy life together for over 50 years.
 After all those years, tucked safely away in a ceder hope chest is the wedding gown she made for herself. The hope chest sat at the end of her bed, holding a precious treasure. While she told me the story of their courtship she knelt down and opened the ceder chest. Inside was a pool of cream, silk. I didn't dare to touch it and ruin this beautiful dress. She pulled it out for me to look at and in her full length mirror I held it up and twirled around like Cinderella.
Even though I couldn't sew and I was only a child, I knew at that moment I would follow in her footsteps and make my own gown...

  The day finally arrived for me to carry on the tradition.

Now you might think after such a moment I would take up sewing and have been practicing all these years but the truth is I didn't even touch a sewing machine until just this past December.  It wasn't until my 25th birthday this past year that I gave sewing a try for the first time. I strictly thought I would use it for utility type needs but after my first project I knew I would love this hobby.  I started off with my little owls and then made my first skirt. From there I made my first dress and then decided I would sew my wedding dress.

It was an ambitious goal considering this was to be my second dress and only third piece of clothing I had ever sewn. To top it all off, I had six weeks to get it done in between making all the other decorations, working on our business, and taking care of Matt. For those of you that don't know, taking care of Matt is a full time job in itself... I love you honey ;)

Layer 1 the lining

layer 2 the silk

layer 3 the lace

Those six weeks flew by! One day I was picking out my fabric at Joanne's and cutting out the pattern. The next thing I know I am fiddling with the darn bustle a couple days before the ceremony and freaking out over the invisible zipper installation. Seriously, the invisible zipper almost did me in. I even had to recruit Matt to help me since his brain is hardwired for more technical instructions. Between the instructions, my sewing book, and a YouTube video, we managed to figure it out. Once I had that done sewing it in took only minutes. This is a prime example of what a good team Matt and I make:)


The entire process of creating this dress was worth those long nights and moments of frustration. Anyone who sews knows what I am talking about. It was thrilling to watch the pattern come to life after I completed each new layer. Once I attached the bodice I could see the dress in it's final stages. That beautiful lace and cream Dupioni silk I fell in love with on the bolt were just what I envisioned after I  fashioned it into a one of a kind gown. I felt like a total princess twirling around in my gown!

The finished product

 The crowning piece to this dress is a large flower in the middle of the belt. The material I used to make the flower is a piece from my grandmother's wedding dress. She was married to the love of her life until he passed away. In fact, both of my grandparents were happily married all of their lives. They always said, "If you can make it to your 25th wedding anniversary it's smooth sailing from there."  There is nothing more romantic than seeing your grandparents holding hands or sneaking a kiss... One day, Matt and I will be that old couple sneaking in a kiss or two...