The Wedding Dress
On November 9, 2021 my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary and on November 13th we had a vow renewal ceremony which would consist of me, him and our son as the best man. It was several months in the making and what felt like a billion years of planning. The most difficult part of the planning was my dress. I originally thought I would wear the same dress I wore 25 years ago. I was going to dye it black and alter it to be a hi lo dress with a train. Then I started looking at different patterns for dresses. I decided on my very own self drafted pattern - the swing dress.
I altered this original design by adding ruffles to the bottom and making it a hi lo. I made a mock of this dress in cotton. For the wedding dress, I used a paisley brocade from Zelouf Fabrics for the bodice. I also used this fabric to make the neck ties for my husband and son. I used the wrong side of the fabric to make my son’s necktie so it would look a little different. I decided to add black bias binding to the neckline and shoulder seams of the dress. I think this was a wise choice as it gave the dress a more elevated look. I used a diamond button on the back of the dress. It’s all in the details. I was going to add a flutter cold shoulder sleeve but decided to leave it off. I didn’t want to add to many conflicting ideas. I made a rose corsage out of the brocade fabric for my son’s girlfriend to wear.
The rest of the dress was made from a black sparkle organza fabric from Hobby Lobby. I added 3 layers of ruffles to the bottom of the dress (using black and white organza). Then, I added crinoline (sometimes called horsehair - placed at the hem and used to stiffen fabric) to the hem of the organza ruffles to make them stand out. I added pockets to this dress. Since organza is basically see through, I had to add a lining which was made with a cling free black polyester lining from Hobby Lobby.
Surprisingly, this was a fairly easy make and maybe that is because it was my own pattern. This dress was comfortable and I loved how it moved. I was very proud of the results.
