Mom Being Remembered: A Wedding Gown Redesign

What is it about some projects that hold a special place in your professional life? Well, this beautiful project is one of them for me. Last Summer, I received a call from a young woman who was given my name by one of my previous clients to help her with a wedding gown redesign. The bride had some great ideas, which I totally welcomed, about what she wanted her gown to look like. 

The wedding gown was her mother's. Below is a photo she shared with me of her with her mother years ago. My client wanted to give the gown an updated 2024 look to wear during her reception.  

At the first appointment, I was able to see how the gown fit. We discussed her ideas, which sparked my brainstorming of how I could give her the gown of her dreams. The first challenge was that the zipper would not completely close on her. Therefore, removing the zipper and installing a metal stopper once the zipper was cut at the waist was the first step in the redesign. I drafted a pattern for the ties that would replace the upper zipper.

The next idea the bride had was to make her mother's wedding gown shorter. I knew this was going to be tricky. This part of the redesign began with one layer at a time. Cut very carefully to avoid cutting too much. There was one layer that had a cute, delicate lace on the bottom of the tulle. I carefully removed the lace and reattached it to the new, shorter length. I continued to cut all layers one by one and hemmed the ones that had already been hemmed.

It took a few fittings, but in the end, the bride was very happy and looked beautiful on her special day!