Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Me in My Mom's Wedding Dress

Over XXXmas I had the pleasure of trying my Momma's wedding dress on.  She and my pops got married on New Year's Day, 1982, and planned it in 4 months. FOUR MONTHS. Yeah. I know. Insanity. I'll do a seperate post on that bit of craziness soon, but for now, let's get to the dress. My mom bought the dress at a local shop in Lake Bluff, IL for $400. No muss. No fuss. She just went in the bridal shop by herself, tried it on, and bought it. End of story. The crazy part is that while trying the dress on, my mom said I could do anything I wanted to it. Meaning I could wear it as is, cut it up, turn it into a different dress, or a purse, or a veil, or an ascot, or a dainty Speedo, or even a pair of Hammer pants - the sky's the limit!  So OF COURSE this got me thinking.  Do y'all remember when I said I'm having a second dress made for the reception? WELL, I may use the lace from this dress - because seriously - these pics don't do it justice. The lace is GORGEOUS.  It's Venetian and super detailed and I would die if I could wear it in some way. I feel bad cutting this beaut up, but Momma assured me that it was more than okay. And the fact hat she had it stored in a plastic bag all balled up through the years, makes me feel a-okay with playing with it. So thank you, Mom!  I hope this works out because I would be honored to wear a part of your wedding memories on my big day.  It would be super-spesh! (That's "special" in Hilgers-speak).



 So what do you guys think?  Any suggestions on how I could use the lace in my dress?  Here's an inspiration pic of what my reception dress is going to look like:

Photo by Renee Brazel



Posted by Britt Hollenbrau at 11:07 AM
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19 comments:

  1. OR you could have an eighties prom-themed reception and wear the dress as is. Pleaaaase?
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  2. It is GORGEOUS!! And you look so stinking cute. Maybe you can keep the lace as the skirt for your reception dress? So pretty. :)
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  3. LOVE it! Everyone should try on their Mom's wedding dress if they can. So fun and vintage! You could use the lace to make a clutch, handkerchief, or a headband. You could even use it to create underneath layers of the dress, like a petticoat or a sash/belt.
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  4. I'm with Mo - it's GORGEOUS. I love the skirt lines and drape especially. If you didn't already have a dress you love, I'd vote hard for restyling the neckline and sleeves and going for a lacey flowy boho gown from your mom's dress. But... since you have one dress down and one in progress, I wonder if you couldn't use some of the lace as a top-layer overlay for the tulle? I think you'd also need some lace worked into the bust poof as well, to hold the look together. It's hard, because I love it more as-is (with modernization, of course) but I'm sure someone more creative than I could think through matching it with your reception dress style.
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  5. Amazing amazing! I'm doing something similar with my mom's wedding dress from their renewal-vow-wedding-doo-dad.
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  6. It is awesome. Seriously just wear it with a little alteration. Maybe update the neckline?

    So cute! I freakin' love it!
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  7. I love it. Please don't cut it up. It's so pretty.

    Okay, so, yes, your dress is hot. But, seriously, so pretty.
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  8. If you insist on cutting it up. Use the lace around the neckline. Or trim the hem of the dress with lace.
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  9. Honestly without the sleeves, it could be a very modern-looking dress. It's very pretty! Can you use a layer of the lace as an overlay on the skirt? And/or incorporate the sash?
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  10. Oh wow...it looks amazing as is...I was really surprised. You have unlimited possibilities with that beauty...how cool is that? There is no way in hell I'd wear my mom's dress (especially since she was about 6 months pregnant with me at the time she wore it) :) I don't even think she has it anymore.
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  11. Wow, that dress looks really good on you! I'm with Meagan - if you took the sleeves off, it'd be a great little number!
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  12. as is. as is. i can't believe how pretty that dress is. no terrible shoulder pads? no crazy poofy lace???!!! your mom had style!!!
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  13. if you can make lace hammer pants, I am your biggest fan :)

    anything you can make with something so gorgeous I'm sure will be awesome. You could always wrap your flowers with it or make a sweet headband
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  14. Okay, here's what I would do to the dress if I were you:
    * Cut off the arms and make them cap sleeves, add a bit of tulle to them to give them some of that vibe
    * replace the triple ribbon waist with a wide colored ribbon like your picture.
    * Cut the skirt off at the knees and splice the cut off fabric in to skirt for a fuller skirt and a semi-handkerchief hemline
    * pop some UBER white tulle underneath it to fille out the skirt and edge the tulle underskirt with ribbon that coordinates with the waistband.

    That's my .02. I <3 deconstruction.
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  15. very pretty. i'd remove the fabric in the sleeves and neck, fit it at the bodice, and shorten. OR, i'd modernize the sleeves and neck area, and keep the length as is! the train is stunning. if you shorten...use the lace from the train in your veil {if you are rocking one} OR use it to make a sweet little rehearsal dinner frock.

    trim hankies with the leftover materials and gift to your ladies, grams, momma and momma in law (and gramps and daddies too).
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  16. Um, B... this is AMAZING, you look fab in it. I love how you are owning any dress you show off. I wanted to do something with my moms but I never put it into motion, what a great idea.
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  17. Rock n Roll Bride linked to this post, and I wouldn't normally comment but my parents got married on New Years Day, 1982 too! I think they got engaged in October of 1981, so almost 4 months, and they spent either 1000 or 2000 altogether. When I was younger, I thought their whole story was so boring but these days it inspires me more than anything.
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  18. Thank you girls!
    Britt, I saw a dress in Harpers Bazaar from the Ralph Lauren Collection with similar lace as my dress, a short, strapless, one. It's beautiful and I could see my lacy dress as part of it. I'll send it to you.
    Love, MOM
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  19. LOVE IT! the dress is gorgeous! and i love that its your mothers. And the reception dress is ROCKIN!
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