The Making of a Wedding Dress: The Big Day

So the big day finally arrived last weekend, and the dress was done just in the nick of time. I designed the pattern based on this inspiration photo the bride gave me over six months ago, although a few modifications were made to it to flatter the bride’s figure.

Over the first few months I went through a lot of muslin to get the fit just right, and then sprinted to the finish line in the final weeks to get the real thing made in 6+ meters of gorgeous silk charmeuse in cream. That last month was just a marathon of hand sewing—my poor husband complained more than once about stray pins and needles left in the couch, but thankfully there were no casualties!

The Bodice

The strapless sweetheart bodice is trimmed along the top with the edging of some beautiful French lace left over from my own wedding dress that I made about two and a half years ago. I sewed it on by hand with silk thread while watching several episodes of Dead Like Me and Mad Men (come to think of it, I think my next sewing project will be Mad Men-inspired dress…but I digress). The lovely bit of sparkle in the center is a handmade brooch the bride bought for the occasion.

The Back

The bow was originally going to be made of wide satin ribbon, but I tried that and it ended up looking limp and out of scale with the dress. So, with two weeks to go, I scoured my local fabric store in search of a good replacement. I was about to give up on my quest when I spotted a bolt of maroon fabric in the corner that perfectly matched the colour of the ribbon we were going to use. The fabric was very soft and drapey, so I filled the entire bow section with two layers of tulle to give it enough body to stand up.

Rainy Outdoor Wedding + White Silk Dress = Muddy Hem

Well, who cares if it rained? The officiant put it best when he called the raindrops “tears of joy”—it was a beautiful ceremony and a fun and memorable day. There were plenty of bubbles and our multi-talented friend Colin playing the guitar and singing “I’m Yours” while the bride walked down the aisle.

The Cake Topper

Granted, that has nothing to do with sewing but I had to share that last picture. This charming cake topper was originally used on the bride’s grandfather’s wedding cake…don’t you just love vintage stuff?