Re-purposing Heirloom Wedding Dresses

Something I love to do as a wedding dress designer is incorporate the bride’s mother’s gown or her grandmother’s gown into her wedding dress. Repurposing heirloom wedding dresses is truly special and sentimental – something old and something new.

 

Kellee’s Re-purposed Wedding Dress & Table Cloth

Photos by Jared Willis

Kellee came to Tara Lynn Bridal from the Adirondacks in New York. She brought her mother’s wedding dress and a table cloth embroidered by Kellee’s mother in the 70’s.  I pinned the table cloth to the dress form and layered silk chiffon over her mother’s dress.

As  I draped Kellee a gown her eyes welled up.

“It’s perfect! I love it.”

When Kellee came back to Vermont with her mother and sister, they hiked and waded in our river between fittings. On another visit she biked the Kingdom Trails with her fiance and swam at Lake Willoughby.

I had the special opportunity to hold the final fitting at Kellee’s home in New York.  The entire experience was truly fun and personal for all of us.

 

 

Alyssa’s Re-purposed Wedding Dress

 

Alyssa mailed me her mother’s wedding dress and was wondering if I could re-purpose bits of the crochet trim into a Maia gown from our Goddess Wedding Dress Collection.

I sketched her some options as requested with rust colored trims and the crochet lace from her mom’s wedding dress. As I sewed, I emailed Alyssa photos of her wedding dress.

We shipped two fittings back and forth to Washington, DC and using the phone, photos, and internet, we had a perfect fit by the final fitting.

“Thank you, Tara Lynn! We had a wonderful time. The dress was gorgeous and got lots of compliments. You were amazing throughout this process.” – Alyssa S.

 

 

Hilary’s Re-purposed 1947 Wedding Dress

Hilary came to Tara Lynn Bridal from Burlington, Vermont looking for a designer that could incorporate her Grandmother’s 1947 wedding dress into a modern, ethically-made wedding gown.

I took the beautiful beaded motifs from her Grandmother’s gown and during an in studio consultation we draped a fitting gown for Hilary.

The beaded applique from Hilary’s grandmother’s wedding gown 1947.

Hilary loved our hemp silk Bella wedding dress with the open back so we combined that bodice with a custom silk chiffon skirt from another style.

Photos by Michael Tallman Photography

And this gorgeous, repurposed, heirloom lace wedding dress was born.

 

Nelia’s Mother’s Gown Re-purposed

Nelia’s custom vintage lace wedding dress was made using lace from her mother’s wedding dress. She chose to pair the lace with a soft, organic cotton-hemp for her wedding dress. Nelia’s mother’s vintage wedding dress was incorporated into many aspects of her wedding celebration. The bridesmaids made ribbons from the skirt for the bouquet, and the vintage lace was used in Nelia’s sleeves, waist, and neckline trim.

 

 

Katherine’s Grandmothers Re-purposed Wedding Dress

This pale yellow, vintage wedding dress belonged to Katherine’s grandmother.  It had huge, puffy sleeves and a very, very long train. Katherine hoped to modernize this gown.

I made the bolero from the train, bustled the skirt, and dropped the back (see it peeking out from the bolero).  I scooped the neckline and added 6″ wide “horsehair” (a type of stiffening material) to the hem.  Something very new from something very old!

Photo by Jaclyn Schmitz Photography

 

Erin’s Re-purposed Lace Wedding Gown

Erin had her grandmother’s lace wedding gown and asked if I could remake it into a dress for her wedding day.  I used the bodice from her grandmother’s gown, but first I had to make a custom pattern to resize the bodice for Erin’s measurements.  Lace from the skirt of her grandmother’s gown was used to make the bodice fit Erin just right.  The skirt of Erin’s wedding dress was made with a new lace that matched the design of her grandmother’s dress.