The sisterhood of the traveling wedding dress(es)

Rick and I got married on June 16 of 1979.  At the time I was having trouble finding a wedding dress that fit and one that I could afford.  I was 5' 10" and weighed 120 pounds.  Not many wedding dresses were available off the rack that would fit such a frame.  I started looking in wedding magazines and came across this pictures of the dress I instantly fell in love with.  Since I was finishing up my final semester at BYU I didn't have time to sew the dress myself.  I found a seamstress and took the picture to her and told her that I wanted her to make the exact dress shown in the picture in the magazine.  She charged me $150 for the fabric and for her time and made me this beautiful dress that could be worn in the LDS temple.  The seamstress made the veil with a Juliette cap and I was so happy with the finished product.

January 1979

June 1979

The dress traveled on and some years later, my sister Lee was in the market for a wedding dress.  She and Mike were preparing to be married and she asked if she could wear my dress.  Since she was the same height and weight, the dress worked perfectly for her.  She added the white hat shown below and made it her own, just like the original picture.  She looked beautiful in the traveling wedding dress on her special day.

June 1985

After Lee wore the dress, I carefully packed it in my mom's cedar chest that I had inherited and it sat there for nearly 30 years.  I wrapped it in blue tissue paper that I was told would keep it from yellowing and put it in a box for storage in the cedar chest.  When our own two daughters got married, I didn't even remember that the dress was in my cedar chest.  I regret that we didn't even get it out and have them try it on!  It would have been fun for them to at least try it on, even if they wouldn't have chosen it for their own wedding dress.

Fast forward to February 2013.  My future daughter-in-law Chelsea was preparing to marry our son Andy.  We went out on a wedding dress shopping spree and she tried on several beautiful dresses.  She couldn't find exactly what she was looking for.  I asked her to describe what she wanted.  She described the lower half of my wedding dress.  She wanted a soft, flowing fabric that would look great at the beach in the breeze.  She didn't want it to be too fussy, and not have lace or beading.  She wanted a soft cross-over fabric top with a "flutter sleeve" that looked elegant and classy.  I told her about my dress and invited her to try it on.  The bottom half was just what she wanted!  I don't know why she didn't want the bell sleeves, stand up lace color and lace jacket with the pearl buttons all the way down the back that went with it, but alas, she did not.  I told her I could take the top off my dress and sew her a new top that met her specifications.  She was thrilled!  Through a series of miracles we found matching fabric and the challenge was underway to make my dress her own.  I'll admit that there was literally blood (needle pricked fingers), sweat and tears along the way by the seamstress, but at last, the dress of her dreams came to be! We took the Juliette cap off my veil and attached it to a new hair comb and the matching fabric from my veil was the final touch to go with her dress.  She looked beautiful in a dress that was 34 years old on the bottom and brand new on the top.  (Thank goodness the 34 year old zipper held up as well.)  She was the most beautiful bride I had ever seen on June 14, 2013 in the Los Angeles, LDS temple.

June 2013

Another family wedding dress has also had a great history.  In January of 2004 we were on the lookout for a wedding dress for Jordan.  Given her tall stature and slim figure, once again we were faced with a similar problem of finding a dress that fit.   After a fruitless search for a dress, I proceeded to make a wedding dress for Jordan and three months later, Claire wore the same dress. I was quite relieved that I didn't have to make two dresses since my two daughters got married three months apart.

May 2004

August 2004

Six years later, my niece Jessica was looking for a wedding dress.  Coincidentally, she is the daughter of my sister Lee who wore my dress all those years ago.  She tried on the dress I made for Jordan and Claire and loved it.  She made it her own my adding the red ribbon and the white fur cape for her winter wedding.  She looked stunning. 

December 2010

So, that's it. The end of the story of the sisterhood of the traveling wedding dress(es)...or is it?  Two dresses...six weddings.  Each look unique and beautiful.  Will the dresses travel on?