Handmade/upcycled Dresses

I am currently in the process of nailing down the design for my dress. FH and I are going to NY in June to get fabric for it so I can start constructing it. ^.^

I do have a picture of the mock up of the corset I will be wearing underneath. The fit needs to be tweaked and the waist line lowered. (Excuse the dirty mirror 😶)

I can't wait to start on the actual gown but I'm nervous that it won't be perfect.

View Quoted Comment

Ooo, what are you thinking so far in terms of style? You're so ahead of the game! My mom just finished my mock-up about a month ago.

I'm only ahead because I want to give myself plenty of time to do things right and change things if I need to. I really don't want to be sewing the night before my wedding or the morning of.

As for style, my dress will be a mash up of my favorite extant dresses from 1885-7. I know it's unusual and, possibly frowned upon because it's "period", but I just don't envision myself walking down the aisle in a modern dress. I went dress shopping and none of the dresses I tried made me feel special or bridal.

I commend you ladies for this kind of dedication and cost savings! I was only brave enough to DIY my flowers. I thought about taking fabric from my old prom dress (a heavy silky black and white dress from about 16 years ago) along with other fabrics, but decided I wasn't skilled enough to convert it to a wedding dress. Good luck!!

Thrifted mine! $55 at a local thrift store, no alterations needed!

View Quoted Comment That sounds great! I love period dresses

View Quoted Comment For mine, it's all my mother haha. She's so talented and a sweetheart. I'm good at thrifting and finding, but I'm sadly not so crafty. Did you DIY fake or real? I think I am DIY-ing my bouquets

View Quoted Comment It's beautiful! I love the train. Thrifting was my first choice and I kept coming so close, but I guess the brides where I live are all two sizes smaller than I and my mother really was plotting to make mine all along lol

View Quoted Comment Gorgeous! That train is to die for! And what a great thrift find!

View Quoted Comment

I'm DIY-ing fake flowers. I'm hand-making flowers from origami petals from an old copy of The Lord of the Rings, which my fiance and I both love. So it's a way to incorporate our favorite moments in the book into our wedding. Then I picked some fake flowers on sale from this past fall season - super cheap! I still have a LONG way to go, but I'm making some good headway spending a little time every day! Between paper flowers and fake flowers, I should have a good mix if I can find more fake ones.

Pages from The Lord of the Rings book.

View Quoted Comment

How beautiful! I've never seen a paper bouquet not shaped like roses. So unique

I'm just wearing my grandma's 1947 dress that my mom and sister and cousin and 2 aunt's have worn. Have you thought about a vintage dress? So much more cost-effective.
Here is my mom in the family dress

View Quoted Comment

So pretty! My aunt is the only one in my family with a traditional wedding dress, and unfortunately it didn't fit . But I'll be wearing her veil! I love when brides wear family dresses. I tried thrifting and consigning for a few months, but my mom loves to sew and ran out of patience for my hunt, haha

My mom is helping me make my dress for my June wedding. I came up with the design myself and we found some beautiful fabric at a local specialty store. We are just getting started, but I'm confident it will turn out great. I am really wanting to incorporate some parts of my mom's wedding dress into mine. So far my thoughts are using some of the buttons or lace maybe, but still contemplating.

Me in my mom's dress:Back of my mom's dress. I may take some of these buttons off and put them on mine.

Style of dress I'm going for.Getting started! Back pieces.Start on the front of the bodice! (this is not the actual fabric, just muslin for practice)

View Quoted Comment Oo I definitely would try to figure out how to incorporate the back of your mother's dress because it's great. Love the style you're going for. Very elegant and timeless