It's hard not to talk about my dress. Especially when I've been so concerned about the bodice of the dress for a couple of months now. I won't be revealing the dress - you'll have to wait until October for that. I will be showing why my mom and I have been concerned. I will be showing the damage that needs to be repaired.
So cubes, please stop reading. You can come back tomorrow or later today. But this post is not for you.
No Grooms Allowed!
All grooms gone? Just in case, let me remind you of where we started - my mom's wedding dress. cubes has seen photos of my parents' wedding so this is not a surprise. (If you're reading this cubes please stop now.)
We'd known that we needed to reinforce the lace. The lace on my mom's dress was backed with a structural mesh. When we changed the neckline the backing was lost.
What we weren't aware of is that lace edges need to be finished. So the neckline after a couple of fittings has frayed and stretched even though we've been incredibly careful.
And then during the last corset fitting, the unthinkable happened. The lace tore. Now it's not epic. Not even on the scale of that infamous wardrobe malfunction. But it's still heart stopping. Especially to a bride. Especially when it happens to her dress. Even more so when it happens to her mom's dress.
Right now it's a small tear. No longer than 1/2 inch.
See? Barely noticeable. But that damage is with barely moving and sneezing. Now imagine what the neckline would look like after hair and makeup and going to the ceremony site? The neckline isn't going to look as nice. So a trip to Lacis was in order. (Lacis is our local lace museum.)
Went in with breath held. The verdict? It can be repaired.
This past Monday, I met with the lace expert Lacis recommended. Karen is amazing. Lacis sends all their hysterical brides to her. We all become "her brides." She immediately puts you at ease and brings the light at the end of the tunnel into focus.
She really knows lace and vintage costumes/gowns and it shows. My dress - compared to those she typically works on - is modern in comparison. After a brief consultation, she too agreed that the neckline can be repaired and can be ready in time for our October wedding. (Huge, huge sigh of relief.)
Between now and the wedding, she's going to work magic and transform the sleeves from my mom's dress and a piece of the original neckline into a new neckline. Here are her raw materials.
All I can say is thank goodness we decided not to use the lace from the dress on my hat and veil. If we had, well... Who cares, that's a path we don't have to consider. I know every bride has some drama with her dress. While this was definitely not in our budget, it's one of those things that just needs to happen. I can be as zen as I want to be about it, but at the end of the day, I've formed an irrational emotional bond with what the dress stands for - ties with my mom and her blessing of our upcoming marriage.
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