Last week on DIY Wednesday, we gave our advice, tips, and tricks to those of you that might consider making a DIY wedding dress, in The Capitol Romance Guide to a DIY Wedding Dress. This week we have something related to share – a re-imagined wedding dress.

That is, the story of a bride that took her mom’s wedding dress and had it updated and altered to be a new wedding dress, while still keeping the fabric, character, and original material in tow.

The bride and her sisters tracked the process, took pictures at each time they went to the seamstress … and now I get to share the entire process with you. How cool!?

From the bride’s sister, Caitlin:

[One night] we originally all tried on Mom’s wedding dress for fun after Laura got engaged.

Mom then tried on her dress again for the first time in 30 years.

Dad even joined in to recreate some of their original wedding photos.

Here are some shots of the family having fun trying on the dress:

And now, here is Laura at her first fitting!

Read more to see the rest of this wedding dress transformation! Also – let us know if you take your mom’s or someone else’s vintage wedding dress and alter it for your own wedding ~ as always, we would love to share more of these awesome, unique (and budget-friendly!) wedding dress idea!

Caitlin shares the process of transforming their mother’s vintage wedding dress into a modern one for Laura:

Over the course of a few months the talented people at the Dress Doctor in Chicago were able to turn Mom’s wedding dress into a new version for Laura. The long sleeve, turtle neck gown was transformed into a thin strapped, sweetheart neckline dress with most of the original lace and shape remaining. It was a fun experience using Mom’s old dress and makes Laura and Dan’s wedding day even more special.

the lace on this dress is just beautiful.

can we say, “hello 1970s wedding dress style! woooo-ee!” my mom wore a hat too!

The first round of alterations take place ~ the poofy sleeves are gone, and a beautiful lace bodice is left!

Round 2 of alterations … the seamstress worked to add straps to the dress and re-work the lace bodice to make it a bit fuller.

No more hat – but the tulle from her mom’s hat was used to make her veil (ah! i just love this!)

 Laura & her dad … and now they switched the straps from fabric to lace … the lace straps are gorgeous!

 One of the more final rounds of the wedding dress transformation, from the back and with her veil in!

 And now the seamstress has added a bustle to the dress formally known as Laura’s mother’s wedding dress. So cool!

a close-up of that BEAUTIFUL vintage lace

 … and drumroll please! the final product with a bridesmaid in tow! What do you think guys – such an awesome, budget-friendly, and meaningful wedding dress, don’t you think?!

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4 comments

  1. I love this!!! I considered doing this to my mom’s wedding dress, but the material was inexpensive enough that it would have been difficult to alter and still have it look elegant. The final product is beautiful! I love the piece of lace that comes diagonally across her chest.

  2. Wow, I love it! even with the puffy sleeves, it is a beautiful dress. Much more meaningful than something from the rack. I love the end result. You gotta post more posts like these Bree. Great job!

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