My parents were married June 24, 1949 in the town where I was born and where they still reside, at the church where they still attend! I think that is just wonderful! (They did move around in between the wedding and my birth. Bruce was born in Columbus, Nancy too, but they were living in KY at the time, and Margaret was born in IN. Then they moved back to Ashland.)
My sister, Nancy, wore Mom’s dress for her wedding in 1977. I used their headpiece with new netting for our 1983 wedding. Nancy didn’t know where the gown was and it was presumed lost or stolen during one of their many military moves.
However, good news was celebrated when the gown was found this fall in my brother’s attic! (We used to live in that house.) I was so happy… not that I had worn the dress but I’m a lover of family antiques (sorry Mom! 😉 ) and of course, nearly anything with fabric. With K’s new job, we know a whole lot more about wedding dresses than we had ever imagined!
While I was visiting my parents last week, we spent Thursday afternoon playing in the wedding gowns. 🙂 And here is the documentation to go with it all… along with the usual commentary from me! 🙂
The gown is in the gold box, which was in the plastic bag, which was in the brown cardboard box. The receipt for preserving is taped to the box: $35.
We started to work our way through the layers….
And the dress is upside-down! Oopsie!! We think we opened the box wrong! (Go back to the picture of the gold box on the bed. Doesn’t that look like the way it should go?)
So we repeated our steps backwards, flipped the box over, and started again. This time we found….
Thankfully mom admitted with me that it looked a bit morbid in the box all stuffed. (Stuffed more than that dress ever had been! 😉 )
We were dismayed at these snags on the front of the bodice. I wondered if they were from Nancy’s bouquet so we wandered to the hallway to check their picture. It seems unlikely.
Detail of sleeve.
Neckline with bias strips and hand faggoting. My mom’s mom made her dress. Had I mentioned that? 😉 It is ivory slipper satin. Beautiful sewing! Luscious!
The long sleeves end in a point with 3 covered buttons & loops.
We checked the back. Some of the buttons are completely gone and some are missing the satin cover.
And more snag-type damage in the back; so we are puzzled about this!
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Mom had the headpiece & veil in the hall closet so we got that out too. I thought I should try it on again… 26 1/2 yrs later! 😉 (See the 4 pictures in the hallway? Those are our wedding pictures! Nice & close for comparisons. )
Next it was Mom’s turn!
And then she suggested a picture with the bridal couple and Dad happily agreed. Aren’t they cute? We celebrated their 60th anniversary last summer! (Sorry about the shadows…. I didn’t notice them until I got home.)
Mom had more up her sleeves for our afternoon…. to be continued….
Oohh, how cool! Still a beautiful dress. Don’t remember those snags at all, or if they were there when I wore it or what may have happened. Same for the buttons & covers. Guess I had other things on my mind the day I wore it! Thanks for digging up the dress & taking good care of it from here on!
Wow – that is so cool. I don’t think my mom has hers. But she has mine hanging in her closet. She made it. I never had is stored. Should I?
Joyce, that dress is beautiful. I’m so glad that you had opportunity to share a viewing of it with your Mom. ~Scooter~
How cool is that?!
How fun is that? I’m glad you found it. I remember you saying you thought it might be lost. What a gorgeous dress!
oh, I love that!!!! Love all the photos–then and now.
Such a beautiful couple your parents are!!!!! Thanks for sharing these wonderful and happy moments!
Hope you don’t mind the oogling over the quilt, too!!!!
No, and I sort of like seeing all that is in their room. My aunt made the quilt on their bed. 🙂
Seeing these pictures reminds me why my Mom thought it was so important for me to spend money on a wedding dress. She had a borrowed one. At 31 years of marriage my daughters don’t think much of mine but maybe grandchildren will?
What a great post, Joyce, How I remember that dress and that day. Remember watching your Grandmother making that yoke. It was and is beautiful. Maybe K would like to wear it . If it would fit her.
Nice to see a recent picture of my brother and his bride of going on 61 years. We just had ours.
[…] she posted a story about wedding gowns and it’s just amazing! Not only did she get to see her mother’s wedding gown from 1949 but also her Grandmother’s wedding gown from 1915! What an amazing […]