Unique Ways to Wear your Mother's Dress

Will You Wear your Mother's Dress?

Image from Elly B Events

This bride did! And oh how absolutely gorgeous! No? But not every bride can fit into her mother's dress. Or sometimes the mother's dress does not fully survive the passage of time. Or, not every bride wants to wear her mother's gown; she wants her own.

Remember when Khloe Kardashian married Lamar Odum after a whirlwind three week engagement. Remember how excited her mother was to help her plan? Remember when her mother pulled out her own wedding gown, carefully preserved and offered it to Khloe. Remember when Khloe laughed at it, making her mother cry? And remember when sister Kim tried on the gown and showed their mother, trying to lighten the mood and appease their mother?

Image from MyStyle.com

When I saw that episode, my heart went out to the mom. She had carefully and lovingly preserved her gown with the thought that, one day, one of them would want to wear it. On the other hand, I'm not sure *I'd* be terribly excited about donning that big poufy frock either. It's sooooo 80s, and not necessarily in a good way...at least not yet. (We might have to give it another 10 years or so before that kind of 80s retro comes back into vogue.)

Nonetheless, many brides like the idea of somehow incorporating their mother's dress into their wedding. So what's a bride and her mother to do if it just that simple? A few ideas have surfaced across the wedding blogosphere. Check out how these real brides got creative with their moms' wedding gowns.

From The Brides Cafe

"Jennifer had a seamstress take the lace from her mother's wedding gown to make a cover for the bible used at the ceremony!"

From WeddingBee Pro:

"Jenny's lovely gown was custom-made at L'ezu Atelier in Beverly Hills. The rosette on the neckline and lace along the back of the dress were salvaged from her mother's wedding gown."

From Perfect Bound:

"The bride, although smitten with her Vera Wang gown, also chose to wear her mother's wedding gown for the latter part of the reception. The vintage lace tea length dress was handmade by her mother's grandmother in 1962."

And the Mother of them all! From the Southwestern Bride:

"The Bride had a Lazaro Gown and had a seamstress in Beaumont create several heirloom pieces from her mother’s wedding gown. Her veil was custom made with the appliqué’s that were on her mother’s veil, and the lace that trimmed the train on her gown lined the entire outside edge of my veil..."

"...The Bride [also] shortened the length of her mother’s wedding gown and wore it when they left their reception."

"Handkerchiefs for the Brides sister and godsister, mother, mother-in-law and herself were made out of extra lace from her mothers gown."

So if you or your mother have long envisioned that you walking down the aisle in her dress, but it's just not feasible, think outside the box, and consider incorporating her dress in other ways.

Wearing White is a Choice, So is Wearing Color!

A few months back, I wrote a post on Hindsight Bride about wedding trends I was loving. The very first trend I was lovin' was colorful dresses. By and large, I found most of those images on more offbeat and indy sites. But oh how things have changed in a few short months !

Image from Martha Stewart Weddings

Case in point. The mainstream maven of beauty and elegance, Martha Stewart, has this month featured a sweet, colorful, NYC, Carnival-themed wedding in her print magazine, Martha Stewart Weddings. In typical Martha fashion, it was beautiful, with every detail meticulously and creatively attended to. However, what was atypical was the brides dress. A gorgeous peach-colored, couture gown. Let me say that again, a peach-colored...ok, that's it, nuff said.

Color is everywhere! And not just on the runway, but also in the blogoshphere, donned by real brides. Some real brides are wearing just a blush of pale color. Pale pinks, champagnes, and dusty blues overlayed with white lace all make elegant and romantic gowns.

Image from the RecycledBride.com


Image from WeddingWindow.com



Image From Elizabeth Ann Designs

Other real brides are going for a stronger pop of color:

Image from 100 Layer Cake

And still others go for a classic, little black dress look:

Image from A Mountain Bride

Now that's not to say the runway isn't popping withcolro! Vera's Spring 2010 collection was full of color:

Above Image block from Vera Wang Weddings

And her fall collection continues to add interest to the classically white gown by incorporating bold black accents. I just love the black gloves!

Above Three Images from Vera Wang Weddings

So if you're the type of bride that has trouble wearing white--which, let's face it, is a hard color for many of us to wear--or if you just want to add interest to your gown, consider wearing a gown with some color. Whether soft pale romantic colors, or big bold modern colors, it is no longer so difficult to find a wedding gown in a color other than white.