“Even the moon has spots but my daughter is flawless!”, said a mother.
She is the guardian angel of the most beautiful girl on earth. She is your mother! Isn’t it she who has been telling you that you are the prettiest lady she had ever seen and even the most beautiful moon’s beauty is nothing on you? Brighter and cozier than the sun in winter and colder and purer than raindrops in summer, a mother's love for her child is the purest something one can find in the whole universe. We are sure you can spill tons of ink if you are asked to write about what your mother means to you! But it can be hard to tell the same through your actions especially when your wedding day is around the corner and most of your time is spent in either thinking about your wedding planning or your significant other. Traditional or modern, today’s brides are finding interesting ways to include their mom in their wedding day. This way not only they are giving honor to their mother but also a well-deserved moment to twinkle.
Isn’t it cute, how she is always by your side just like your own shadow whether you are going for your wedding dress shopping, finalizing the wedding vendors, or seeking advice for hair and makeup for the big day? From helping you out in your wedding planning to nailing down a perfect bridal look, your mother shakes heavens and earth to turn your wedding day into an event to remember! She is the one who has been making you feel special since the moment she held you in her hands for the first time. Now it’s time to make her feel special! And what better way to tell her and everyone else how special she is to you than slipping into her wedding dress (that she has preserved for YOU only!) or incorporating “something old” from her wedding day look into yours?! Remember, you don't have to wear your mother's dress to feel close to her on your big day. There are plenty of things that you can do with her wedding gown or veil! Here are some interesting ways to wear your mother's wedding dress without actually wearing it or to curate a new family heirloom out of it.
Find the pretty patch holed up in the pretty gown
Time for the treasure hunt! You might have played ‘Princess Game’ with the gorgeous wedding gown of your mother when you were knee-high or maybe you recently have tried it on you when your sweetheart popped the question. But lost in the mirror and dancing in front of it after slipping into your mom’s wedding dress, you might have not noticed those cute tiny patches tucked on the inside of it. This time check thoroughly! You might stumble upon a piece of cloth embroidered in blue, a monogram, a wedding date, a heart with initials of the bride and groom’s names, or a special adage. Personalize your wedding dress by borrowing that piece of garment from your mom’s wedding dress and sew it onto the inside of your wedding dress. Or you could also DIY your patch by utilizing the material from your mother's wedding dress as a base. You can embroider whatever you want on the patch, the options are endless!
Make a ring bearer cushion
Turn your wedding ring bearer pillow into a family heirloom in a wink by adding a few materials from your mother's wedding dress or craft it from scratch using the fabric and other material from it. Creating the base from the lining of the dress and then sprucing it up with the embellishments of it is a great idea. If the idea of hurting your mom's dress and/or your grandmother's veil for your ring pillow hurts you then buy a pillow online or from a craft store nearby and tuck your own decorations like vintage laces, beads, and fabric florals. We request you to do the decorations using hot glue very very carefully, it can mess the dress real quick!
Craft a tulle skirt for flower girl or junior bridesmaid
Check if your mother’s bridal ball gown is sitting on tons of tulle and lining! If it does, then your flower girl is in luck! Girls love to play with their big, fluffy, frou-frou dress, especially the little ones! You would want to have the detailed shots of your family heirloom in your wedding album where your flower girl is making her way down the aisle playing with her skirt, twirling, and flaunting her fancy footwear. Give your flower girl/s a souvenir from your big day by creating a skirt and a matching floral headband out of the tulle lining and bells and whistles that your mom’s wedding dress has in abundance. After all, how much tulle you would need to make an heirloom skirt for a small girl or two. With a little magic on your hands you can give wings to your little angels to twirl around on the big day!
Tie your bridal bouquet with the most precious ribbon
No doubt, you may get a stunning readymade wrap for your bridal bouquet but you won’t find emotions in its weaves for sure. A bouquet brimming with fresh flowers is a must-have for a bride, but that doesn't mean it has to look just like everyone else's. Let your wedding florist know that you wish to make your floral arrangement a little more special to you by adding something meaningful to it. How about personalizing your wedding day bouquet by adding a beautiful piece of fabric or lace from the hem (or bottom) of your mom or grandma’s wedding dress. This is very DIY and won’t take so much of your precious time. You just need to trim a long piece off of your hand-me-down wedding dress and wrap it or fashion into a bow around the ribbon or material that your florist has used to cover the stems of the blooms.
A cute tiny fabric square will squarely fit your bridal attire
Weddings are infamous for bringing a saga of happy tears, and your mom can’t be around you all the time to wipe your tears off like she would when you were a little girl. So you’ll definitely need something that can give you the similar feel to help keep your makeup intact - maybe a handkerchief made out of your mom’s most special dress. Creating a vintage handkerchief from your mother’s dress is another incredible way to convert the gown into something both beautiful and functional for your wedding day. You might want to create two of them, one for yourself and one for your dotting mother.
Garner the details for the garter
Another way to incorporate your mom’s dress into your wedding is to create a vintage garter from its material and the best part is you can keep passing it down as a family heirloom to the next generation. Pick some vintage details out of your mom’s designer wedding dress and make yourself a pair of spectacular garters one to toss and one to keep. That way, you can still take part in the garter-toss ritual of your spouse-to-be without having to give up your own garter. So go all out to make this accessory as sentimental as possible. You could also consider trimming pieces off the veil to give it a more sheer look. You are free to take any part of the dress and still have ample leftover (maybe for your sister’s wedding!).
Let the dress dress your hair up!
Wondering something quick to craft out of your mom’s gown? Think headbands! This never-out-of-style cute accessory can amp up any bridal hairstyle in a heartbeat, short hair or long hair. Creating a lovely hairband taking some material from the heirloom wedding dress is as easy as pie! Make it as simple or as complicated as you would want. Get your creative wheels rolling! Cut out lace patterns or pick apart tiny adornments like buttons, rhinestones, and doodads. Then, glue them to a cheap plastic or ribbon hairband for a no-brainer new hair accessory. You could also wrap some of the satin or silk material from the dress around the band for a less flashy look. You might want to make several headbands using various parts of the gown for your bridesmaids and flower girls as well and give them to them as a beautiful keepsake.
Fashion it as your rehearsal dress
Mothers preserve their wedding dresses hoping that their daughter will one day wear it if not for the ceremony maybe for some other special event. Case in point: rehearsal dinner, reception, and wedding exit. The dress of the mother-of-the-bride might sound dated to the current bride and we don’t blame her if she chooses not to wear the dress for the most special day of her life. After all, the dress is at least 20 something years old. Styles change and today’s millennial brides usually have an idea of the kind of dress they want to say their ‘I do’s’ in. Plus, it may require many alterations. With all of this in mind, it makes the most sense if you have a new dress made out of the dress to flaunt your love for your mother by slipping into it at your reception night or when exiting the venue. Have fun and design something playful and unique! If the top half of your mom's gown still appeals to you, you can have it shortened to don at your rehearsal dinner. Consider customizing it with alterations or embellishments as well.
Repurpose it into a chic bridal purse for the reception
Not only she but also her belongings can take care of your belongings! A bride can’t do without a beautiful bridal purse on the big day! And what better way to hold your wedding day essentials in a clutch or purse that’s made out of your mommy’s special dress?! Create yourself a dazzling bridal clutch using the elements or lace from your mother’s gown! You may also give the job to some artisan who will be able to beautifully craft the entire clutch from the fabric and embellishments of the dress.
Craft small details out of the big day dress
Hey crafty brides! Your mother’s wedding gown is your oyster when it comes to turning it into small details for the wedding day. You can easily transform the fabric into textile rosettes, which you can add to your bridal look by gluing them to a hair comb to tuck in your hairdo or affixing a few to a silk ribbon to put it on your modern-patterned wedding dress as a sash. You may also consider incorporating some of your mother’s wedding dress’s fabric as a table runner, drape beading over the newlywed chairs, or wrap lace around vases.
A fabric that fabricates good luck!
It’s not just you who have been waiting for this day, it’s your mother too! What’s special for you is special for her as well! She is with you every step of the way, whether you choose to say yes to the dress of her dreams or repurpose it to fit squarely into your dreams in some or the other way. Whether your purpose behind including your mom’s bridal dress is just to exhibit what she means to you or to make her legacy live on for generations, or to have it close to you as ‘something old/something borrowed’ just to ward off the evil eye, every bit of the dress of your mother will act as a true blessing leading you to a happy and blissful life! It’s indeed a good luck fabric!
All the more reason
Borrowing something from your mom for your special day is not just one of the four good luck charms - "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue." Many modern and practical brides these days don’t follow old-school wedding traditions but when it comes to adding good luck to their big day they can go to great lengths to add the touch of the most special woman in their life to the most special day of their life.
Repurposing a second-hand wedding dress to wear it in some or the other way, whether you are getting it from your mother or buying it from a second-hand wedding dress seller like Borrowing Magnolia, not only saves you a fortune, but it's also a sustainable sartorial option. Not only that, if you are a traditional-minded bride then it will tick off "something old" and "something borrowed" of your wedding checklist in one fell swoop.
Every girl is her mommy’s princess. Here’s to the queen! Happy Mother’s Day!
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