Unusual wedding dresses: your stories

Article Added: 15/09/2009 17:14:33
Here at HotHive Textiles we recently read an article in one of the daily papers about a lady who had made her own wedding dress using wool from her sheep. This got us thinking about other unusual wedding dresses out there and so we decided to ask our readers to tell us their wedding dress stories.

You replied in your hundreds and we read great stories both from designers who had stumbled across a great idea and created a unique wedding dress and from brides who wanted to share the story behind the dress they wore on their special day. We couldn’t possibly share all the stories we were told, but here are a few of our favourites:

	Michelle Aitken I made this wedding dress simply for the fun of constructing it. I call it Flower Friends Meet Madonna. The bodice is silk with heaps of crystals and embellished using yarn made on the over locker. The skirt is multi layered, and again features lots of thread work on the over locker and tulle. The dress has since been on display with Husqvarna Viking and Pfaff in Australia on and off this year.
	Laura Sirkin-Brown My wedding dress itself wasn’t really unusual so to speak, but my grandfather had been stationed in Japan just after WWII, while there, he sent silk home to my grandma. A few years before our wedding, grandma passed the silk on to me. I was saving it for the perfect occasion and when my husband proposed I knew it was time, so I constructed most of my dress with fifty or sixty year old silk. My grandma’s silk is what the skirt is made of, I found a satin remnant just big enough and the same just off white colour for the bodice it needed a little more stability. I also made my husband’s jacket out of the silk.
	Vikki Lafford I designed and made a part of a wedding outfit for my sister-in Law Sarah when she married my brother in December 2008. Sarah wanted something unusual to suit the Christmas wedding and her striking red hair, and instantly fell in love with a corset designed by Angels Carrying Savage Weapons. I designed a full skirt and jacket in pale gold raw silk to compliment the style and colours of the corset. The most unusual feature was a collection of flowers that were mounted onto brooch pins and attached to both the skirt and the corset and arranged in a trail down the back of the bride. I made the flowers from hand painted raw silk and printed taffeta. The flowers were heavily encrusted in the centre with Swarovski crystals, glass beads and freshwater pearls and some featured embroidered and hand painted taffeta leaves. After the wedding, Sarah unpinned the flowers and gave some to special guests as a memento of the day.
	Alison Bailey Smith I had a wire tiara, wire flowers in my bouquet, my husband had a wire waistcoat and my Mum had a wire hat, I later changed into a wire corset - all from my recycled wire from old tellies.
	Rashmi Mathpal My designs depict dreams, so the first bridal designs I have made are for a bride who is ready to try new, dreamy bridal wear. The theme was a bride on a moonlit night, which is why I have used blue, white and silver colours – a cool colour theme. I wanted my dresses to stand out in the dark night sky just like the moon. In my garments I have used appliqué work for 3D effect and gem stones, Swarovski crystals and diamonds for shine and sparkle. The next design I created was inspired by the Royal Indian bride, so I have used the traditional colours of red and gold. I created the entire garment in red and then added a touch of gold embroidery – Zardozi. The dresses are now waiting for a bride to wear them!

We would love to hear more stories so if you have one toshare then please post it at the end of this article.