This is for Bev who wanted to see me in the dress that Maggie was modeling in the "Amigo" shot of April 28th. Here's the story behind it:
Jeff and I were engaged in the spring of my junior year at college. In the fall, when I returned for my senior year another friend had gotten engaged over the summer, so we decided we would go dress shopping together one day. We headed in to Wheeling, W. Va. where the nearest department store with a Bridal section was located (no David's Bridal shops back then!) and found dresses we LOVED! Mine was a "country" style gown with a square neckline decorated with an eyelet lace ruffle. The same ruffle went around the bottom of the dress and there was a pretty sash around the waist which tied into a lovely bow in back. And as my veil I was going to wear a floppy white hat. When I got back to the dorm I excitedly called my mother to tell her all about the dress and was met with dead silence. "What's wrong Mom?" I asked. "Oh, well, (pause) I thought we were going to go dress shopping, together." So, during Thanksgiving break, I set out to go dress shopping (again) with Mom. I was confident that I would be able to find something just like the dress in Wheeling. We went to a place called Vera Plum. It was a lovely old Victorian home painted purple. That alone should have been a signal to me that my country wedding was about to change!! After 1 or 2 dresses, our consultant had me try on the dress you see above. The minute I walked in to the room to show this dress to my mother she started to cry. "What's wrong Mom?" I asked. "It has Brussels lace on it!" she explained, "I had Brussels lace on my wedding veil which I had to give back to the Hosters (her father's side of the family) after I wore it." In that moment I knew I was not going to get the dress I had hoped for, but that the Brussels lace on this dress was going to be a blessing to my mom. And yes, my veil had Brussels lace on it too. In the end, my bridesmaids wore my country dress and my floppy hat. And now that my mother is with the Lord, I have a treasured memory of Brussels lace and the teary eyed mom who loved it so much.
Left to right (just stating the obvious here!): My mother in her wedding gown with the Brussels lace veil; me on my wedding day in my parents' home; and Maggie modeling my gown at the Ladies Breakfast.
For me, it is hard sometimes to know that my Mom won't be there to bless me and whomever I marry. Her and I won't be able to go shopping for a wedding dress. She won't ever see me walk down the aisle.
But, when my sister was getting married, my Mom got to do all those things with her and I am glad I got to be a part of that too. My Mom and I were there as my sister tried on dresses and I still remember my Mom tearing up when my sister tried on the dress that she ended up buying to wear at her wedding.
But, my Mom passed away just a couple months after that and never got to see my sister walk down the aisle just 2 months later. And my sister never had her big wedding and never wore that dress that my Mom got to see her try on.
But, she ended up giving the dress to me, that I might wear it on my wedding day. Though I will never get to share those memories with my Mom, I am so excited to wear that dress because it has a story. And though she never saw me in that dress, I know she would have had the same reaction as she did with my sister. That dress makes a special bond between my Mom and her two daughters.
Fabulous story. My mother had a thing about Brussels lace too. When my sister went to Holland in 70s went Brussels to bring her back same lace. must have been the era when it's fineness meant quality and mystery
@woot thanks Davide! @annaruth thanks Anna! Well, you have a wonderful story too. I am the only one in my family (two younger sisters) who had the blessing of both mom and dad at the wedding. And I often think both my sisters would have loved to have her there. My "middle" sister lived in a different state so although I was in her wedding, we didn't get to do all the "fun" stuff together. But my youngest sister was nearby so I did the best I could to fill the gap and at the same time didn't try to be anything but the older sister. Her wedding was a lot of fun (but I must confess I did not like the Laura Ashley bridesmaid gowns we wore!). @peterdegraaff Thank you Peter! I think there was some sort of family connection with this lace. It is one of the sketchy sides of my family history but somewhere on the Hoster side there is Welsh blood and somehow that ties into the lace that my mother wore. But I'm sure it also meant quality as you said. Sort of like Waterford Crystal and Lennox China.
How lovely. You all look so beautiful. That's such a touching story. Mum came with me to choose my wedding dress - and I invited Ed's mum too as she had 3 boys and I knew she wouldn't have the same fun with them. The first one I tried on that day was the one I wore 24 years ago yesterday. Sadly the marriage is no more but the dress is in a box upstairs and still so pretty. :)
@filsie65 Thanks Phil! And thank you for sharing your story too. Who knows, there may be a special person down the road who will also love your pretty dress.
Thank you for telling that beautiful story, Ann. How lovely all three of you look .. wonderful collage! I love the lace ... so kind of you to fulfill your Mom's dream for you and how she wanted you to look. We went on a trip to Brussels and to Brugges, Belgium where I got to see that lace being made. It's incredibly intricate and gorgeous. I'd give anything to have a photo of the old women who sat and patiently made that lace.
@httpgeffed Thanks Colleen! @karenann Thanks Karenann!
I was very close to my mom, so it wasn't too hard to let a part of my day be something she dreamed of. And since she passed away before my other sisters married, I'm glad I did now. No regrets there!
How very sentimental. I love gowns like this and I really like how you did the collage with all 3 views from different eras. My poor mom never had a wedding gown as they were married during the Depression and money was tight back then.
@kimmistephens Thank you Kimmi! @cimes1 Thank you Carole! I've seen several pictures from the family archives of weddings that took place then. I don't think there were too many gowns during that era. As you said money was very tight. It was a simpler time too and people lived within their means as well.
This is such a beautiful story...and touches me that you did this for your mother! What a great memory...and even better is that you were able to see your dress come alive again. That's neat as well.
@rhubbard Thank you Rich! It was suggested by one of my followers. I liked the idea. @mrssmith Thank you Carla! It was fun to see it again after all these years.
Lovely dress and story! My mom and I sewed all of the dresses, including mother of the bride. I swore I was never going to sew a satin dress again. I didn't until my son got married, when I volunteered to make 5 bridesmaids gowns. Now I swear that the only time it is going to happen again is if a grandchild (I don't have any yet) asks.
beautiful poignant story of this beautiful dress. this looks like three generation collage, because i swear the young girl has an uncanny resemblance to you and your mother. i love your mother's dress, my style!
my mother wore a simple off white dress when she married my father before a judge and later they rode the bus to the church to be blessed by the priest. that dress saw a good number of years. when she can no longer wear it to church, she repaired it and much later on, she made the skirt into a pillow case and saved the buttons and trimmings. there was one time she saw in a magazine a beautiful wedding dress and showed it to me. she asked if i would wear that to my own wedding i told her i want to wear a velvet red gown. she asked would i ever want to get married. i walked over to the door before i answered, "no, i probably would just get laid!" and i quickly walked out, but the flying slipper still got me on the head, despite the fact she used her left hand (she was already paralyzed by a stroke by then). i was not amused. she was!
That is a very interesting story Ann. I'm sorry you didn't get to wear the original dress but I think your wedding dress means so much more to you than the original would have. Do you have a photo of your bridesmaids? I would love to see the original dress.
@digitalrn Thanks Rick! It was a nice journey down memory lane! @dmariewms Thanks Marie! Well, you certainly get the seamstress award for having sewn the most bridal and bridesmaids gowns here on 365! My younger sister had picked out a Laura Ashley pattern (which I really didn't like!) which was too hard for me to sew, so a friend who was an excellent sewer did it for me- as a gift! Needless to say, it's hanging in the attic now. @sangwann Thanks Dione! @summerfield Thanks Vikki! In my teens I always envisioned myself wearing my mother's dress- but as you can see in the pictures, we had very different builds. She was 5'2" and slender. I was 5'4" and about average- so that wasn't going to work! If she had her veil I might have worn that, but as it was her relatives wanted their lace back I guess so she wasn't able to keep it. The funny thing is that my veil got lost somewhere too- who knows where! But when my folks moved from NJ to VT it was gone. However, I still have the Brussels lace on my gown. Such are life's stories! @gennygenny Oh Genny, that is so sweet! Thanks for the view! @nicolecampbell Oh my Nicole- I thought I had finished all these wedding shots!! I'll have to keep that in mind for a day when I can't come up with something new to shoot!
What a lovely story! And lovely dresses! Thank you so much for posting this collage! I love it!! And you did it because of me! *blushing* Thank you :) !!
@prttblues (o: my pleasure! I like to say thank you to my faithful commentators in special ways!
@summerfield I forgot to agree with you before Vikki- yes Maggie does have an interesting resemblance to me!! But we had never met before this day and as far as I know, we are not related in any way!
What a wonderful story. Your unselfish love radiates throughout. Isn't it funny how styles have changed? Now most wedding dresses you see are strapless and look more like ball gowns.
@allie912 That's true Allison. Both of my daughters-in-law had very simple dresses with spaghetti straps. One had a little beading in front and the other was unadorned altogether.
For me, it is hard sometimes to know that my Mom won't be there to bless me and whomever I marry. Her and I won't be able to go shopping for a wedding dress. She won't ever see me walk down the aisle.
But, when my sister was getting married, my Mom got to do all those things with her and I am glad I got to be a part of that too. My Mom and I were there as my sister tried on dresses and I still remember my Mom tearing up when my sister tried on the dress that she ended up buying to wear at her wedding.
But, my Mom passed away just a couple months after that and never got to see my sister walk down the aisle just 2 months later. And my sister never had her big wedding and never wore that dress that my Mom got to see her try on.
But, she ended up giving the dress to me, that I might wear it on my wedding day. Though I will never get to share those memories with my Mom, I am so excited to wear that dress because it has a story. And though she never saw me in that dress, I know she would have had the same reaction as she did with my sister. That dress makes a special bond between my Mom and her two daughters.
@annaruth thanks Anna! Well, you have a wonderful story too. I am the only one in my family (two younger sisters) who had the blessing of both mom and dad at the wedding. And I often think both my sisters would have loved to have her there. My "middle" sister lived in a different state so although I was in her wedding, we didn't get to do all the "fun" stuff together. But my youngest sister was nearby so I did the best I could to fill the gap and at the same time didn't try to be anything but the older sister. Her wedding was a lot of fun (but I must confess I did not like the Laura Ashley bridesmaid gowns we wore!).
@peterdegraaff Thank you Peter! I think there was some sort of family connection with this lace. It is one of the sketchy sides of my family history but somewhere on the Hoster side there is Welsh blood and somehow that ties into the lace that my mother wore. But I'm sure it also meant quality as you said. Sort of like Waterford Crystal and Lennox China.
@karenann Thanks Karenann!
I was very close to my mom, so it wasn't too hard to let a part of my day be something she dreamed of. And since she passed away before my other sisters married, I'm glad I did now. No regrets there!
@cimes1 Thank you Carole! I've seen several pictures from the family archives of weddings that took place then. I don't think there were too many gowns during that era. As you said money was very tight. It was a simpler time too and people lived within their means as well.
@mrssmith Thank you Carla! It was fun to see it again after all these years.
my mother wore a simple off white dress when she married my father before a judge and later they rode the bus to the church to be blessed by the priest. that dress saw a good number of years. when she can no longer wear it to church, she repaired it and much later on, she made the skirt into a pillow case and saved the buttons and trimmings. there was one time she saw in a magazine a beautiful wedding dress and showed it to me. she asked if i would wear that to my own wedding i told her i want to wear a velvet red gown. she asked would i ever want to get married. i walked over to the door before i answered, "no, i probably would just get laid!" and i quickly walked out, but the flying slipper still got me on the head, despite the fact she used her left hand (she was already paralyzed by a stroke by then). i was not amused. she was!
@dmariewms Thanks Marie! Well, you certainly get the seamstress award for having sewn the most bridal and bridesmaids gowns here on 365! My younger sister had picked out a Laura Ashley pattern (which I really didn't like!) which was too hard for me to sew, so a friend who was an excellent sewer did it for me- as a gift! Needless to say, it's hanging in the attic now.
@sangwann Thanks Dione!
@summerfield Thanks Vikki! In my teens I always envisioned myself wearing my mother's dress- but as you can see in the pictures, we had very different builds. She was 5'2" and slender. I was 5'4" and about average- so that wasn't going to work! If she had her veil I might have worn that, but as it was her relatives wanted their lace back I guess so she wasn't able to keep it. The funny thing is that my veil got lost somewhere too- who knows where! But when my folks moved from NJ to VT it was gone. However, I still have the Brussels lace on my gown. Such are life's stories!
@gennygenny Oh Genny, that is so sweet! Thanks for the view!
@nicolecampbell Oh my Nicole- I thought I had finished all these wedding shots!! I'll have to keep that in mind for a day when I can't come up with something new to shoot!
@summerfield I forgot to agree with you before Vikki- yes Maggie does have an interesting resemblance to me!! But we had never met before this day and as far as I know, we are not related in any way!
@bkbinthecity Thanks Alia!