It’s a family tradition; your grandmother wore her mother’s dress, your mother wore your grandmother’s dress and now you’re expected to wear that same heirloom dress at your wedding. Most likely, you’re feeling a mixture of excitement to honor a treasured tradition and dread over the decades-old dress, but who says you can’t put your own twist on tradition?
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Here are five creative tips to help brides try a little something different with their “something old”! Even if you have no plans to wear a family wedding dress you can still benefit from these tips on how to add some vintage glam to your wedding or bachelorette party!
Tip 1: Use buttons from her wedding dress to make chic vintage earrings.
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It’s really not that hard to do; we’ve even found a really easy DIY tutorial on how to turn buttons into earrings. Now those classic ivory buttons that were so fifties make chic vintage earrings you can wear on your big day and everywhere else!
Tip 2: Use silk or lace ribbons from your heirloom dress as bouquet wraps.
If your mother’s or grandmother’s dress or veil had a lot of lace, satin or silk and you just don’t know what to do with it all, try cutting off strips of the fabric to tie your bouquet flowers together. For an added bonus of sentiment, add a personal item from a beloved family member to your bouquet like a locket or pendant just like one of Sandals Resorts real wedding brides, Danielle, did on her special day.
Tip 3: Use the satin lining of your vintage dress to make grooms pocket squares.
It’s rather easy and very inexpensive to make your groom and groomsmen’s pocket squares using either a satin (or silk) lining – or sections of the dress that may have those materials. Simply cut your cloth into small square pieces and fold into a triangle for a vintage pocket piece. If your material had become a bit stained overtime or doesn’t match your wedding colors, head on over to your local craft store and ask about the right dyes for silk or satin.
Tip 4: Use flowers or bows from the heirloom dress to make new hair or dress clips.
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The best thing about dresses from the seventies and eighties is that they were heavy on big and fabulous additions, like gaudy buttons and huge satin bows. It’s funny how fashion recycles itself! One design flower or bow placed strategically would make a huge fashion statement and it shows a bit of your mom’s fashion sense mixed in with your own.
Tip 5: Ask a seamstress to redesign your dress and wear it at the rehearsal dinner.
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If you honestly can’t see yourself using any bit of the original vintage dress but you really want to (or have to) carry on the tradition then you may want to enlist the help of a seamstress to turn your mom’s old gown into a more modern designed dress you can wear to your rehearsal dinner. This way you can have the wedding dress of your dreams and keep your traditions strong – your mom will see her dress put to good use and you have a super glam white dress for other occasions.
Do you have any other tips about how to use a heirloom dress for a modern wedding? Share it with us in the comments, we love hearing from you!