Choosing my gown - Visiting bridal shops and why I made my own gown

The decision to sew my own wedding gown came gradually.  I "shopped" Pinterest to collect ideas, just as if I were going to buy a gown.  I tried on dresses in a handful of stores, looking for prices my partner and I would be willing to pay.  At the same time, I also had a image forming in my mind of what I wanted in a dress, and was having difficulty finding one with all the qualities I wanted.  I wanted a sweetheart neckline that I know looks best on me, strapless; I wanted it to have a skirt that poufed out of the waistband and fell in a gentle bell-like shape, not too big, but also not small; and I wanted it to have pockets.  Nothing in the stores had pockets.  Also, nothing in the stores had a cup size small enough to avoid embarrassment for my flat frame.  I was bound to pay as much for the tailoring and cup fillers as for the gown itself, besides the work of adding pockets.

The original concept drawing.  Don't make fun of my art skills, I wasn't really trying.

As I tried on dresses, I kept my second agenda in mind: see how these things were constructed.  I knew from some initial reading that wedding gowns should be made strong, and that large dresses needed to have certain qualities in order to hang right.  They needed an elastic waist-stay band inside to help the dress stay up (for a strapless dress, this is the secret to avoiding constantly pulling it up; it should be supported by the hips, not the chest--fortunately for me!).  I also took a look at how many skirt layers there were, the kind and placement of boning pieces in the bodices, and how the bodices and skirts were attached to each other.  I noted how hanging straps were attached, how large the underskirts were, and other details of their making.

This was probably my favorite I tried on--but out of my budget!

I knew in general what to look for because I'd already read some books on couture sewing from my university library, and from my prior experience with the making of a dress.  I knew it is always more complicated than I think starting out.  That did not stop me from grossly underestimating the time it would take for me to make my gown.  My husband likes to remind me that early on I suggested three days should suffice.  SO. WRONG.

It would take me approximately 100 hours to make my wedding gown.  This includes everything from my research and drafting stages, though to fabric shopping, muslin practice gowns, and all the many steps of creating the actual gown.  Plus my veil.  Because, how could I sew my gown and not make my own veil?  The veil took about 10 hours of the above total.