How it began

Unlike many brides, I didn't dream of what my wedding would look like from an early age.  I had no idea what kind of gown I wanted, and felt no need to decide before becoming engaged in June of 2013.  Yet when it came to the time in my life when I had the chance to choose that special dress, one of my first thoughts was "maybe I could make my own gown."  That thought persisted and grew over the course of about a year.  For some months I tested it out, telling others "I'm kind of considering this..." and got some lukewarm responses.  Few people know how to really sew, and even fewer attempt such a big and important project.

Many people asked me if I already knew how to sew when I was in the process of making my gown.  I think it would have been really difficult to go through this project if I hadn't had some amount of prior experience.  I credit my mom and grandma with teaching me to appreciate sewing at a young age.  I started as the subject of their projects, wearing costumes, dresses, and even a winter cape they made.  Later, I made my own first project, a small pillow with lace trim, pieced together from scraps in my grandma's huge chest of fabrics.  From there, I went on to design doll clothes for my Barbies and American Girl doll, using scraps, basic stitches, and imagination.  Basically no planning.  Eventually I learned to follow a pattern, trying out quilting under my grandma's guidance and making some clothes for myself with my mom's help.  Most of the time, though, I just altered clothes to fit my narrow frame.  I bought my own sewing machine with my first paycheck during my freshman year of college, and used the machine to continue altering clothes, and to sew a dance costume and Halloween costume for friends.  Sewing has always been something I can return to, even when I take a break to focus on school.

In the summer of 2014, though, I had a special opportunity to reverse the focus.  I graduated from my master's program and had three months before beginning doctoral work.  It was the perfect time to take on a crazy project... I decided to sew my own wedding gown.