Something old, new borrowed & Blue
As long as I could remember, I wanted to wear my mom’s wedding dress. After all, it wasn’t only my mom’s, it was also my Nana’s. The nearly 75 year old gown was in the back of my mind at every bridal shop we went to, but there were 2 problems with it. 1. It was nearly 9 inches too short for me. And 2. It wasn’t blue.
In 2012, I, along with the rest of the teenaged girls in America watched the series finale of Gossip Girl. I watched in awe as Blair finally married Chuck in a blue Elie Saab Gown. That gown was etched into my brain, I could not stop thinking about it for over a decade.
I was searching for anything that would evoke the same feeling I had when I looked at both that Elie Saab gown, and photos of my mom and nana in their gown.
Finding the one
The second gown I tried on was it. No. Really.
I didn’t stop trying on dresses, why would I? You only get to do this once and I wanted the full experience. But that Watters gown I tried on at BHLDN was the one to beat. Every time.
Designing the one
Before my Nana passed, I asked if she would be ok with me redesigning her gown, she was so excited when I asked and couldn’t wait to see what I would transform it into. My mom was an emphatic “yes” as well. With the gorgeous beaded Watters gown in hand, I began planning my design for the slip – made out of their gown.
Three Generations Wrapped in Silk
Designing the one (cont.)
The entire gown was made from the original silk and lace from Mom & Nana’s gown. The applique shown in the details was taken from my dad’s mom, Dawn’s, wedding dress. This way I had a piece of both my grandmothers with me.
I wanted so badly for this to be perfect, and it was beyond my wildest dreams. I A very special thank you to my mom, for spending a whole weekend with me scheming how to make this happen and encouraging me to make that first cut.
The Search For The Perfect Tux
As far as tuxedos go, I knew I wanted something different. I wanted something that felt elegant but a little out of the box, and quickly knew I would need a tuxedo made to measure. I searched online through a few different custom suit retailers and in my search I found a double breasted shawl collar tux and immediately fell in love with the style, the exact mix of vintage-inspired and elegance I was looking for. However, it was a dark chocolate brown which didn’t feel right for our spring wedding. I searched around to see if it came in other colors or if I could find this on another site and had no luck. For a few weeks I used Suit Supply’s custom suit builder tool and finally one day I found a loophole in the site that allowed me to custom create it.
Designing the one
Hannah and I took a trip to Boston to meet with the stylists at Suit Supply where I was able to pick out my fabric, get measured and place the order for my tux. Knowing how much work Hannah was doing to design her look for the wedding day, creating my own tux was really important to me. Every inch of the tuxedo was chosen by me, from the tuxedo and lapel fabric and fit of the suit, all the way to the type of pockets and even a few personalized embroidered monograms on the inside breast pocket and underneath the lapel!
All In The Details
Incorporating our families into our big day was really important to both of us. We both care a lot about sustainability and would always prefer using what we already have instead of buying new. With the help of my mom and a local Providence jeweler, I was able to restore and use my Abuelito’s cuff links and his ring on the day of. I had the cufflinks re-plated in gold to match the rest of my jewelry and wore his ring on my pinky. It meant the world to have this piece of him with me on our big day.