Our wedding dresses are family heirlooms
As it is revealed that the average gown now costs an eye-watering £1,385, ELLY BLAKE speaks to three brides who decided to wear the very same dress as their mother or grandmother... and thrilled families and guests
soon as I’d tried it on I had that spine-tingling moment every bride has when they know they’ve found the dress... and it fitted me perfectly.
I would have been happy to spend up to £400 on my perfect dress. Luckily, though, having the dress tidied up by a seamstress only cost £50. In fact the only change I made was having some material panels removed because they’d been added when my aunts wore it for their amateur theatre productions in the 1970s.
Given its age and the delicacy of the material I decided against getting it dry-cleaned and was able to get the few little stains that remained removed with some organic wet wipes.
I remember on the big day itself how connected I felt to my nan. We were always really close so it felt extra special to be wearing her dress. I did worry that I might be too hot because we were getting married in a rustic farmhouse in Malta and I was in long sleeves. In the end I needn’t have fretted because the silk fabric was really cooling.
We had a big canvas picture blown up of my grandparents on their wedding day in in Weston-super-Mare. Everyone loved it, especially my mum’s side of the family who found it really touching. is a TV fashion stylist from Dublin. She married husband Mel at Mount Druid in Castletown Geoghegan, Ireland in 2016. Years before I got engaged my mum and I were cleaning out the attic when she appeared with a large box. I had an inkling it might be her wedding dress but when I looked inside I was amazed it was in near-pristine condition. At her urging I tried it on and it fitted like a glove. I fell in love with it.
I’m quite sentimental so the idea of wearing my mother’s dress did appeal to me but if it hadn’t been to my taste then I wouldn’t have worn it. Fortunately I’m a huge fan of 1960s style and mum got married in 1969.
She’d bought the dress from a boutique in Dublin. At the time my parents were working hard to save for their wedding when she spotted it in a shop window. She tried it on, loved it and asked the shopkeeper if she could pay in instalments. The owner agreed and my mum Ann, who waitressed at night, saved up all her tips and wages so she could afford to buy it. But one day she went in and the shopkeeper said someone else wanted to pay for the dress upfront so she was going to sell it to them. Mum was distraught so she spoke to my dad. They scrimped and saved to find the money. She worked really hard for it so I’m glad she got it. When Mel proposed to me in 2015 I thought of it straightaway.
It’s a white dress made from sateen with a lace overlay down the middle.
I loved the high neckline and the sleeves stood out to me because they’re lace and button beautifully around the wrist.
There were a couple of tiny marks on the neckline but nothing that concerned me. Someone had advised mum to wrap it in acid free paper and put it in a box for prosperity and I’m just so glad she did.
I took it up at the front and changed it from a column style to a high-low hem. And on my wedding day I’ve never felt more certain I picked the right dress. I was elated to wear it and continue its story. I had planned to take it off earlier but kept it on until the evening. Mum was thrilled and liked the alterations. She never wanted me to feel pressure to wear it but said: “There is no greater compliment to me than you wearing my dress.” VINTAGE: Ann looks stunning in 1969