Making my Wedding Dress - Part VII - The Final Reveal

Wow, seven editions later and we’ve made it to the final reveal. Well if seven books are good enough for J.K Rowling, then I’m ok with it taking this long! Thanks so much for sticking with me through this series of articles. I never intended on writing so much about my dress but when I realised it might help some fellow makers out there, I felt it was worth sharing so I hope you thought so too.

If you want to read back over the entire series, you can follow the links below:
Part I - Starting Point
Part II - The Fabric Hunt
Part III - Design Process and Making the Toile
Part IV - Cutting the Fabric
Part V - Making the Dress
Part VI - Veils

cropped back view of a champagne coloured wedding dress hanging in the light. Deep v back with lace applique and plain silk draped back panels that hang from the shoulder to the waist.

Back view of me putting on my wedding dress, fastening the hook and eye at the bottom of the v-neck. Lace appliques along the V with plain silk draping from the shoulders to the waistline

So here we are. I made my dress! I said at the beginning that I was worried I’d hate the dress by the time I finished it but I can thankfully say that that did not happen. I truly loved the entire process and the finished piece. It means a lot to me that I can pass down the story of it to the next generation and that hopefully, the dress will last for many many years to pass down through the family long after I’m gone. I guess the romantic in me loves the idea of it turning into a family heirloom.

It was such a luxury to allow myself to splurge on all the finest fabrics and to use lots of hand stitching and couture skills I may not have otherwise bothered with. It’s so rare that we give ourselves the time and space to do this. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be doing this again in a heartbeat, this was a one-off. It reminds me of the Love to Sew podcast episodes where they discuss the subject of, “just because you can, doesn’t mean you have to“ or turning into a wedding dress designer or “hey, I loved your dress…will you make mine?!” It’s a very flattering question to have someone trust in you enough to put their dress in your hands but having done my own now, I feel I’ve completed my wedding dress journey. I’ve made my sister-in-law’s wedding dress, my friend’s wedding dress and my sister-in-law’s bridesmaid dresses. I loved making each and every one of them but I also know how much time and emotion I invest in each of these makes and I couldn’t bring myself to just ‘bash one out’. That’s not how I work and I wouldn’t do another one unless I had the emotional space to get fully into it.

Another aspect that I loved, was being able to spend lots of time with my parents. They kindly gave me the run of their kitchen/living space and without that, I’m not sure it would have been as successful as it was. It was such a luxury having the space to lay out my fabric and to cut without having to shift the fabric or work around furniture or walls! And of course, they kept me going with endless cups of tea and coffee and cake.

Multiple square images of my many cups of tea and coffee that I drank while I made my wedding dress.

I’ve been thinking about if there was anything I might do differently if I had it over again. To be honest, not really. Even with the difficulties I had getting the back bodice to work and the slight pulling on the back seam, I was still really happy with it. I don’t regret giving up on making the appliqués myself as I know my time was better spent getting other things right. I was really happy with my fabric choices and I was happy I went with the veil in the end so all in all, I’d not change a thing. Phew!

I learned a lot during the few months it took me to complete the dress. I had started in November and finished by March and with my track record of making right up to the wire, I was so surprised (as were my parents!) to finish up 3 weeks before I expected. My time management definitely improved. Nothing like a deadline to keep you on your toes eh?! Handling and working with silks was also a great learning experience. I’d worked with them in the past but never to this extent so it was exciting to step up to the challenge, proving that you are often more capable than you first think.

A priest and bridesmaid look on as I step out of the wedding car before heading into the church. Myself and my bridesmaid are holding bouquets of flowers

Leaving the church with my husband, hand in hand. Back view of my dress is almost visible beneath a long soft veil.

Silhouette of myself and my husband as we leave the church, my veil and hem, just catching the light

If you are thinking of making your own dress or even for someone else, I hope that reading these few articles have helped in some way. When I made mine, I wasn’t even aware there was a sewing community online and would have loved to hear about other people’s experiences while I was working hard on my own. That is one of the reasons why I decided to write about it now. I hope you enjoyed it and if you do go for it, I wish you the very best of luck - not that you need it because you’re well able.

Husband and wife in a woodland. Champagne coloured silk dress and veil. Column shape with draped wasitline. Charcoal suit and white shirt with bottle green tie and green and red pocket square.

Husband and wife laughing in woodland. High contrast light in the trees on the mossy grass. My veil comes around my shoulders and covers our holding hands.

Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions or thoughts. Generally, you will find me mainly on Instagram @worthydesignstudio but I check in on comments here so fire away.

Many thanks to We Are The Mastersons for our wedding pictures. They are an Irish photography duo based in Dublin and were great to work with. And thanks to the staff at Tinakilly House for giving us such an incredible celebration.

Think you’ve caught the DIY bug? Take a scroll through the onefabday.com website and search DIY Brides. They’re lots of lovely posts there from dresses to decor to get the inspiration flowing.

Happy making makers!

Husband and wife back view with wedding venue in the background. A Victorian country house in Wicklow, Ireland.