Design Your Own Wedding Dress

-- Design Your Own Wedding Dress --

Want to add a special touch to your wedding day?

If writing your own vows and creating your own exquisite floral arrangements isn’t quite enough for you, consider designing your own dress!

Your creativity will shine through, and your dress will be treasured by your family for generations to come!

Designing your own wedding dress can also be an economical choice – if you’ve found a gorgeous designer gown that you are in love with, but can’t quite afford to shell out the several thousand dollars it costs, you might be able to create something similar with a seamstress!

Get Inspired

If you’ve decided to design your own wedding dress, it may be because you’ve spent weeks flipping through bridal magazines and haven’t found “the one.”

Maybe you’ve even visited a bridal store boutique to try on dresses – and weren’t thrilled with the results!

If only you could have the sleeves from that one, the skirt from this one, and the sequins you’ve been imagining! Well – you can! If you’re willing to put a bit of time and effort in, and have a creative mind for fashion, you may be the perfect candidate for creating your own dream dress!

Start by getting an idea of what you really love, by ripping out magazine pages, looking online, and even having a fitting or two. You may even be inspired by movies, fashion shows, or vintage photographs!

What’s Your Style?

Whether you are shopping for a wedding dress or designing your own, your first task is to determine the style of a dress you would like.

It should match the formality of your event – if you’re having a casual wedding then an informal wedding dress will fit in perfectly.

It should suit your body type and make you feel like a million bucks! Whether romantic and traditional, or sleek and sexy, your wedding dress should reflect your personality. If you are designing your own gown, you might want to add some personal elements that will make it even more your own! This could include embellishments, from glitz to flowers; or interesting asymmetrical elements that you design yourself!

-- Design Your Own Wedding Dress --

Find Your Seamstress

Do you have a family friend who has experience making dresses?

Did your mom make your prom dress, and now you would love her to make your wedding dress as well? Or maybe you love to sew and want to take this project on yourself!

The key is, to start early! Very early!

This will give you ample time to have multiple fittings and make sure your dress fits you just right! Make sure you share a vision, and that your seamstress is willing to work with you to create the dress of your dreams.

Be sure that your measurements are taken properly. Your seamstress will be able to guide you in fabric selection: chiffon is a popular fabric for DIY-wedding dresses because, while simple to work with, it also lends itself well to creativity (by creating layers, adding interesting lines, necks, and more).

Altered Dress to the Alter!

Maybe you love your grandmother’s wedding dress and would love it to be your “something old” – with a few modifications! Or, maybe you have found the dress of your dreams – almost. You may even find something that is on the sale rack and would be just perfect with a few personalized touches.

Altering an existing dress is a wonderful way to create your own gown, without starting completely from scratch! Some personal touches you might add to an existing gown include adding a stylish, colored ribbon to the waist, increasing the “glitz” factor, or changing a neckline to create a unique look. You can also accessorize pre-existing gowns with large fabric flowers, interesting broaches, and extra beading.

Designing your own wedding dress is a wonderful way to add a personal touch to your wedding day. Whether you choose to alter an existing dress, recreate an expensive gown, or sketch your ideas out on paper and go from there, it will be a fun experience that will end with you wearing your own creation! Have fun!

-- Design Your Own Wedding Dress --