BOA Bride Thea’s journey to creating her daughters Baptism gown from her wedding gown.
One of the most special parts of what we do at Brides of Armadale is create a safe and inviting place for our clients. As a wedding gown store you would assume for obvious reasons we would not want and hope not to have repeat customers, however, there are ways in which we can continue to celebrate our brides special moments with them.
Recently, we had the honour of working with one of our past brides, Thea. Thea was married in December 2023 she wore our gorgeous Raina design, customised to her perfect version. She excitedly called to book in and work on another project, together we used the fabric from her BOA wedding gown train, perfectly dry cleaned from Syndals Bridal Dry Cleaners and made her daughter Luna a Baptism gown.
Thea and Xiaver were married at Poets Lane in Sherbrooke Victoria before little Luna came along. Her Raina gown was made from varying layers of fabric which included a soft ivory chiffon lining, two soft ivory tulle layers and off with a clear beaded chantilly lace, this was adored with applique flowers scattered throughout the design, from the straps cascading down the body and scattered amongst the train. Her bodice flowers were hand beaded with a combination of crystals and pearls.
See the current Raina sample here.
The Process
First, Thea booked a consultation over the phone and brought Luna in for her measurements, at the same time dropping off her wedding gown for us to hold onto for her.
With those measurements, we had our work-room create the paper pattern and lining layer for little Luna.
Once we fit the lining fabrics on Luna, confirming that the paper pattern is perfect, we lay Thea’s gown down after steaming it again, and cut out the top layer.
Sewing this to the lining, we then applied a zip, false buttons and our BOA logo. Tidying up any loose lace and hand stitching any extra flowers that we desired.
So, What’s Possible?
We have found that not many brides realise how versatile their wedding dress can be after the wedding day, we aren’t saying you have to, or you should do something with it, if keeping it safely stored in a box for you to bring out when you heart desires is also a lovely sentiment, but if you are one of those resourceful people, let’s go for it!
Depending on the design and fabric available, we can often create
- Baptism or christening gowns
- Flower girl dresses
- Keepsake garments – like scrunchies, handkerchiefs
These can become heirloom pieces to pass down through generations. Each project is completely custom and designed around the original gown and the story behind it, just like Thea and Luna.
What This Process Baptism Gown Included
For Thea’s daughter’s gown as seen on Instagram
- Carefully used fabric from the train of her wedding dress
- Designed and constructed a custom baptism gown
- Completed all fittings here in our Malvern boutique
- Finished by re-hemming Thea’s original wedding dress to a wearable floor-length finish
The total cost for the remake was $750, including the fittings.
Heirloom transformations can be both achievable and affordable. We also carefully cut the hem of Thea’s gown to be perfectly circular on the ground, under no circumstances was her dress left in tatters, it was still treated with the love and respect it deserves.
Why go for it?
There is something incredibly special about seeing part of your wedding dress become part of another story, also, your sentimentality isn’t lost when the gown’s train is the only thing being used. Where possible – as we would always advise first, as long as the gown has a train that is big enough for the project we can still keep the gown’s integrity.
This transformation of your gown goes from a memory of being worn once into something that continues through your family’s milestones. Another time to share the joy of your gown.
The options we find brides often do is
- Preserve their gown untouched
- Shorten it into an anniversary-length dress
- Transform part of it into future keepsakes
The best part about it is that all of these options are perfectly beautiful and should be celebrated. We are currently working on shortening a brides dress for her anniversary as well as re-working a brides mothers gown from her wedding in the late 80s!
If you have a preserved wedding gown and have been wondering what might be possible, we’d love to talk through your ideas with you.
Considering the option? Give us a call on 0435179102 to discuss what’s possible.
Because sometimes the most beautiful gowns aren’t just worn once, they can become part of your family’s story in many different ways.
