Menay O; mom to 4, Christian and thrift shopper on the side…

I braved the storage part of our attic and managed to come out unscathed with the box that contained my carefully preserved wedding gown from close to 25 years ago. Alyssa wanted to try it on. I thought it was sweet. Late this afternoon was the time Alyssa, Lelly, Samantha and I had together to do it. I have to give mad props to my brother in law Vinny for the perfect condition my gown was in. He was the person who preserved it when he owned his own dry cleaning stores so many years ago.

The dress was as white and beautiful as I remembered it. The headpiece however didn’t fair as well as I had hoped. In all fairness it is truly a vintage piece of family history. The headpiece was my grandmother’s on my mom’s side. I remember searching and searching for it in her attic after I became engaged. I always told her if I found her headpiece I was going to wear it when I got married. Finally I found it, inside a very plain, non descript box. It was as if I found a treasure, I was so, so happy. My Aunt Marge worked on repairing the beading and cleaning this much sought after accessory. She did bring it back to all its glory and I did wear it when I married Tommy.

So I digress…my headpiece turned to an almost bronze color. Not white anymore. I suppose it could be worked on again to restore but Alyssa decided it wasn’t the style she wanted to wear and that’s fine. It’s her day.

Turns out my dress didn’t fit Alyssa. In all fairness my mom made the gown and it was truly a custom, totally made for my exact former gymnast measurements. At that time in my life I had a tiny waist and somewhat broad shoulders. The sleeves wouldn’t stay up on Alyssa. Then Lelly asked to try it on, of course I agreed. The waist fit but the shoulders were way too big. The sleeves wouldn’t stay up on her either. But they both looked so beautiful in my gown. It was such a lovely time to see my girls as young adults wearing my wedding gown, especially when one is a bride to be.