Colourful. That was how my sister Kim wanted her wedding dress to be when she got engaged in 2009. May 2010 she was going to get married and she was not going to walk down the aisle dressed in white. So me and my mother Ellie visited some bridal shows with her. However numerous the dresses, THE dress was not one of them. Mostly because a coloured wedding dress apparently is like wearing sweat pants to a gala: not done.
So Kim asked my mother to make her wedding dress. Although Ellie had been sowing clothes for us when we were little, she never made a gown, let alone the most important dress her oldest daughter was ever going to wear! Reluctantly, yet also excited, she said yes.
She started to draw, cut, sow and embroider the wedding dress of her eldest in bright green silk and organza, with purple flowers, Swarovski crystals and silver and gold embroidery. Many hours, blood, sweat and tears and some new techniques she learned along the way have gone into the dress, and the result was amazing.
When I was going to get married two years later, I knew right away: mom was going to make my dress. Purple this time, with purple lace all over the back of the dress, silk and voile as fabrics and a hand embroidered leather and silver lily, my favourite flower. In the meantime Ellie had done several courses of quilting, silver and gold embroidery and even a course on making hats. By the time my brother asked for the hand of his soon to be wife Anouk, she not only made Anouk’s wedding dress in ocean green, she also made the dresses for me and my sister to wear to the wedding AND she made matching hats too!
The dresses where not left unnoticed. My mom’s quilting teacher was thus highly impressed by the gowns, that she exhibited the pieces.
Many hours have gone into making the dresses and it wasn’t always easy, as Ellie recalls. ‘At some times I just didn’t know how to go further. One time I didn’t know how to work out the seam so it would be invisible. Then your father came up with some inventive solutions and I could proceed’.
But boy, was she proud when those three dresses were walked down the aisle! And the compliments she got were overwhelming. And most of all: we are very proud to tell people we got married in a dress that our mother made!
So Kim asked my mother to make her wedding dress. Although Ellie had been sowing clothes for us when we were little, she never made a gown, let alone the most important dress her oldest daughter was ever going to wear! Reluctantly, yet also excited, she said yes.
She started to draw, cut, sow and embroider the wedding dress of her eldest in bright green silk and organza, with purple flowers, Swarovski crystals and silver and gold embroidery. Many hours, blood, sweat and tears and some new techniques she learned along the way have gone into the dress, and the result was amazing.
When I was going to get married two years later, I knew right away: mom was going to make my dress. Purple this time, with purple lace all over the back of the dress, silk and voile as fabrics and a hand embroidered leather and silver lily, my favourite flower. In the meantime Ellie had done several courses of quilting, silver and gold embroidery and even a course on making hats. By the time my brother asked for the hand of his soon to be wife Anouk, she not only made Anouk’s wedding dress in ocean green, she also made the dresses for me and my sister to wear to the wedding AND she made matching hats too!
The dresses where not left unnoticed. My mom’s quilting teacher was thus highly impressed by the gowns, that she exhibited the pieces.
Many hours have gone into making the dresses and it wasn’t always easy, as Ellie recalls. ‘At some times I just didn’t know how to go further. One time I didn’t know how to work out the seam so it would be invisible. Then your father came up with some inventive solutions and I could proceed’.
But boy, was she proud when those three dresses were walked down the aisle! And the compliments she got were overwhelming. And most of all: we are very proud to tell people we got married in a dress that our mother made!
My mother made my wedding dress using all sorts of different techniques that she learned over the past years.
My sister Kim asked my mother to make her wedding dress. My mother is not a designer and never made a big gown before. Yet Kim believed she could.
The dress is made out of green silk and organza, decorated with purple flowers and embroidered with gold and silver.
The organza is also hand decorated by my mother.
Two years later, I got married and asked my mom to make my dress.
The dress is made out of purple voile and silk.
The back is made out of lace and a hand made leather lily, my favourite flower.
My mom made a lily at the front as well, out of purple leather and silver.
The front and back are decorated with Swarovski crystals.
The see-through back of the dress out of purple lace.
The dress had a small trail decorated all over with Swarovski crystals.
To the left in the red is my mom. She made this outfit herself as well.
Two years later my brother was getting married. My mother made the ocean green dress for my sister-in-law.
She has never made anything professionally, although you might agree with me she could easily!
She also made a matching jacket out of ocean green lace.
My mother even made a matching tie out of silk for my brother.
It wasn't always easy: 'at some times I just didn’t know how to go further. One time I didn’t know how to work out the seam so it would be invisible. Then your father came up with some inventive solutions and I could proceed’, my mom said.
My sister Kim and brother Bas and me. My sister and I are wearing dresses my mom made. She even made our hats!
