Project Wedding Gown! (Part 1)

I know in my last post I wrote that my next project is a dress for my friend's baby but as you can probably guess from the title of this post, I am engaged! This is very new and exciting but has nothing to do with sewing... or does it?!

Call me crazy but I have decided that I would like to sew my own wedding dress. My mum sewed her own dress, her mother sewed her own dress... it's just something I'd like to do (I'll need some help from mum though).

Before M and I got engaged, I already had an idea about what kind of dress I wanted. Something with a big skirt (not My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding big), a bit of a train, a sweetheart neckline and a lace jacket with sleeves. The best way to describe what I like is the dresses worn by Grace Kelly and Kate Middleton.

Grace Kelly

Kate Middleton

So with a vague idea in mind, the first step was to go and try on dresses to see if this style would suit me, and if there was another style I would like more.

An excited mum at a gorgeous bridal shop

I wasn't allowed to take any pictures of myself in the dresses I tried on, but this is a picture of a dress I liked from the shop's website.

I also tried on some accessories to keep myself warm because our wedding will be in the middle of winter next year. I fell in love with these, and will definitely be making them to go with the dress!

I went to the fabric shop in the city that does luxury fabrics and was horrified by the price of the satin and the lace - more than $200 per metre for some! I went to the "normal" fabric shop and I've found 3 patterns that I'm going to put together and some nice fabric to go with it (only $19.90 per metre for the dress fabric and & $8.90 per metre for the lace). I'm getting very excited about this!!! The patterns I've chosen are Burda 7086 for the lace jacket, Simplicity 4070 for the top, and Vogue 2979 for the big skirt which will make me look like a princess! 

My patterns!

So my next job is to cut out the pieces and start on my calico version. Words can not describe how giddy I am with excitement right now. You'll be hearing from me soon!!!