Wedding gown

Finally, a bit more about my wedding gown...!


Here's the sketch I did of my dress waaaay back in January or February of this year. (Alert minds will catch that I wasn't even engaged at that point, heheheh...) I based it off an Edwardian silhouette because I think the princess lines and trumpet skirt are some of the most elegant, flattering, and beautiful design elements of all time.

If you have watched the movie Anne of Avonlea you may remember a dress that Anne wears which is creamy white with a neckline of fabric flowers. That dress made a strong impression on me as a girl and I have always thought there is something very beautiful and feminine about a floral garland around the neck or shoulders. I also like the touch of color to the white dress -- it seems joyous and happy.

I decided to use silk duchess satin for my dress because the drape of the fabric would work well for my design, and it isn't quite as shiny as some other kinds of satin. The underskirt would be made from silk georgette for some variation and softness.


I made several mock-ups of my gown, using Butterick 6926 as a jumping-off point for my bodice. Finally, I felt ready to drive into the real thing, so I placed an order for fabric from Fishman Fabrics in Chicago, which arrived in mid-July. Using my final mock-up as a pattern, I cut out my dress and sewed it up.

Also in mid-July, I combined a visit with Cheri and April in Denver with a stop at the home studio of Helen Gibb in Louisville, Colorado. Douglas didn't know what I was up to and was quite mystified when he dropped me off at her home! Helen's studio is a ribbon paradise and she was incredibly helpful to me as I shopped. There were so many gorgeous, beautiful ribbons to choose from that I was able to find the right colors and many beautifully textured ribbons to make the flowers on my gown. Neither my mom nor I had ever made ribbon flowers before, but with the help of Helen's books we were able to make all the flowers you see on my dress.


My veil was almost an afterthought. I had ordered some silk tulle from Fishman Fabrics without really know how I was going to make my veil. I knew I wouldn't be able to find anything I liked in a bridal store, and I wanted a fingertip-length veil that also covered my face. I wanted it to be simple and old-fashioned. Finally I just decided to cut out an oval shape, stitch it to a headband, and that was that! I didn't even finish the edges -- I liked the ethereal, cloudy look of not having any hard lines where the veil ended. Extremely easy!


Oh, and I did make my petticoat, too -- but I'm not even going to get into that! :-)

(Thanks to my friends Keturah and Sarah for all the photos in this post!)

Solemnization of Matrimony

photo taken by my Uncle Gary.
Douglas and I chose to use the marriage ceremony from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for our wedding, which you can read in its entirety here (and no, it has nothing to do with the Jane Austen link -- that's just the first page Google pulls up). :-) We chose to use that particular ceremony because we appreciated that it is so full of Scriptural truth. The "Duties" section (which was read by Douglas' father) pretty much just culls sections of the Holy Bible that pertain to the different responsibilities of husbands and wives -- i.e. it is straight from Scripture. In our culture, a lot of what is discussed in the 1662 ceremony has been forgotten or discarded, so it was refreshing to Douglas and I and our families to participate in a ceremony that honors the infallible Word of God.

We included a congregational hymn during our service -- For the Beauty of the Earth (in this case, verses 1, 2, 3, 4, and 8), which is a hymn of praise to the Lord. Douglas' talented cousin was also able to sing a solo for us during the Signing of the Registry, which was The Lord's My Shepherd, sung to the tune of "Brother James Air." Douglas himself composed the bridal processional for organ, which I heard for the first time as I walked toward him down the aisle. I would love to get a copy of it to share, if I can!

Both Douglas and I were surprised by how quickly the ceremony passed. I was very nervous at the beginning, mostly because I am not comfortable being the center of attention, but God gave me the strength to get through it without fainting or any other unpleasant symptoms. It helped to have my dad's arm to lean on, and later Douglas' hand to hold. :-)

After the pronouncement, we walked back up the aisle as husband and wife to a joyous peal of bells... it was wonderful to see so many shining, smiling faces looking back at us. Just a short half-hour of my life, but I'll never forget it!

Mr. and Mrs. Singer

Mr. and Mrs. Singer on their honeymoon in beautiful Forest Park, Peoria, IL.
Click on the image for the full effect!
I'm back! Thank you so much for all your prayers. The wedding was wonderful, beautiful, exciting, spectacular, etc. (Of course I am a little biased.) I don't even know where to start in describing it! I think I will have to do separate posts about each detail. In the meantime, I know you are itching to see photos... our photographers put up a few preview shots on their blog which you can view here.