The big white box sat in our attic for years.
When the grandchildren begged to play in there recently, my eye
fell on the box. It'd been almost 45 years since my mother took
my wedding dress to a dry cleaner's to be "preserved."
It was time to get the box out and see what was there.
How disappointing!
Obviously the preservation wasn't guaranteed for 45 years!
But tucked on top was my sister's wedding dress that she
had sewed 47 years ago with beautiful polished cotton and lace.
It was pristinely white and in perfect condition.
Since it was her birthday I thought it would be
fun to mail her the dress as she probably didn't know I had it.
So I packed it up, along with the left over fabric and lace.
The dress arrived just a few days before my sister attended a very sad event.
A newborn baby had been found on a walking path and
the community was coming together to celebrate
the short little life with a tender burial.
There was a display in the church of infant burial gowns,
which had been made out of wedding gowns.
You can guess what my tender-hearted sister did.
Her beautiful dress and extra fabric is now being turned into sweet burial gowns.
All because two kids wanted to play in "Grandma's Attic."
Oh my goodness, Dotsie. I'm in tears...What a beautiful gesture of love and generosity. ♥
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet story <3
ReplyDeleteRecently my daughter and I took her grandmother's wedding gown out of a cardboard box where it had been wrapped in tissue paper before the days of wedding gown preservation. It is almost 80 years old, and the tulle overdress was falling apart. But the simple satin shift was intact. My daughter took it home to show the great-granddaughter... and after that, I don't know what she will do with it :-)
Podso,
ReplyDeleteI have heard of this, but never knew of anyone whom donated their Wedding dress, until now.
What a lovely gesture, dear friend.
Thank you for sharing of the of a community coming together during such a tragic time.
Fondly,
Pat
I love that story. Precious babies should be laid to rest with love and care no matter the circumstances.
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
That's an amazing ministry. Beautiful...
ReplyDeleteOh Dotsie, this is a sad and sweet post. I'm so sorry to see how your wedding dress fared. This makes me nervous because I, too, have my wedding gown in a sealed box from the dry cleaners (since 1987). I've wanted to open it but have been afraid I will find it ruined. I hear of this fairly often, actually. You and your sister both had beautiful wedding gowns.
ReplyDeleteYour sister truly is big-hearted to donate her dress, and that is a wonderful idea. It will mean a lot to some child's parents, I'm sure. Thank you for sharing this sweet post.
Hugs,
Denise
That is a noble repurposing of a wedding gown. Both yours and your sister's are beautiful.The difference in fabrics that made the difference in how well it was preserved? I was rather hoping that the grands were allowed to model the wedding dress. ☺
ReplyDeleteWhat blessing!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your story and the site where we can learn more.
Thank you for sharing this story, Dotsie. Oh, such a tender heart your sister has, and that is inspiring! Her gown was so beautiful, and now it is beautiful again.
ReplyDeleteI'm overwhelmed with emotion of this selfless act. God bless your sweet sister and those who lost this precious baby.
ReplyDeleteI was so surprised and thrilled that when my granddaughter Elsie was christened, her dress was made from her mother's bridal gown. How sweet.
Jane
What a wonderful example of God's timing that your sister's dress should arrive just then. It's too bad about the discoloration of your dress. I didn't seal my dress at all and it's held up well over the years - I tried it on every few years, and both my daughters tried it on as teenagers, too. I'm thinking of doing something with it - need to investigate here to see if there is something similar to Caleb Ministries.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about the loss of the baby, but what a sweet thing for your sister to do.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what ever happened to my wedding dress. I did loan it out to two different people I worked with and I hope their marriages have been as wonderful as mine.
What a touching story. How lovely to think that the dress will be worn happily again.
ReplyDeleteOh how incredibly touching. What an incredibly kind and caring thing your sister has done. xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely story. My wedding gown didn't keep, besides being "preserved".
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh! I still have goosebumps from reading that a newborn was found on a walking path. How very horrible and sad. It's nice that the community came together to give that precious soul a proper burial. And what a blessing that you sent the dress and that your sister turned it into something so special.
ReplyDeleteA lovely ministry that your sister is contributing to. I haven't looked at my wedding dress either since it was put in its box over 47 years ago.
ReplyDeleteSo sweet of your sister ♥
ReplyDeletesummerdaisycottage.blogspot.com
Oh Dotsie....what a tender and touching story. That was a God thing if there ever was one! How selfless of your sister to allow parts of her dress to be used in this way. I am sorry to hear that your dress wasn't preserved like you had hoped. I recently came across my wedding dress and found some yellowing but not terrible. Boy I sure would like to be able to at least fit into it once again though! Maybe one day.... :)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of repurposing old wedding dresses into angel gowns and recently suggested this to someone.
ReplyDeleteHow sweet and sad. How special of you to send the gown and extra fabric to your sister. I can't even imagine what that meant to her!
ReplyDeleteSo funny to read this post....I just finished reading a book where a woman (in real life) did exactly the same thing with a wedding gown. I'd never heard of it, and in the space of an hour finished her book and read your post. Such a lovely idea. Such sweetness. :) Btw, your dresses are wonderful. White and stained. Love them.
ReplyDeleteI rather like the ivory 'patina' of your wedding gown. How sad about the found infant. Very disturbing too. The idea of making burial gowns for such instances is beautiful and very touching. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDelete