Instead I enlisted the very talented Todoruk Designs to create a wedding dress that brought my favourite elements of both my Grandmas’ dresses together. The princess seams, sweetheart neckline and the light blue were all inspired by my Grandma Marchant’s dress, while my second layer, a white jacquard silk, bore a very strong resemblance to my Grandma C’s dress.

Underneath, I wore pieces from What Katie Did - specifically the CC09 bra, the CC09 tap pants, the Harlow garter and seamed stockings that I bought 4 years ago or so (but had never worn).

I made my own veil - and am still in awe of how well it matches - with tulle and lace from Fabricland. It wasn’t perfect, but I really wanted something handmade and am pleased with how it turned out! I made it out of this Butterick veil pattern, using Look B but ditching the blusher and making it a bit shorter. Originally I was going to have the blusher as a separate piece, but I got really lazy and nixed it completely.

I stitched it all by hand, because the last thing I wanted after mucking around with that tulle (cutting out tulle and tissue paper at the same time is something I am NEVER EVER repeating) was it getting eaten by my machine. All and all, I think it cost about $20 to make.

My shoes were Baylee Winter White by BAIT. Now, there was a bit of drama with my shoes. I originally bought different BAIT shoes, which were blue, way back in August 2013, but I came to terms a few weeks before the wedding that while I liked the shoes in generally, they didn’t go with my dress as well as I’d hoped, and that I should buy the shoes I had been lusting over for a whole year.


I bought the new shoes in my usual 8.5 size, three weeks before the wedding, but to my horror they didn’t fit! I think it was because BAIT used a different lining in this pair than they usually did. So I hastily sent them back and sent a panicked email to the company asking them to expedite the return because it was for my wedding. Generally they can’t send the replacements until they receive the first pair back, but luckily for me they made an exception and sent them to me once I sent the return package tracking information.

When I got the size 8 shoes, they STILL didn’t really fit, but at this point I had to make do and so I bought a bunch of insoles and stuff that made them fit. In the end they looked beautiful, we very comfortable (I wore them all day and night with a very short breaking-in period) and I didn’t fall on my butt. Actually, I broke the cap off from dancing too hard - which I didn’t notice until I finally unpacked my wedding stuff when we got back from the honeymoon.

Thanks to the generosity of my family members, I was able to wear the pearl necklace my Grandma Marchant had worn at her wedding, 70 years + one day before, and the earrings my Grandma Callsen wore to her wedding. I actually forgot to put them on, but luckily remembered once I got down to the lobby. Even now I get stressed looking at my getting ready photos and seeing that I’m not wearing them!