The Wedding Dress Bustle

I was in a wedding a few years ago where the bride's wedding dress was bustled when she picked it up. She kept the bustle in place in the days up to her wedding and all the way to the church, only taking the bustle down about 30 minutes before the ceremony. The result is something no one would have expected: the train of her beautiful dress was hopelessly wrinkled!

While the other bridesmaids thoughtfully tried to convince her that it was not that bad, my mind raced for a possible solution. Suddenly it hit me - the bridal shop where she had purchased her dress was just down the street. I called and the proprietor said that he could easily steam the dress. The bride, not wanting the guests or her husband-to-be to see her was reluctant to make the trip, so we took the dress without her.

While the bride waited, her slip hiked up around her chest, another bridesmaid and myself dashed through the church, myself holding up the front and she running behind with the outstretched train. I could only wish that one of the gawking guests had had the presence of mind to take a picture! We practically assaulted an unsuspecting guest in the parking lot to give us a lift down the street. Despite the last minute glitch all ended well and the bride, and her dress, looked beautiful when she walked down the aisle.

Lessons learned: some fabrics are more prone to wrinkling. When you bring your dress home, if it is already bustled, take the bustle out to ensure that it has not and will not wrinkle. If something does go wrong on your big day keep a cool head - there may be a solution!

~Karin