The Lost Wedding Dress Photos (and) The Curious Tale of the Green Neckline
Suddenly, 26 years have gone by and Mr H and I are about to celebrate another wedding anniversary.
Here’s what we looked like on the big day:
And here’s us in 2022, the last time I tried on the wedding gown:
My dress trying on days are over, however, I’ve tried it on in previous years on this blog: first in 2017; for our 20 year anniversary in 2019 where I discovered a box of wedding paraphernalia; the anniversary in lockdown in 2020; in 2021 for “Two for Twenty Two”; and in 2022 as the above photo. Take a look if you like looking at wedding photos.
I recently found some photos of my wedding dress, partly made. They were taken on a film camera in 1999. I sewed my own dress, set up in my parent’s dining room, which came to look like a sewing bomb had gone off!
The red outfit in the top left of the photo was Mum’s wedding attire, which she was sewing in the same room.
It was considered a very modest dress at the time, as strapless bridal gowns were in fashion.
I also sewed a bridesmaid’s dress for my sister. It was a Vogue pattern, sewn in blue polyester and lined in white. Being bias cut, it looks a bit flat on the hanger.
Here it is on the day, when we had just arrived at the church.
After the wedding, the dress lay around in the spare bedroom for some weeks while I looked for a suitable box to store it in. During this time, I noticed that the fabric around the neck had started to discolour, turning green. I asked for advice at work about this curious problem (I worked in a uniform factory with some very knowledgeable people). It was suggested that the gold threads contained copper, which reacted with my sweat, and gradually turned green over the following weeks.
To neutralize it, a colleague suggested sprinkling it with baby powder, leaving it, and then brushing it off with a clothes brush.
Some time later, the copper theory was confirmed by a scientist friend, who thoughtfully wrote out an analysis for me.
Apart from the baby powder, I couldn’t do much about the front neck, but before I stored the dress I unpicked the neck facings and replaced them with plain white. I kept the old ones in the wedding paraphernalia box, with their scientific analysis.
Here’s to 26 years! May we keep partying like it’s 1999 🙂
Cheers!