A Wedding Dress Story
By Jaylin Thacker
This wedding dress was my grandmothers, whom I am extremely close with. When my grandfather passed away, we rummaged through the attic in hopes to find some comfort. Finding old keepsakes and photos to remember the good times. My grandma actually thought she lost her wedding dress! It’s a long story, but she was so shocked when I came across this old beat up garment bag.
So naturally, we immediately went back downstairs to take the dress out of it’s bag. I put the dress on for laughs, really. And now that I’m thinking about it… this was the first and only wedding dress I have tried on! Immediately after buttoning it, and putting the gorgeous gloves on, I just knew. I knew this was the dress I wanted to say my vows in. My grandma of course was thrilled to see me in her dress. We cried, laughed, and danced around for a bit. I know my grandpa got a kick out of us, watching us from Heaven.
Click on photos to see enlarged
Jaylin’s grandmother’s wedding dress before wedding dress restoration
Jaylin’s grandmother’s wedding gown after wedding dress restoration
My grandma had the same experience in this dress. My grandpa was deployed in The Vietnam War during all of the wedding planning fun. My grandma said picking out her dress was the easiest detail. This dress was on a cover of a bridal magazine. She immediately went downtown to a bridal store called Laselle’s, which is unfortunately no longer there. Laselle’s was the “high end” bridal store in Toledo, Ohio for most of the 1900’s. Fast forward to 1968, this is where my grandma found her wedding dress.
This store luckily had this dress, and my grandma didn’t try on any other dresses. She knew, just like how I knew.
I’m originally from Toledo, Ohio. Where most of my family still lives till this day. I now live in Key West, Florida. This is where I met my future husband, Andrew. We both moved down here to Key West take a break. A break from trying to figure out what we wanted in life. Sounds silly, I know! We met each other, found our dream home, and found careers we absolutely love. It’s funny, we both have completely different stories of how and when we first started dating.
We are getting married on Sunday, January 13th 2019 at The Ernest Hemingway Home Museum in Key West, FL. This phenomenal house has so much history, and character. And the grounds of this home are absolutely stunning. This dress will fit perfectly into the venue, and the moody, vintage garden theme. I can not wait for my grandma to see me again in the dress!
Thank you so much for your time and services. This has been such an emotional process without my grandpa here. But all the small details of the wedding won’t matter once I have that dress on.
Jaylin’s Wedding Dress Restoration Treatment
Jaylin’s ivory with white lace vintage wedding dress with a high neck had moderately aged and had significant oxidized stains throughout the gown. Some of the lace appliques had glued on seed beads and these had discolored along with the glue. There was oxidized sweat stains under each arm and the organza in the bodice is darker in color than the outer layer organza.
We removed all metal snaps, buttons and hooks before treatment and replaced them afterward to prevent rusting. We replaced missing buttons and tightened the loose bow on the back of the dress. We whitened Jaylin’s gown with a hot chemical wedding dress restoration treatment. The results are stunning!
Jaylin will look beautiful in her grandmother’s wedding dress. Get a Free Quote for your wedding dress restoration.