The Story of the Wedding Dress
or how I went from no sewing experience to wedding dress in one year
by Arika Okrent
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When I started thinking about sewing my own wedding dress, I had had very little contact with the needle and thread. I had rather clumsily tapered some of my jeans in the eighties, but other than that, the sewing machine was a stranger to me. So what gave me the nerve to take on such a project? I had a few things going for me. First, as someone who has taken up many hobbies over the years, I had established a sense in my own mind that most skills can be acquired through research, patience, and following directions. Not that the skills will be acquired to the point of virtuosity, or even talent, but a getting-the-job-done level can be achieved in just about any arena (with the exception of singing, a personal failure). Second, I didn't have a lot of emotional investment in my wedding attire. I never had the idea that this would be my gown of gowns, the most wonderful garment I would ever have a chance to wear. I wanted to look nice. I didn't want anything complicated like lace or embroidery or fancy sleeves. I did , however, want something in a color other than white, with some kind of decorative color somewhere. After looking around a bit and not finding anything to my liking (in my price range), I thought, why not give it go? I'll give myself a few months, and if things really aren't shaping up to the 'nice' effect, I'll go buy something. It was December. The wedding was scheduled for July.
I started by digging my mother's 1968 Singer sewing machine out of
my parent's basement, dusting it off, and setting it up in a sunny corner
of my apartment (Tip: it's nice to be able to look out the window while
you sew, but try to keep the sun off your machine and your fabric).
Minimal investment so far. I bought some nice left-handed shears (even
a sinister manual handicap need not keep you from this hobby), a good
steam iron, and some general sewing books ("Reader's Digest Complete
Guide to Sewing" and "The Complete Photo Guide to Sewing,"
published by Singer). I started small and got gradually more complicated.
First I made curtains for the living room. 
Then
a basic long-sleeved shirt from a Simplicity pattern. Then a sundress
for which I departed a bit from the pattern by changing the neckline.
I was getting comfortable with the sewing machine. Meanwhile I took
two classes at a fabric store (Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, IL). In one
class, taught by Jean Haas, we made dress dummies of ourselves with
duct tape and quilt batting. This
class can be bought on video. Now I had a life-size me duplicate
to do fittings on. The other class was on bridal dress fabrics, taught
by one Paterna Maranon, former seamstress to Imelda Marcos and bridal
buyer at Vogue, who became a great source of advice and encouragement.
I picked a simple two piece prom dress pattern, McCall's 3056. And Paterna
showed me how to open out the back seam to make a little train. Then
I made just the top part in cheap twill, to see if could do it. It wasn't
perfect, but I had proven to myself that it wasn't impossible. Then
I made the whole thing out of even cheaper muslin. Here I discovered
that my 'opening out the back seam for a train' pattern alteration was
wrong. Well, that's why you do a practice run in muslin. After correcting
that error and taking in seams here and there to fit my duplicate me
perfectly, I had my final pattern--now in muslin rather than paper.
Time to pick out the fabric. I chose a golden champagne colored Italian
duchesse satin. At $60 per yard, this was the most expensive outlay
of the entire venture. I think I bought 2 and a half yards, so $150,
not bad compared to some of the ready made dresses I looked at. I bought
organdie and flannel to line the top, and cotton batiste and netting
to make a petticoat. 
How
did I know to do this? I made another wise investment in Susan Khalje's
book "Bridal Couture". Here I learned how to turn a flimsy
prom dress pattern into a lined, secure, all-the-little-nice-details
fancy gown. If you are more set on lace and sleeves and fairy tale trains
than I was, this book will guide you through all of that as well. Now
it was April, and the scariest step was at hand: cutting into the good
stuff. I went very slowly at this point, checking and re-checking that
the pattern was laid out correctly. Through the spring and early summer
I put it all together. The main pieces I sewed together with the old
Singer, and then because this old Singer only had one type of stitch--straight,
I did a lot of hand sewing (it's all in the book). I found this activity
rather pleasant and meditative. It's repetitive, doesn't take a lot
of thought, and can be done while talking on the phone or watching "Law
and Order." By the end of June the dress was basically constructed,
but not quite finished.
Still needing a little splash of color, I decided a rich red satin
complemented the gold quite nicely, and made some roses for the back
of the dress (again, it's in the book). As time was getting short now,
these were attached with plain old safety pins. 
Two days before the big day, I was hand hemming the skirt on my parents'
living room table while I socialized with the relatives who had come
in early. With the extra red fabric, I made my mother a rose corsage
to match. I made a little purse with the leftover
dress fabric. I also made the veil. I saw veils in bridal shops going
for $300. This veil cost all of $4 to make. The material is $2 per yard
and it is attached to a plastic comb. If one desired the plastic crystals
and beads that come with the $300 veil, I'm sure these could be added
for $1 more. I'm not going to get all self-righteous about how I did
my wedding on the cheap--it wasn't exactly cheap, but the money was
spent on things I find important like food and music. Looking through
bridal magazines can distort your sense of what YOU want to do and make
you feel like "Well, I never thought I needed engraved invitations,
but maybe people will whisper disparagingly if I don't spring for them..."
We designed our own invitations in Photoshop and had them laser printed.
My mom's friend made the cake. My sister wore the skirt from a bridesmaid's
outfit she had bought for a friend's wedding. 
And
I managed to make my own dress. It wasn't perfect. I probably could
have pressed it a little better (I was timid about the fabric). But
I could move and dance and bend over backwards comfortably in it. The
hem was good and dirty by the end of the party. 
And I didn't just get a dress out of the deal. I got sewing. Since the
wedding, I've made a slip cover for my nasty old sofa, a little 40's
suit with matching belt, and various skirts and tops. Because I kept
the hobby going (not true of all my endeavors), I invested in a used
Bernina, and I can't wait to see what zig zag and buttonholes will do
for me. I'm not a virtuoso. I'm not even talented. But I got the job
done. Thanks to research, patience, and following directions.