Wedding Gown

I'm making my daughters wedding gown. I'm very excited - also nervous and happy at the same time. I made my own wedding gown a long time ago; gowns were not nearly as involved back then. My daughter tried on gowns to see what she liked. She loved those that had lace over a heavier silk and lining -  so far, so did mine,  but then there was boning in the top,  2 horsehair slips and an underslip - not on mine.
    Jill and I went over to a well known and huge fabric store in NC, known for their bridal fabric. They had lots of rolls of lace but not enough of any one kind and not getting anymore in. A very helpful salesperson told us of a store in Asheville that carried bridal fabric. We had just come from Asheville, so back home we went to find - House of Fabrics. It's a small store with beautiful fabric. The bridal section was very small but again, everything luscious!  A tiny case held their imported lace and I thought no way will they have what we want. Lucille - the owner, pulled out lace, held it up and it was perfect. Our excitement was overwhelming. Alencon lace runs 72" wide with borders down each side. The other fabric in the picture is a heavy silk charmeuse which will probably be the underskirt.
It's a heavily corded lace but still very soft to use as a "whole cloth". Lucille gave us a small piece to bring home - to love, and love it we do.

There are no obvious seams in wedding gowns made with this lace. One of the ladies who works at House of Fabrics is an expert in wedding gown construction and will hold your hand throughout the process.  Guess where I'll be spending a lot of my time.

It will be a challenge and happy time for all, I'm sure!