The phone rang, it was my daughter, “Mom, I am getting married!” she said, “Will you make my wedding dress, please?” Of course she knew that I could sew, her grandmother had taught me to sew my own clothing long ago. In fact most of my five children’s clothing had been homemade when they were young. But a wedding dress, that would be something else entirely. And, I was busy with work, when would I have time to sew a wedding dress? Thoughts of worry and concern filled my mind as I pondered the responsibility of making her wedding dress when I heard myself say, “Of course I will, I would love to do that for you.”
The sewing skills learned as a young girl were going to be put to the test with this project, but I had confidence I could do it. A Vogue pattern was chosen, which are known for their complexity and attention to detail so I knew it would be challenging but the pattern was chosen because the design would be flattering to the bride and that was the most important thing. The materials were gathered, yards and yards of fabric. A mock-up dress was made of muslin to ensure proper fitting since my daughter lives in Washington and I live in Idaho and there would be only one opportunity for a dress fitting before the wedding.
With preparations done, the actual dressmaking could begin. Being true to their reputation and standards, the pattern was complex and the details were many but it actually came together well with only a few minor problems to deal with. But then came the part of her request that was not included with the pattern. She wanted a veil and a train so I would have to design them. Fortunately the veil was pretty easy, however the train was going to be a challenge. It was a great blessing to have a friend who makes and fits wedding dresses as her business. She gave me wonderful counsel and a sample train to copy the pattern from. However, the sample required much more fabric than what we had to use and I was at a loss as to what to do.
How to make the train became a matter of earnest prayer as I could see no way that I could make it work. Not only did I need to know how to make it with the limited amount of fabric we had, but I needed to know how to attach the train to the dress as well. The Lord created the heavens and the earth and He knows how to create a wedding dress train! One day, while pondering the problem, my mind was opened and I could see just how to do it. It was so simple! With that revelation I would be able to complete the project. What a blessing to be able to go to the Lord for help with a sewing problem.
Dress number one would be completed on time, no worries, but as we all know the mother of the bride needs a special dress too and I had not had time to worry about that yet. The colors for the wedding were lavender and green which meant my husband would need a dark green suit and I would need a nice lavender dress, preferably something that would not wrinkle because I would have to pack it into a suitcase to fly to Seattle.
Time was passing quickly as my days were filled with work and my evenings and Saturday’s were filled with all the details of making the wedding dress when I realized that it was time to pick out the suit for my husband so it could be tailored in time for the special event. Still I was not giving any more thought to my dress, dress number two.
With just two weeks left before the wedding, my husband and I went to the men’s store and found the perfect dark green suit and they would have it tailored within a week. Hurray! And since we were near the mall I thought I would go into one of the stores to get a bit of makeup that I needed and then we would rush back home to do more sewing. However, the Lord knew my needs and as we were headed out of the big department store I heard the Spirit whisper to me, “Go look for your dress now.” I turned to my husband and told him of the change in plans. We were to go look for my dress now. It was a large store and I had no idea where the nice dress department was located. Also I had recently lost a lot of weight and had no idea what size dress to try on.
A friendly sales clerk showed us the way to the “Ladies Special Dress” department and much to our surprise there were three racks of beautiful evening gowns on sale 50% off. Oh, how I hoped that I would find something on sale! The very first one that caught my eye was lavender. However, because I only knew what size jeans and tee shirt I wore, I selected a couple other dresses to try on as well just in case. I tried on all three dresses but it was the lavender one that fit just perfectly and it was made of material that did not wrinkle. What a blessing, in just ten minutes we had found the perfect dress for a great price. Hurray again!
What a blessing, everything had come together. Dress number one was finished with all of its many details of special buttons and beading, the veil and the train. Then dress number two was found so quickly and easily while running errands for other needs. I truly felt blessed, the Lord had answered my prayers about the wedding dress and train and He had told me where to find my dress.
It wasn’t until sometime after the wedding when I was reflecting back on the whole experience and marveling at the many blessings bestowed upon me when I realized something even greater about what had transpired. Not only had He helped me, but He knew me so very personally as well. When I didn’t know my dress size, He did! It was the only lavender dress that we saw and it was just my size.
It is my hope and prayer that we may all know just how much the Lord knows each one of us personally and just how much He loves each one of us!
Three boys on a rock!
Just a walk in the park. Deception Falls park.
Yup, that is me at the falls. Emily and Jared coordinated a fun trip for us to take just up the road a piece from their house. It was such a fun day! The weather was perfect and it was an easy walk into the senic area. A day for Granny and Papa to spend with family that we don't get to see nearly enough.
