Make Your Own Wedding Dress: Bridal En Suite

So you want to make your own wedding dress? As someone who made her own gown, I know the process first hand. Making your own wedding dress is not for the faint of heart. It’s a commitment. It’s a process. But I can promise you that the reward is incredible. Walking down the aisle in a me-made wedding dress – which incorporated pieces of my late mother’s dress – was the most incredible feeling. Looking back, I don’t regret the two muslin I had to make or hand sewing the bodice, and I can promise you won’t either. Before I get into the details of what this new offering is – Bridal En Suite – let me first tell you about my wedding dress experience.

A few months after getting engaged, I had my first wedding appointment at Liberty and Lace (now closed) and I’ll be honest, it was bittersweet. My mom passed away from breast cancer when I was 18 years old. As I was dating in my 20s, I always thought in the back of my head that when I found the person I was going to marry, I would not be able to share it with her. I didn’t realize the true feeling of not having her there until I actually tried on dresses. I wish she was there.

It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with one style. Designed by Kelly Faetanini – it had a gorgeous lace bodice and fit-flare/mermaid/trumpet style skirt. Me, being a sewist through and through, looked inside to scope out the construction. My immediate thought was, “I could totally make this!”. The owner reached out to the designer to see if she would allow me to use the same lace to construct my own version. I was stunned – she said yes! I’m not religious, but I am spiritual. I believe my mom played a part in that happening.

The benefit of having a Facebook-less and blog-less fiancé – I could share my DIY wedding dress progress! It took me 2nd muslins – AKA practice – dresses until I made the final one. I used McCall’s 7540 for my 1st muslin and even though it needed a laundry list of alterations, it was a great base pattern. On September 25, 2020, I marry my husband in a me-made wedding dress that I will truly cherish forever.

Now it’s your turn! Looking back, I learned so much and want to help other brides to be cut down on some of the things that personally, I think prevent a lot of people making their own wedding or reception dress and wedding lingerie:

• Sourcing high quality fabric and trims
• Perfecting the fit of the pattern
• Making a muslin
• Adding hand-sewn details, embellishments or embroidery
• Finishing touches for the inside of the dress
• Making additional accessories (veil, clutch, hair combs, etc)

So what is Bridal En Suite? It’s a brand new offering from Madalynne that includes the following:

• All Fabric + Trims: We worked with a high end fabric mill to source an all over embroidered tulle lace with the most gorgeous lurex thread detailing – AKA the perfect bridal fabric – that work for not just a wedding or reception dress but also wedding lingerie. Brides won’t receive just the fabric, but also all combo fabrics, linings, elastic, trims and notions. Zipper – yes! Rings and sliders – yup! It’s an all inclusive DIY bridal kit. (Fabric and trims are not customizable)
• All Patterns: Included in this pack are the Odessa corset + panty (XXS-4X – pictured left above), the Madalynne X Simplicity 9833 (band sizes 28-44 and cup sizes A-J – pictured right above), and a soon to be Madalynne pattern dress pattern (band sizes 28-44 and cup sizes A-J – pictured in middle above)
• Two In-person or Virtual Fittings: The hardest part on my DIY wedding dress journey was fitting. As someone who has fit thousands of people, recently because a certified bra fitter, and was trained as pattern maker, I can help brides-to-be of all shapes and sizes fine tune patterns to fit their body exactly. My goal is for all three styles to combine comfort, fit, and style.
• Making or Sourcing Additional Accessories: The veil and belt featured in the photos below were sourced from a local bridal designer, but are not hard to make yourself. It’s actually pretty easy and so are a lot of bridal trims and accessories! I will work with brides to make or source the finishing details of their wedding look.

Are you ready to take on one of the most rewarding sewing projects? Let’s make your dream day and dream dress come true! Click here to purchase Madalynne’s Bridal En Suite package!