December 9, 2010 7:25 p.m.

My wedding dress has been stored up north in my brother’s house for several years, before which it was being stored in my father’s house ever since my 1994 wedding.  I recently requested that my brother and sister-in-law send it to me.  It arrived today.  Sweet Girl was excited to see it arrive, because I told her it can be hers when she gets married, if she is interested.

This dress was also my mother’s wedding dress.  My parents got married on May 29, 1948.  My mother purchased the dress from a store in New York City called “The Tailored Woman”.  It is a full dress, with a full train, off-white, of heavy, shiny satin.  Long sleeves, peter pan collar.  The quality of this dress is second to none.  There are no wedding dresses for sale in any bridal shop I have seen that have fabric of this quality.  Sure, they have more complex and elaborate designs (a friend of mine calls them “chandeliers”) but the fabric is not the same.

My mother passed in 1991 and by the time it was time for me to get married, I had questions as to whether the dress was in any condition to use again.  Turns out it was in fine shape; just needed some dry cleaning so it didn’t smell “old”, but it was very wearable.  I had it tailored to fit me, and the seamstress outfitted it with a bustle, which was not common in such old dresses, I guess.

Here is a photo of my parents on their wedding day in 1948:

And here is a photo of Self-Reliant Man and I on our wedding day: May 14, 1994 (same dress):

The amazing thing is that packed with the dress was the receipt for its purchase.  Sweet Girl noticed a “mystery envelope” wrapped inside the dress, and I opened it to discover these documents..

The first receipt is for the headpiece, purchased on May 11, and the second receipt is for the dress, purchased on May 15.   The dress was $121 and the alteration charge was $15.  The headpiece was $52.  Sales tax at that time was just 2%. 

Also enclosed was a written worksheet for the cost of the wedding dinner: dinner for 53 people with a case of wine.  Total cost $249.

Like I said, Sweet Girl may want this dress some day.  It is my responsibility to ensure that it stays in usable condition for as long as it needs to.  I just think it is amazing.