Today marks mine and my husband’s seven year anniversary (from the time we started dating) and our one year wedding anniversary! Since I didn’t have a blog this time last year, I thought today would be a good time to show the outfits I made for our wedding.

Neither of us are much for tradition or ceremony, so our wedding was as low-key as possible. Actually, we eloped and just held a small reception at our house a few weeks later. Our “wedding pictures” were taken with a tripod and remote on our deck. I don’t regret not having a wedding ceremony at all. The time and money I would have spent planning it instead went towards our honeymoon in New Zealand! Definitely the right decision.

For my wedding dress I couldn’t stand the thought of pouring a lot of time and money into something I would only wear for a few hours. I wanted it to be 1) wearable for other occasions and 2) not white. I decided to go with the Belladone dress pattern by Deer & Doe for a classic and simple silhouette.

I did, however, want to use something special for the fabric and I eventually decided on this Oscar de la Renta silk mikado from Mood. It was (and still is) the most expensive fabric I ever bought, but I think it was perfect for my dress. The texture of it is unlike any fabric I’ve felt before. It’s a silk/wool blend and has a lovely smooth feel, but also a crisp drape. Purple and green are two of my favorite colors and I think the watercolor-esque flower pattern is gorgeous.

Looking at these pictures has reminded me that I really need to make another Belladone in a more everyday fabric! It’s a great pattern.

I also made my husband’s suit. It wasn’t a fun experience. I’d only been sewing for a year at this point and making that suit was tough. I think I’ve mostly blocked it out from my memory. The pattern was something from McCall that I can’t be bothered to look up, and the fabric is some kind of mystery fabric I got for super cheap from the Golden D’Or in Dallas. The suit really ended up being more of a wearable muslin, but it served its purpose I suppose!

I can’t believe we’ve already been married for a year! Time flies. And looking back on these garments I can really see how much my sewing has improved in the last year (especially with the suit, although I would do a couple things differently with the dress too).

So would you (or have you) sewn your own wedding dress? Would you go all-out and make a ballgown with layer upon layer of tulle? Or keep it simple and non-traditional? I think the great thing about sewing your own wedding dress is that you can make something that truly reflects your personality!

<3 Lindsay