My Wedding Dress Disaster

My mother and my bridesmaids are strategically in place, and the photographer has optimal light for a great “putting on the dress” shot. I step into the layers of satin and tulle with a goofy smile plastered on my face, and wiggle the snug dress up my body. My maid of honor slowly zips up the back of my wedding gown. She reaches for the small silver hook of the hook and eye closure at the top, and the room falls silent. All I can hear is the clicking of the photographer’s camera as I laugh nervously and ask, “What’s wrong?” A bridesmaid slowly replies, “Umm…uhh…the eye of the hook and eye closure isn’t here…”

This might seem like an easily remedied problem to a sane person. However, when you are experiencing one of the most memorable moments of your life, in a room surrounded by ten of your closest family and friends, one might begin the early stage of a panic attack (I did.). But, this is the mother of the bride’s area of expertise – my mother asked the bridesmaids to step aside, and she quickly evaluated the situation. As it turns out, the eye on this particular dress was not made of medal – it was a sturdy, but thin piece of white thread which had been mistaken for a hemline by the other girls.

I breathed a heavy sigh of relief and headed out for photographs and our ceremony, feeling like a million bucks in my wedding dress.

The next thing I know, the bridesmaids and groomsmen are lined up in pairs waiting to be announced into the reception, with my husband and me lingering in the back. My sister-in-law of less than an hour left her bouquet in the cocktail hour area and ran back to grab it, stopping on her way back to congratulate us again. While she was chatting away with my new husband, my wedding coordinator urgently waved me over to answer a quick question. I hurriedly started walking forward, only to feel a strange tug on my dress. My sister-in-law’s stiletto was firmly planted on the train, ripping the hooks and closures of my bustle. She felt terrible, and we quickly tried to fix it, but the draping of the dress had resulted in a very complicated bustle. We entered the reception with my bustle un-done and my chapel-length train dragging across the dance floor, a fake smile glued to my face. How could anyone STEP ON MY WEDDING DRESS? Don’t people know to be aware of the bride’s dress at ALL times?

Pouting at the dinner table, I felt like my wedding was ruined. The dress is one of the most important parts of the day, after all!

Once again, my mother saved the day. She found several white safety pins (she’s always prepared for anything) and re-created the complicated bustle using nothing but a few pins. It remained perfectly intact for the rest of the evening. (Tip: Here is a comprehensive list of emergency items to have on hand on your big day!)

Broken bustles aren’t the only issue one might encounter. Julie, a healthy living blogger, chronicles her wedding planning process on her blog Peanut Butter Fingers. Her first dress fitting had its very own disaster: http://www.pbfingers.com/2010/10/06/wedding-dress-fitting/.

Who would you turn to for help in the event of a mid-wedding catastrophe?

-Alison Ford, contributing editor

Alison’s next post will be out soon: No $275 Tux Rental for My Wedding! and Superstitious Traditions I Broke On My Wedding Day