January 5, 2017
Hair by Britany Marshall Beauty
Makeup by Elizabeth Wiggins
One of the most exciting parts of getting engaged is realizing you get to shop for your wedding dress! Like any other millennial gal, I had previously pinned about 20 different dresses that I loved. However, none of them were dresses I could live without.
Growing up, every day I walked by a portrait of my mother in her wedding gown. She was beautiful; the perfect bride. I had always loved her dress, but the thought of having my own special gown seemed ideal. I had put my mom’s dress on before, but it was a little dirty and wrinkled at the time. My mom told me she would love it if I wore her dress, but didn’t want me to feel obligated. She insisted on taking me dress shopping so I didn’t have any doubts.
We booked an appointment at Bliss Bridal Boutique in Fort Worth. I was thrilled! I fixed my hair and makeup that morning so I would look my best trying on gowns. I had also invited my best friend, Stacey, to ask her to be my maid of honor. She was surprised to say the least!
My bridal consultant was awesome. She asked me to describe the dress I wanted, “Relaxed ball gown, lace on the bodice, not too low cut…”. Wake up Caitlin! You’re describing your mother’s dress! I continued to look through the amazing collection of bridal gowns at Bliss and had a wonderful experience getting to try them on. In the end, I loved my mom’s dress the most.
This wasn’t just my mom’s dress though. It was a dress that already had a special history. Four women in my family have worn this dress over three generations. The gown was first worn in 1959 by my Gran when she married my Papa in Amarillo, Texas. My great aunt, and Gran’s sister, wore it in 1966, also in Amarillo, Texas. As mentioned, my mom wore it in 1983 in Azle, Texas. I wore it on November 12, 2016 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Instead of doing a first look with my future husband, I decided to give that special moment to my Gran. She had no idea I had chosen to wear her dress. How we kept it a secret for over a year, I will never know. My photographers at Braden Harris Photography did a wonderful job catching this special moment.
This timeless wedding gown was my “Something Borrowed” from my mom, because she says she isn’t quite ready to give it up. I can’t blame her. There is nothing else like it out there.
Credit for all photos: Braden Harris Photography
Mary Blasingame Forkner
Yours and Milton’s wedding was special enough, so I thought! That is, until you walked out into the terrace wearing “our” wedding dress. What an incredible honor to see my child wear my dress and then 58 years later, see my first born granddaughter walk out to greet me wearing that beloved dress. There were no words, as the pictures display. An honor this Gran will cherish forever!