I must confess that I wasn’t sure what to expect when Sallie mentioned she would be wearing a wedding gown from the 1800s. (Visions of Queen Victoria bounced around in my head with puff sleeves and high necklines.) So when she carefully pulled this jaw dropping gown from the closet, my mouth dropped wide open and I did a little dance right then and there. Sallie is legitametly one of the prettiest women I’ve ever seen or known, and she would have could have rocked a brown paper bag, but when she draped this beautiful gown over her body, this beauty looked like she walked straight out of a Free People Magazine. Coupled with the fact that we were shooting at the gorgeous new wedding venue, The Pines in Historic Halifax, NC ,(the venue of the Wedding and Reception), the cascading flower bouquet by Johnny Short, and the bohemian braid and professional makeup by Suzanne Holt…Sallie’s bridals were a dream. 

Here’s the details on this amazing gown per the Bride’s mother, Tina Gregory: “The bride wore an 1808 Empire-style wedding dress which was first worn by her fifth great-grandmother, Rebecca Richardson Storm. The high-waisted dress was a gathered chemise shift of Indian hand-loomed muslin with white-on-white woven stripes at the wrists of the straight full sleeves and at the hem, a style made popular by the Empress Josephine of France. The gown’s silhouette was distinguished by a décolleté low square neckline and a short narrow-backed bodice attached to a fully gathered skirt. The small, neat puff sleeves barely capped the shoulder and were pulled back by the narrow cut of the bodice. Over the last two centuries, the dress has been worn by many family brides, some of whom have altered it slightly, although the dress has remnants of its original pin-tucked bodice. In 1935, the bride’s grandmother, Edith Storm Long, added point de France lace gussets to the bodice and to the cap sleeves. It was altered again in 1979 with the addition of Venetian gros point lace overlays to the square neckline and the hem. In keeping with tradition, Sallie added antique lace-covered buttons at the back of the dress.”

 

 

 

Stay tuned for Sallie and Ryan’s 2 day Festivities to be shared on the blog soon. It was truly a magical and romantic affair. 

If you are planning your 2016/2017 Wedding, I’d love to grab a cup of coffee and talk details. Available for Destination Weddings.