SHE inherited a piece of history after being given her late grandmother’s wedding dress.
So when it came to her own nuptials, Katie decided to pay tribute to her relative by wearing the 1948 gown once again – with a modern spin.
She took to Instagram to share a look at the “ivory slipper satin gown with a basque waist” dress, which she’d been given by her aunt when she got engaged.
The dress had also been worn by two of her aunts for their weddings – the most recent of which was in 1988.
And it had been updated for that occasion by having the satin sleeves replaced with mesh, and lace details being added throughout.
While Katie decided to go in a different direction for her actual wedding dress, she had the “absolute honour” of wearing it for her rehearsal dinner.
When she was given the dress, she “immediately envisioned the transformation”, and added that she knew she was only going to be able to make a “few adjustments to preserve its integrity”.
But that was enough for a tailor to turn the dress into the “elegant, timeless, ethereal” one Katie wanted in what ended up being a lengthy 12-month transformation.
For the makeover, the sleeves, lace and bow on the lower back were removed, while the back was changed to a scoop and the neckline was made a square cut.
The train was shortened, with the excess material used to make a “removal neck drape”, which Katie said “completed the look perfectly”.
“I prayed for my Gran to show up in the sunshine on my wedding weekend, and that’s exactly what she did,” Katie concluded.
“She shined so much light down on me in this dress, and I have never felt so beautiful.”
Despite Katie’s happy video, the comments section was immediately filled with people slamming her for the transformation – after she’d removed so many of the vintage elements of it.
“It hurts seeing a dress like this losing all its charm and character,” one wrote.
“It’s a part of history. There are endless dresses like the result out there.”
“You literally made it unrecognisable,” another added.
“You should have just had a dress made. Instead, you ripped everything unique and special out that dress!”
“Looks so simple and boring now,” a third sighed.
How to pick the perfect wedding dress
Wedding season is in full swing, but when it comes to picking your perfect dress, most new brides-to-be probably feel a bit clueless.
As someone who’s tying the knot in August 2024, Josie Griffiths, deputy digital Fabulous editor and bride-to-be, has shared her top tips…
- Give yourself time – unless you’re a sample size, dresses can take months to even arrive. Don’t stress yourself out by looking too late, in my opinion dress shopping should be the second thing on your list, right after finding a venue.
- Visit multiple shops – you don’t want to be buying on your first visit.
- But not too many – like a f***boy who can’t stop swiping on Tinder, having too much choice isn’t going to help you find The One.
- Take people with you – women who will be honest but also hype you up, unlike the mean relatives on Say Yes To The Dress, and ideally people from different areas of your life who won’t automatically say the same thing. I shopped with my mum and two best friends, who didn’t know each other and had different styles.
- Think it over – I returned to the shop before making my final decision on the dress I chose, re-trying it with my second favourite to make sure I was certain. It’s an expensive purchase, and you can’t send it back like you might your next Asos order, so take time to mull it over.
“Oh my goodness it was ruined,” someone else agreed.
“Why did you destroy something so special? Now it’s the most basic dress of all time,” another wrote.
“They butchered it,” someone else said, while another insisted it ended up looking “like a dress from Temu”.
However, others insisted Katie looked “stunning” in the re-envisioned gown.
“Everyone saying she butchered it, but this was her day and her dress and it’s literally stunning!” one wrote.
“She modernised it and still paid homage to her grandmother,” another added.
“I absolutely love it!”
“So many have missed that the dress was already modified in the 80s and the sleeves weren’t the originals,” a third said.
“Would it be better for the dress to rot away to nothing or be reinvented for a new use?
“It still has the essence of the original dress and is just stunning.”
