Bride Disillusioned With Wedding Dress Options Takes Matters Into Own Hands

After trying a plethora of expensive gowns and struggling to find one she truly liked, a bride told Newsweek she decided to make her own wedding dress from scratch, and the result is pretty impressive.

In a video shared on TikTok in January, under the username monicarazak, the small business owner is sewing up the various parts of her dress after gathering a selection of fabrics from ideas on her mood board.

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The poster, Monica, said: "I knew it would be a fun challenge! I had recently made my engagement party dress and I was really happy with how it turned out, and this gave me the confidence to say 'hey, I might actually be able to make my own wedding dress.'

"At the end of the day, I also realized that if I didn't attempt to make it, I would regret it. I'm lucky enough that I picked up sewing a few years ago and I have the basic skills needed to put a dress together, why waste the opportunity?

"I imagined myself walking down the aisle in a dress that I didn't make. I hated the feeling, so I knew I needed to make it for myself."

According to a survey by The Knot, more than 98 percent of American brides wore a dress on their wedding in 2023, but it doesn't come cheap. In fact, the average cost of a gown last year was about $2,000.

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Monica has so far spent less than half the cost of the average dress, while still being able to source the best materials and design for her gown.

"In total the materials cost somewhere around $750. I made a sample dress with cheaper fabric that could have totally been a viable dress for a more affordable price. The draft dress materials were around $250. But I opted for the more expensive, luxurious fabric in the end," she said.

By crafting her own dress Monica was also able to have all the best parts of her favorite dresses in one, without having to go through the pain of sacrificing one over the other.

"The design itself was basically a compilation of inspo pics I found on Pinterest," she added, "I'm not a lace girl, so I knew I wanted satin/silk. I wanted the dress to make me feel like 'me', and the design I came up with definitely feels like me."

Making the dress has taken her about three full weeks spread across six months, and while it is not finalized yet, the result so far is incredible.

"I wanted to work on it slowly to take off some of the pressure. The first three months I just sourced materials, decided on the design, and made samples. The last three months were dedicated to working with the real fabric, putting the pieces together, and making alterations. I would work for a couple days at a time, then take a long break in order to preserve my patience."

However Monica is not new to sewing, in fact she has a small business that used to sell made-to-order handmade clothes, which has now pivoted to selling other hand-crafting goods. She's also currently making all of her bridal outfits, from her bachelorette, to her bridal shower, wedding rehearsal and getting-ready outfits.

"My expectations were low, honestly. I told myself that if I didn't get at least 80 percent done by February of 2024, I would just buy a dress from a shop. I expected it to be difficult, especially in the beginning when I was designing the pattern.

"I also expected the whole process to be stressful, but exciting, and I was right about that. On top of that, I definitely did not expect so many people to become invested in this project with me on social media!"

For the bride it was mentally frustrating to have this bit of extra stress every day on top of everything else that a wedding needs. It took a few re-dos and a lot of time pressure since the wedding is in the beginning of May.

But now that the dress is almost ready and it's turning out just as pretty as she imagined it, she's certain it was all worth it.

"Sewing seems daunting and difficult, and it's definitely easy to feel the imposter syndrome because of not studying fashion design formally. But there are so many free tools out there for anyone to learn! It'll save you money, it's more sustainable, and you get the unique feeling of being proud that you made something one-of-a-kind for yourself."

The video quickly went viral on social media, getting viewers from across TikTok. It has so far received over 534,500 views and 26,800 likes on the platform.

One user, Olivia | Wedding Videographer, commented: "This is so wholesome!" And rachbobach said: "Been following along on YouTube - so excited to see it coming together!!" Faith added: "So excited for you! its already looking amazing."

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