Working on a Wedding Dress - by Mom

Working on a wedding dress is kind of like constructing a building (or a life!). This is the fourth one I've made (I made Carla's, Sierra's, and Alison's), and there are some elements in common that seem metaphorical to me. Parts of each construction are very solid and supportive. For Ashley we have a heavy fabric that will wrap tightly around her and contains boning to be supportive. We have a big crinoline that will fluff out that heaviness and make it more airy. These parts are like the solid parts from which we build our lives, things we can lean on or into, things we know will hold up against the vicissitudes of real life. We try to build these things to be beautiful also, but they are solid. Other parts, like the bolero I have been working on this morning, are as gossamer as butterfly wings. The bolero and the beaded fabric are the stuff of dreams, meant only to be beautiful. Much of the wedding finery and the wedding process is like the bolero - they are designed to symbolize our dreams and only to last long enough to get us through this lovely transition. Such is life - gossamer dreams as trimming on a solid foundation that supports us through life!