Bride Wears A 120-Year-Old Heirloom As Her Wedding Dress

In some families, a wedding dress is traditionally inherited from generation to generation to preserve the beautiful memory of the bridal gown. This practice might not be usually done in a lot of places, but Abby Kingston from Pennsylvania, USA, shared how her stunning wedding dress has been used by her great-great-grandmother and passed from one generation to another.

This tradition started in 1895 when Abby’s great-great-grandmother Mary Lowry Warren first wore the wedding dress.

The wedding dress still has its classic touch, with its oversized sleeves and tiny waist

However, Mary’s daughter was not really interested in following the tradition and so, she didn’t wear her mother’s bridal gown in her own nuptial. Hence, the practice has been stopped for 50 years.

Jane Woodruff, 1946

The tradition continued when Lowry’s granddaughter enthusiastically wore the dress in her wedding with John Kearns on Feb. 20, 1946, after her mother rejected to don the gown.

Virginia Woodruff, 1948

This time, the satin wedding dress was altered to widen the waistline, removing the traditional corset design. Virgina Woodruff was married to Douglas MacConnel on Oct. 13, 1948.

Sara Seiler, 1960

In 1960, Sara Seiler wore the gown in her wedding with Duncan Ogden. The wedding dress’ veil was changed to fit the classic gown style.

Laird MacConnell, 1976

Wearing the very same gown and the very same veil, Laird MacConnell wedded Timothy Hensler on Oct. 16, 1976.

Leslie Woodruff Kingston, 1977

Abby’s mother, Leslie Woodruff Kingston, wore the heirloom dress in her wedding to Abby’s father Richard T. Kingston Jr. on Aug. 6, 1977. Although the dress was not altered in any way, Leslie donned a different veil, this time making it hippier.

Janet Kearns, 1982

Janet Kearns got married to Mark Daigle on Oct. 30, 1982. She made minimal alterations by adding lace on the top of the dress to hide the damages it incurred over the years.

Jane Ogden, 1986

Jane Ogden sported the wedding dress without a veil as she married James Houston on June 2, 1986.

Virgina Kearns, 1989

Virginia Kearns made her veil as long as the wedding dress when she wedded Charles Stinnett on Aug. 26, 1989.

Ann Ogden, 1991

Ann Ogden made it a little modern by removing the veil and wearing a flower crown instead in her wedding with Robert Hausslein on July 4, 1991. This was the first time Abby saw the wedding dress when she was just 5 years old. She fell in love instantly and wanted it to be her bridal gown when the right time came, reported the Daily Mail.

Abby wearing the 120-year-old bridal gown

Abby and her mom had the wedding dress restored for 200 hours by Deborah LoPresti as she married Jason Curtis.