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BETHLEHEM, Penn. — When a Pennsylvania woman walks down the aisle in October, she'll be bringing the love and tradition of 10 other brides along with her.
Abigail Kingston will be the 11th woman on her mother's side of the family to wear a wedding dress first donned by her great-great-grandmother Mary Lowry Warren more than 120 years ago, according to Daily Mail.
When Kingston first got engaged to fianc Jason Curtis, she was determined to join the tradition of family brides to wear the heirloom. But tracking it down was trickier than she'd hoped — the dress hadn't been worn since 1991.
Kingston and her mother Leslie — the sixth bride to take her wedding vows in the dress — finally discovered the dress was in the possession of family member Sara Seiler Ogden, who wore the dress at her 1960 wedding. Ogden shipped it along, but when the package arrived at Kingston's doorstep, she was heartbroken.
It's not just the dress that's been handed down, it's the love.
–Abigail Kingston
"It was a dingy brown and had all this lace applique all over it to cover damage from wear and tear over the years," Kingston told the Daily News. "I put on the top and it was almost a crop top on me, and the skirt had been cut short."
Kingston had all but lost hope when a family friend recommended a dressmaker who could help her return the dress to its former glory. The restoration proved to be a daunting task, even for the most seasoned designer.
"Deborah had restored gowns before, but never one worn by 10 other brides," Kingston said. "She spent 200 hours bringing it back to life."
The tradition of the dress actually took about 50 years to commence — Warren's own daughter had no interest in wearing her mother's Victorian-era satin gown at her own wedding, according to the Daily Mail. It was Warren's granddaughter — Jane Woodruff — who first followed in her grandmother's footsteps and wore the dress in her 1946 wedding.
Over the years, the brides altered the dress to cover damage and meet the styles of the times.
"Everyone kept cutting away and cutting away at it, especially in the '80s," Kingston told the Daily News. "Now it's in style in that it's tea length, but it was never meant for that."
The dress had to be altered in a big way to get it back to what Warren first wore in 1895, something that Kingston felt a bit sad about. But the end result is a stunning tribute to the woman who started it all.
Kingston and Curtis will exchange "I dos" on Oct. 17. Kingston plans to wear a new dress for the ceremony, but will change into the family heirloom gown for the cocktail hour, the Daily News reports. She'll be covered in the "something borrowed" department — also wearing her great-grandmother's ring and her grandmother's locket.
Photos of each of the 10 previous brides wearing the gown will be on display at the wedding.
"It's not just the dress that's been handed down, it's the love," she said.
