My Wedding Dress

In the tradition of beloved anthologies of women's essay writing, this collection offers twenty-six true stories from well-known writers and fresh new literary voices writing about a touchstone garment in a women's lives-the wedding dress. These are intimate stories about relationships; not just those between men and women, but between women and their mothers, friends and children. And, of course, with their wedding attire — a relationship that is sometimes simple, sometimes complex, but always fascinating in what it tells us about individual lives and aspirations.

Some of the tales are humorous — the bride whose skin turns fuchsia on her wedding night or the woman whose shopping-savvy aunt takes her to New York's garment district. Some are romantic — the woman who puts on her dress eight years after her wedding only to be caught by her husband when he comes home early from work or the quickie immigration wedding that turned into the real thing. Some are devastating — the bride who loses her mother to illness only days before her wedding or the woman whose mother tells of being kidnapped by her future husband. And some are revealing — the woman who wears her first wedding dress for her initiation ceremony into a convent and her second to marry her beloved; the dress that waited patiently in a shop window and then hidden in a box on a closet shelf; the same-sex wedding at age eighty; the thrift shop wedding dress that gets used for everything but a wedding. All are honest, personal and profoundly moving.

"Something Old" looks at how traditions like honouring one's ancestors affected wedding dress choices, from a grandmother's gift to a father's old leather jacket, but also at how such traditions can play a role in ways you least expect. The pieces in "Something New" focus on dreams for the future, whether that means breaking away from the expectations of one's family or choosing/creating a wedding dress (and a future) on your own. In "Something Borrowed," writers tell of all the reasons behind borrowing (or trying to borrow!) dresses, for whatever reason, and "Something Blue ... Or Peach ... Or Striped ... Or Floral ..." looks at exactly that—the non-traditional choices women have made, and why.

These stories run the gamut of experiences connected to the iconic dress and day. If we work away at the seams, even the simplest of wedding outfits reveals all manner of memories and meanings. And whether you've ever worn a wedding dress or not, the stories in this collection will have you looking with new eyes on your own life, and exploring what the words "wedding dress" mean to you.

Contributors:

Joanne Arnott

Anita Rau Badami

Adwoa Badoe

Amy Cameron

Stevie Cameron

Sandra Campbell

Anne Laurel Carter

Lorna Crozier

Rebecca Cunningham

Laurie Elmquist

Alisa Gordaneer

Jessica Ruth Harris

Kathleen Boyle Hatcher

Rosemary Hood

Michele Landsberg

Mary T. Malone

Jenny Manzer

Ami McKay

Jane Munro

Margaret Goudie Parsons

Gianna Patriarca

Elyse Pomeranz

Edeet Ravel

Kerri Sakamoto

Ilana Stanger-Ross

Darla Tenold

Susan Whelehan

Jamie Zeppa Foreword — Stevie Cameron

Introduction — Susan Whelehan and Anne Laurel Carter

Part One: SOMETHING OLD

Bridal Pink — Anita Rau Badami

Green Silk and Black Leather: The Official Story — Alisa Gordaneer

Wedding Clothes and Marriage Blanket — Joanne Arnott

Knitted Together — Elyse Pomeranz

The Art Project — Jessica Ruth Harris

Part Two: SOMETHING NEW

Sunday Dinner and Wedding Dresses — Anne Laurel Carter

My Mother, My Wedding Dress — Ilana Stanger-Ross

A Simple Dress — Jane Munro

Until at Last — Kerri Sakamoto

With Patience She Stands Waiting —Rebecca Cunningham

The Past, the Pearls, the Politics — Susan Whelehan

The Wedding Promise — Jenny Manzer

Shop/Talk — Kathleen Boyle Hatcher.