Something Old

Ideas & Inspiration

Something Old

Some brides search months for The Dress. Bride-to-be Kimberly Herzog, who has family in Seattle and chose to marry here, found hers in her mother’s closet. The off-white, short-sleeve, silk and Belgian lace gown she wore for her August 17, 2008, nuptials to Michael Cohen at the Inn at Port Ludlow was originally designed for her great-grandmother’s wedding, held in a Brooklyn synagogue in 1912. Twenty-nine years later, Kimberly’s grandmother wore the same dress for her 1941 wedding at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, and then, in 1970, Kimberly’s mother donned the dress for her own nuptials.

“Wearing their dress was a way of walking down the aisle with many generations,” Kimberly says. The dress had been vacuum-sealed for almost all of its 96 years, but Kimberly had an expert give it the once-over and make small repairs. Because of the gown’s delicate state, the bride changed into a gold-toned Tadashi cocktail dress that mirrored the vintage feel of her heirloom dress for the reception. 

Family tradition is important to the couple, so they were thrilled with the gift they received from Kimberly’s mother: a framed display of wedding photos of the three generations of women who wore the dress—with an additional space awaiting a portrait of Kimberly.

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