Vintage gowns are getting a second life in latest bridal trend
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A growing number of brides are repurposing their mothers' wedding gowns for their own special day.
Why it matters: As the costs of weddings continue to climb, the trend is another way couples are blending sustainability with sentimentality.
Zoom in: On TikTok, brides repurposing dresses attract thousands of views and comments, and the hashtag "Vintage Wedding Dress" has over 11,200 posts.
- Atlanta designer Kristen Brittle, owner of When We Were Young, said her bridal gown business exploded overnight after her videos of repurposed wedding dresses went viral.
- "We are all about breathing life into special pieces that once maybe laid in a preservation box in the attic for 30 years untouched," Brittle told VoyageATL in July.
What they're saying: In Austin, Hill Country Bridal's Carol Dyer says more brides are bringing in their mothers' gowns to create custom looks — whether for a rehearsal dinner or the ceremony.
- "We work together to transform those dresses into something beautiful," Dyer tells Axios. "It's gotten more popular in the last couple years."
- She now sees four to five brides a month interested in redesigning family gowns.
By the numbers: 17% of respondents in Zola's 2025 First Look report said they are thrifting or sustainably sourcing their wedding look, up from 14% in 2024.
- 15% described their wedding style as "vintage," per the wedding planning site's report.
💠Nicole's thought bubble: I wore my mom's 1991 wedding dress for my rehearsal dinner — with her blessing, of course.
- My seamstress and I spent months figuring out how to update the dress, while keeping the spirit of the original.
- We slimmed the skirt, squared the neckline and shortened the sleeves. We also used material from the original belt to create a flower that I pinned to my waist. I used additional fabric as a ribbon around my bouquet on my wedding day.
The bottom line: My mom loved the redesigned dress, and I displayed photos of her in the original gown at our rehearsal dinner.