Bride Will Be the 11th Woman in Her Family to Wear 120-Year-Old Heirloom Wedding Dress

By Jenny Zhang on September 28, 2015

When it came to finding “something old” to wear to her wedding, Pennsylvania native Abigail Kingston didn't have to look beyond her family tree. The 30-year-old bride-to-be knew she wanted to be married in her family's special heirloom–a 120-year-old wedding dress that has been worn by 10 women in her family, including her own mother.

The two-piece Victorian gown was first worn by Kingston's great-great-grandmother in 1895, and has been passed down from family member to family member ever since. Kingston tracked down the dress, which was last donned in 1991, only to find that the garment had turned brown and was falling apart from over a century of use. She decided to turn to expert bridal designer Deborah LoPresti for help. After 200 painstaking hours of work–which included adding new sleeves, lightening the brown shade to a champagne color, and altering the silk and satin garment to fit Kingston's tall, thin frame–the dress was finally restored to a beautiful state.

Kingston will be the 11th woman in her family to wear the gown when she weds fianc Jason Curtis on October 17, a special day that also marks the birthday of her late grandfather. As the dress is extremely fragile, the bride will wait until after the ceremony to change into the antique heirloom for the cocktail reception. After the wedding, the vintage garment may be sent to a 12th bride–a daughter of Kingston's mother's cousin, who has already expressed interest in the dress.

“I truly felt the magic and love putting on the dress,” Kingston told Refinery29. “It's my Cinderella dress–and I have the shoes to match!”

Above photo source: Kelly McEwan via Lehigh Valley Live

Photo source: Kelly McEwan via Lehigh Valley Live