What To Do When The Bride's Bustle Breaks

It would be absolutely wonderful if things went according to plan on your wedding day, and for some it truly is flawless. But more often than not, things don't go so smoothly, which makes it almost imperative to have a wedding day emergency kit nearby. Wedding coordinators have seen it all and usually have a few tricks up their sleeves to remedy whatever hiccup might happen on your big day.

I have had two different brides whose bustles broke on their wedding gown during the reception. It is a hard thing to watch happen. Most wedding gowns are heavy, and re-bustling them can be nearly impossible. Many brides use safety pins, which can hold well, but if you don't use just the right pins the dress can fall shortly after the dress is fixed. Other brides just throw their gown over their arm and continue to try to dance. This may be fine as a last resort, but who really wants to hold her dress all night? Others just let it fall where it may and risk the gown getting filthy as well as torn from people stepping or dancing on it.

While safety pins used to be my first choice for a quick fix, I have now found an even better option that I thought I would share. Ready for it?? Here it comes.

Dental floss. Yep, that's right. Dental floss. I learned a great trick from a friend this weekend and thought many of you may benefit from this little gem. Don't get me wrong, the best solution to this whole mess would be to have more than one bustle in the gown. When getting the gown altered you should wear shoes appropriate for both walking down the aisle and partying! If you lose a little weight before your wedding then get the dress altered or buy higher heels. With that said, if the bustle breaks on your wedding day then sew the bustle back in with dental floss and a sewing needle. Definitely use good judgment when looking at the fabric and try to sew exactly where the existing bustle was (it is usually in a place where the fabric is a little thicker). A caveat: this may not work for everyone's gown.

Dental floss is thick with a very strong hold. Some seamstresses may tell you that they have used dental floss in sewing gowns. Dancers will tell you that they have used dental floss to sew their point shoes because of it's strength. In looking this up, I found the following quote, "Glide floss is Teflon-coated. True to its name, it glided through the fabric, and the repair is very strong"- just what you need for a wedding gown fix!!

Hopefully your wedding day will run smoothly and be picture-perfect, but just in case there is a small hiccup with the wedding gown then I suggest that you make sure to keep Glide dental floss in your emergency kit!

Warm regards,

Emily Petersen