With an overload of ambition, a woman from Washington state scrabbled together tons of different kinds of beads, three dresses, and three different fabrics; dedicating a total of 379 hours to sew her own wedding dress.
Chelsea Komm, 33, from East Wenatchee, was going to marry her fiance, Chase Hodge, 35, in August 2020. However, due to the pandemic, the wedding was canceled and their life was put on pause.
During that time, Komm had to quit her permanent cosmetics and waitressing jobs to care for the five children that she and Hodge share between them as her fiance—an engineer who works on crab boats and hovercrafts and travels 6 to 10 months out of the year—was out for work.
Due to the pandemic, the homeschooling mom found herself buried under a mountain of responsibilities that she was trying to juggle, and was lost to depression for a time.
“I had zero motivation, no energy, I was staying in bed every chance I got,“ Komm told The Epoch Times. ”I even did the kids’ classes in bed.”
Like many others during that time, Komm’s engines seemed to have come to a halt. However, what helped her come out of it was her working on her wedding dress.
“It was as if it brought me back to life,” she said. “It flipped my switch back on. I honestly believe that dress saved me.”
Komm had always wanted to make her own wedding dress, as she'd grown up hearing stories about how the women in her family before her made their own wedding dresses. Additionally, her mother always sewed “everything” for her. Komm felt that a project like this was in her very DNA.
It was only a few months after dating Hodge that Komm mentioned her plan to sew her own wedding dress someday. Hodge, who thought it was the “coolest idea,” was immediately supportive and asked her what materials she needed for her special project. He even purchased a dress for her from Amazon and a gift card to help her begin her journey. It turns out that Hodge’s gifts were among a scant, albeit powerful, collection of materials that Komm had to start with.
After receiving the bridesmaid dress from Amazon, Komm went out shopping with the gift card. She bought a mannequin from her local Goodwill, gorgeous scalloped lace and ombréd gold to silver fabrics at Joann’s, and two Goodwill dresses that she chopped and used as the train of her dress.
“I didn’t have a sewing machine, working table, nothing. I didn’t even have a ring on my finger yet,“ she said. ”All I had was the floor, scissors, a needle and thread, leftover beads from other projects, and an overload of ambition.”
Komm’s dream dress was from Anna Campbell’s 2018 collection, but the bride-to-be knew that the price was far too high for her pocket. Instead, she took inspiration from Campbell’s style: creams and beiges instead of bright whites, and elegant vintage glitz. With the image of her ideal dress in mind, she began her special project.
“I’d do a couple of cuts and pins, then step back, go back in to adjust, and step back again; go back in, make a couple of stitches, then step back again. It was a very repetitive learning process,“ she said. ”But well worth it.”
Komm spent a total of $1,199.43 and 379 hours, with 190 hours dedicated to the delicate hand-beading on the bodice and straps alone.
The mother, who hand-sewed her entire dress, said she did encounter some challenges as she had never learned how to operate a sewing machine, although her mother tried to teach her when she was young. She thus suffered sore fingers and the occasional frustration that came with doing everything manually. However, after being patient, Komm acquiesced to the fact that a sewing machine would not have served for her intricate sewing challenges anyway.
Komm also credited her kids—who enjoyed watching her make the dress—for helping her. They helped her by holding up the fabric while she sewed underneath in certain areas, helped get her the beads that she needed to string, and even assisted in cutting out the 79 sequin petals that are on her train.
“They were absolutely great,” Komm said. “And it makes the dress that much more special.”
After three years of working on the dress, the moment Komm finally put on the completed gown, it brought her to tears.
“I felt ever so proud. I actually cried when I put it on and saw myself in the mirror,“ she said. ”I was hesitant on whether I’d have that moment, but I did! I didn’t just find the one. I made the one, and it was 110% worth it.”
Meanwhile, anyone who’s already seen the dress, she says, is instantly intrigued by the amount of detail on it along with the story that follows.
“The main comment I get is ‘how on earth did you do all of this?’ I love that question because it simply makes me smile,” she said. “I honestly don’t know how I did it; I find myself just staring at it in complete awe just like everyone else.”
Komm says she is often questioned as to whether her fiance has seen the dress, to which she replied that he hadn’t for almost two years, as she would work on it while he was at work; however, after they joined houses, it became hard for her to hide the dress. The couple then decided that he could glance at it but not see it physically until their most awaited wedding day—which, after many delays owing to the pandemic and venues being booked out for 2021, is slated to happen on their anniversary this year, April 9, 2022.
Until then, the exquisite gown sits stunningly on the dress form, a shining token of Komm’s hard work, the loving contributions of her family, and the glimmering future before them.
