I have adored and pined for my grandmother's wedding dress, probably since I was three years old. She told me when I got engaged though, that it hadn't been preserved well enough and she didn't think it was wearable. Resigned, I started looking at wedding gowns and trying to see what I like, what I don't, and what I can afford.
Two weeks ago my grandmother surprised me by pulling out her wedding dress and letting me try it on. It's just as beautiful as I remember and wearable. There are some alterations that need to be done (she was thinner than I am, when she got married, and the lace needs to be replaced). The problem is, now that I looked at these other dresses, I want to add some of those elements to my grandma's dress (like cutting her ridiculously long train in half), but I'm afraid of changing it too much, after all it is HER dress. What do you think? New dress, old dress?