Pennsylvania native Abigail Kingston, 30, didn't have to go to Kleinfeld to say yes to her wedding dress -- she knew she wanted to wear the gown that her mother had worn, along with nine other members in their family.
The heirloom dress has been with the Kingstons for 120 years, first worn in 1895 by the bride's great-great-grandmother and then passed from family member to family member. It was last worn in 1991.
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When the silk/satin dress was retrieved in not-so ideal condition (it had been worn by brides of all different sizes), Kingston didn't think she would be able to salvage it.
"The sleeves were disintegrating, the dress was filled with holes and the satin had turned an unattractive brown," according to Pennsylvania news site Lehigh Valley Live.
After 200 hours of alterations by bridal designer Deborah LoPresti's salon, including changing the color and adding new sleeves, they were able to fix the dress in time for Kingston's wedding cocktail hour, scheduled for Oct. 17 in Bucks Country, Pennsylvania.
Because of its fragility, the bride will wear a different gown for the ceremony.
"It's not just the dress that's been handed down," Leslie Kingston, the bride's mother, tells Lehigh Valley Live. "It's the love. Who would think anything would last that long?"
Abigail will also wear her grandmother's locket and great-grandmother's ring.
"We're just really happy and blessed we can keep the tradition going," Leslie Kingston said.