I have discovered the most perfect and meaningful reinvention story. It's a story that I am sure many would love to tell and yet so few are lucky enough to experience. It comes concealed by one of the most beautiful and gracious brides I have ever seen. I think what makes her especially beautiful is the wedding dress she is wearing. Every wedding dress is potent with meaning, however this particular wedding dress carries far more. In its fibers and vintage lace lay the love, sweat and tears of three generations of women and the emotional symbolism it created for this bride, her family and beloved Oma (Grandmother). 

Her name is Johanna Sorensen and this is the story of her wedding dress and the day that represented the love between her and her husband...

Their wedding day explained by Johanna was home-spun with vintage touches, in which her husband Nikolai and herself shared a common creative vision.

 "We designed and printed everything together, one of the touches that I really liked was a photo of his grandparents running from the church with the guests throwing rice. Our church had a strict NO RICE policy (what the?!) so we had to change that to grass seed which we put into tiny envelopes with the order of service printed on." Said Jo. 

One other "creative vision" that Nikolai had the opportunity to share with his wife before most other grooms, was his wife in her wedding dress. I love that Jo was so relaxed about this precious moment and reinvented the common belief that a groom shouldn't see his bride in her wedding dress before the big moment and instead let their own set of rules evolve by chance. 

And how does something usually so controlled by society's expectation become left to chance you say? Within this lays the beauty of this couple and how Jo's perfect dress evolved. 

"I had tried on my mothers wedding dress a couple of times as a girl as it was in the dress up box. Growing up I had said it was the ugliest dress, it was stained with make-up from playing dress ups and had a bra sewn into it that I thought I would never possibly fit. I went about visiting bridal shops, tried on many dresses but none of them really felt like me. After one of these fittings I came home and mum mentioned she had come across her dress in the bottom of a clean sack when she was sorting out the toys and dress-ups. I thought I would try it on for a laugh (still thinking it would be far too big). Turns out it fit like a glove- even the bra, my husband was there (gasp) and said "it's not THAT bad". That was all the encouragement I needed. My sister cleaned it, finding grass seed in the lace from 30 years ago when mum wore it. After washing, we were surprised to see it was white and took it to my aunty who lengthened it a bit and added a bit of boning to the bodice.I loved it!!! My mum had worn a flower crown and another aunty surprised me (and my hairdresser) by making me one on the day" Said Jo. 

The fact that Jo wore her mothers wedding dress and "reinvented" it to create her own special meaning on her big day explains only half of this magical dress. Jo's Oma (Grandmother) lovingly handcrafted this dress for her daughter (Jo's Mother) 30 years ago. In it's stitches holds the stories of three women, it connects them, and bonds them in such a way that words could never explain. More importantly for Jo and her family it represented her Oma, it was a way she could be at their wedding without being physically present. 

"The only person that wasn't there that we would have loved was my Oma who has sever Alzheimer's disease and is in a home. It was something I thought about before the wedding and I remembered she was the one who made my mothers wedding dress. My Opa (Grandfather) was so thrilled that a part of my grandma was at the wedding" Said Jo. 

With this story and the untold love story between this incredible couple how could this wedding not be emotional? 

"I am a super emotional person so was surprised when I pulled myself together to walk into the church. All of this changed when I saw EVERYONE else crying. My husband Nikolai which was surprising,  all of the grandparents and parents, even most of the guys. Needless to say I cried for most of the service, Nikolai had a tissue which was passed back and forth behind the celebrants back and caused some giggling from the congregation" Said Jo. 

It is so very important for couples to inject personal meaning into the day in which they celebrate their love. Its almost equally important for families to be involved, represented and respected in the process. For it is them  who we call upon as witnesses to observe the sacred vows, and it is them who we call upon to support us through the journey of marriage. I would image it would be hard to feel something more meaningful than carrying the love and support of your family and the two woman who have stepped over the threshold of marriage before you than wearing it in the form of a wedding dress. 

"I was so proud to wear my mums dress, I hope one day I will have a daughter who wants to wear it too" Concluded Jo.

I wish the story of Johanna and Nikolai to be one of happily ever after and achieve fairy tale status. I look forward to this creative and charming couple reinventing and rethinking the world around them.

 These photos were captured by J&P Photography www.jonnyandpia.com