Last weekend my baby sister got married! I was so touched when she asked me to be her one and only bridesmaid. She was my one and only and I thought is was really sweet that she returned the gesture. It was the most gorgeous and wild wedding.

But the real question is…what did I wear?

I really struggled with that question. The wedding took place at a Burning Man affiliated event. Most people were camping. There was belly dancing, swords, fire, many unicorn costumes, and the best man was dressing as a wizard.

My first thought was to make this stunning Simplicity pattern I’ve been lusting after since November. I wanted deep red silk to coordinate with the groom’s tartan. But then I kept thinking about the camping, the tents, the fairground bathrooms, and wrangling two little girls while wearing floor length silk. Also, where am I going to wear this again? If I’m spending money on silk I’d better be able to wear it more than once. Is scarlet a strange color for a May wedding?

Okay, plan B. After thinking on it for a few weeks I kept coming back to some fabric I already had in my stash. 2 yards of grey lawn and 3 yards of floral lawn. Both from Heather Ross’s latest collection Sleeping Porch. I’d bought them for a summer dress, but why couldn’t I use them for the wedding and then keep on wearing the dress afterwards?

The deal was sealed when I found an inexpensive hot pink petticoat online. Add fun colored tights and I had a fun kind of costume-like dress to wear to the wedding.

It was also a chance to up my pattern making skills. I wanted something sort of 1950s, but not too 1950s. Something dancer like, but not a leotard. I think the end result is nice. I rotated my darts into the center front and split them to make pleats. With a v-front I think the nod to vintage is there. What do you think? Anyone interested in a tutorial on how to do this?

A circle skirt finished the look and gave plenty of room for the petticoat to poof. I wish I’d had about 2-3 more inches of yardage as I had to make the skirt just that touch shorter to get it to fit on 3 yards.

And boy was I surprised to find a historical house on the fairgrounds. No tours (boo!), but I did get to wander around outside and take these wonderful photos.

Today I wore my pretty floral dress again without the petticoat and I love it even more like this. So perfect for a spring day!