Making Our Wedding Dress

Are there lessons of practical Christianity that we can learn from the process of making a wedding gown?

I love weddings! I enjoy reading stories about “all things wedding.” I’m especially intrigued by articles about brides who make their own wedding dresses. 

I once spoke to an experienced seamstress, asking her to walk me through the steps that a bride would have to follow to make her own wedding dress. The more she shared, the more I was reminded that we, the Bride of Christ, have a major part in creating our wedding dress as Christ prepares us for our upcoming marriage to Himself (Ephesians 5:26-27). 

This thought came from reading Psalm 45:13-15: “The royal daughter is all glorious within the palace; her clothing is woven with gold. She shall be brought to the King in robes of many colors; the virgins, her companions who follow her shall be brought to You. With gladness and rejoicing they shall be brought; they shall enter the King’s palace.”

This task is a huge responsibility for the Bride of Christ, but she is not alone in the process. The Father has provided assistance to help her accomplish her goal. 

Here are four steps the seamstress mentioned that parallel how the Bride of Christ prepares for her wedding.

Step 1: Selecting the pattern

Wedding dresses come in different styles and sizes. Before she picks a pattern, the bride must determine what style suits her best. So she scours catalogs, searches online or browses bridal shops. She is looking for something that is flattering and will make her groom smile when he sees her walking down the aisle. Once the style is selected, she chooses the pattern (in the right size) for her dress.

Similarly, God knows that we all come in various sizes, shapes, colors, nationalities and personalities. But the pattern we must select is what God has chosen for us: building the character of our Groom, Jesus Christ. “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). 

In order to bear this kind of fruit, we don’t pattern our lives according to the world. “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but of the world” (1 John 2:15-16). 

We must fit the pattern that the Father has selected. We are chosen by God and must build holy righteous character (Isaiah 61:10). 

Step 2: Assembling the correct materials and supplies

Silk, lace, buttons, zippers, needles and thread are just a few of the supplies that our seamstress bride will need. Just as she thoughtfully chose the pattern, she also must carefully select the fabric and supplies necessary to craft her dress. She carefully lays her pattern onto the fabric and cuts it precisely to ensure a proper fit. She uses her tools to fashion and add the embellishments that will create her distinct look. 

As the Bride of Christ, we are distinct individuals with different gifts and qualities being put together onto the pattern of character that God wants to see developed in the Bride of Christ. 

“But, speaking the truth in love, may [we] grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does it share, causes growth of the body of the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

Step 3: Making alterations as necessary

The first fitting may call attention to imperfections that need to be corrected. Nips and tucks will be needed. Sometimes pokes from the pins might be painful! Continued fittings will take place until the bridal gown is complete and ready.

Through various trials, we are altered into the very image of God. Through prayer, Bible study, fasting, meditation and fellowshipping, we learn, grow, overcome and find encouragement to ease the painful adjustments we must make in our lives. 

Step 4: Putting on the dress

Now the dress is ready for the bride, and she is ready for her dress. The wedding day has come! Wearing her beautiful, custom-fit gown, she is presented to her groom, in front of family and friends. It is a time of rejoicing. 

Christ’s Bride, who has waited with patient endurance and who has patterned herself according to God’s instruction, enters the King’s palace to take the Groom’s hand. All eyes focus as she walks toward her Beloved. Her gown is clean and bright. 

“And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:8). 

This is the fulfillment of the hope we had when we began the process of choosing the style, the pattern and the materials for our custom-made wedding gown. This is the fulfillment of all the alterations made after our baptismal commitment. This is the joyful result of our faithfulness to God the Father and Jesus Christ. 

Let the rejoicing begin!

To learn more about the Bride of Christ, see “Who Is the Bride of Christ?” And if you would like to know more about your future, read our booklet: God’s Purpose for You: Discovering Why You Were Born.