Woman transforms risky purchase of $25 thrift store wedding gown into her dream dress

For most women, getting married in their dream wedding dress is an ardent wish. Some even have a clear picture in their minds of how their wedding gown has to be and won't even miss out on little details. However, with the minimalistic bride trend taking over in recent days, some brides opt to repurpose their beloved family member's wedding dress or simply pick one from the thrift store. Newly married woman Adrian Bradley, from Berkeley, California—who goes by @adrianbradley8 on TikTok—chose to go with a cost-effective thrift store wedding gown. But how she altered it into her dream dress is surely praiseworthy.

In her now-viral TikTok video, Bradley revealed how she found her off-white silk wedding gown in a thrift store in Dallas, Texas. "We were just messing around in the dresses without any serious thought when I spotted it. The drop waist was just everything I had been looking for. My sister-in-law immediately made me try it on," she told Newsweek. She decided to risk it all and buy it for just $25. The bride-to-be confessed the dress was indeed in bad shape and needed a lot of cleaning, repair and modifications. The off-shoulder gown had flowers made of lace, which Bradley found were "messed up," and also, there were some sweat stains under the armpit. 

Despite the several issues, the dress seemed to have captured Bradley's heart and "gave her the excitement" that never occurred when trying on 60 other dresses. So, with the help of professional cleaners and tailors, the bride-to-be breathed life into the old and worn-out gown. "I am not a dress designer, so it was very intimidating. I sketched up a few different options and went to a couple of fabric stores. I don't think I ever really decided on a design until it was done," she added. We can see in her video that she meticulously customized the dress to her interest and bought additional lace fabrics, pearl pipings for the border and even a gorgeous pearl-studded pin for adorning it.

After a myriad of repairs, replacements and revamping, the $25 thrift store gown transformed into a beautiful wedding dress that Bradley was "obsessed" with. The final look she revealed in her video shows how stunning her ideas turned out to be. To Bradley, it felt like a "super gorgeous vintage dress" on her wedding day and the pictures truly speak volumes. The video went viral with over 292K views in a month and this inspired Bradley to find the wedding gown's owner. In an attempt to find the history of the dress, she shared another TikTok video, reaching out to the owner or someone who knew this dress. Fingers crossed!

The wedding gown's splendid transformation left many showering compliments in the comments. "This turned out so well! What a lucky find and you have an incredible creative vision," said @dewittforlove. "Ugh! The 100% silk is the reason to buy it alone!" remarked @fabledbridge. "The bodice is giving Vivienne Westwood, so pretty and classic," added @aly_nagel. "You trusted the process and dang, it turned out so good!" chimed in @dani.haupt.

You can follow Adrian Bradley (@adrianbradley8) on TikTok for more content on fashion.