07/17/2025
This will be a slightly longer post, so move along if you’re already bored. This video represents something really meaningful to me, so I’d prefer you stick around.
About a year ago my good friend Alicia and my good friend Justin decided to make that “only you” commitment to one another. As I celebrated with them and discussed what they were excited about, some other things came up. A very significant flip side to the coming joy was the hurt still accompanying the loss of Alicia’s mother. The idea of getting married and not having her mom there was a hurt she was bracing for.
Within the context of these conversations came the revelation that Alicia still had her mom’s wedding dress. The idea arose to utilize the dress in some way as part of the wedding. It didn’t fit, but perhaps it could be used in some other way? More good friends got involved, new connections made and an awesome referral resulted in the beginnings of transformation.
Although I am constantly creating, it’s not an every-day experience for me to feel compelled to create. This story left me compelled. I asked Alicia whether I could document the story…the transformation of the dress, yes. The wedding, yes. But really what I was compelled to tell was how the dress represented connection with Wendy, her mother.
And so the process began of Wendy’s dress being disassembled and reassembled into something Alicia could wear, upgraded for 2025 fashion sensibilities and even complete with pockets for Justin and her son. With one small hurdle for me as a filmmaker—the dress work would take plance in Montana. Montana, I love ya, but I struggled to see how I’d be able to make the trips necessary to do this justice. And so I asked my good, mutual friend Carl Zoch to help me make this film, focusing particularly on the Montana dress work since he now called Bozeman home.
All the pieces fell into place, including the ability to travel to Mexico for their ceremony. The resulting four minutes are here for your viewing pleasure. A year of dreaming and planning and shooting and interviewing…all summed up in 4 min. But that’s the filmmaker task! And also the reason for this long post.
To Alicia and Justin, I love you both!
Carl Zoch, thank you so much for sharing the dream and your talents and time. Check out his work at CarlZoch.com .
Shout out to Alayna Rasile who made magic out of old fabric. You can see what she does at Absorka.com .
Music by the incredibly talented
