LEFT TO RIGHT: Laura Bechard models a wedding dress that was worn by both her mother and grandmother at The Stitchery in Superior in March of 2021. Much of the lace was damaged when Bechard cleaned it, so she brought the dress to seamstress Megan Alanen to be refurbished. Laura Bechard’s mother, Ann Nelson, poses in her wedding dress the day she married Jerry Bechard, Sept. 6, 1980. It was the same dress Bechard’s grandmother wore in 1957. Laura Bechard’s grandmother, Ethel Hasart, poses in her wedding dress at Plymouth Congregational Church on Sept. 7, 1957, the day she wed Harlan Nelson. Photos courtesy of Laura Bechard
Seamstress stitches past and present in bride’s
Heirloom Wedding Dress
BY MARIA LOCKWOOD | FORUM NEWS SERVICE
P
iece by piece, a family heirloom from the 1950s is being rebuilt. For Megan Alanen, owner of The Stitchery in Superior, Wis., the delicate gown of satin and lace has become a passion project.
into restyling the handmade gown. “I just think it’s really special,” Alanen said. “I wish I had my grandma’s dress to wear.” Three generations of Laura Bechard’s family have said yes to this dress. It has
“I want to respect the dress,” she said. This is the busiest time of the year for the seamstress. She tailored dresses for 18 June weddings and has 22 brides getting married in July, 16 in August and 21 in September. Yet she’s poured hours
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