Taylor Ann Linko | Airbrushed Own Bride Wedding Dress

Artist Taylor Ann Linko Painted Her Own Bride Wedding Dress With An Airbrush 

Taylor Ann Linko : When I said I was going to paint my wedding dress, I was surprised no one tried to steal all my paint and hide it until after the big day. Trust me there were some really concerned people! But white is not allowed in my closet. so I had to ;) Really I think it has just gotten to that point where people know the art in me cannot be contained. I might be shy, I kinda hate being the center of attention, but that’s never stopped me from wearing my heart on my sleeve. Just so happens, my heart is filled with Art. Painting, Sculpting, Sewing, Drawing, Makeup. that tends to show though, from doodles on my arm to paint on my wedding dress.

For my wedding, the same was certainly true. I painted, sculpted, crafted, just about everything I could. Made the flowers, colored my hair, painted a giant jenga game, DIY-ed the invitations, sculpted the centerpieces. I went to a few stores dress hunting and every time ended loving this style. When I put it on I just felt like a bride. Trust me I had no plans to go this traditional, but you do only get one chance to go this fancy. One problem, it’s white, not even a hint of color. For quite some time I was worried I picked the wrong dress, in my head I hated it, but on I loved it. As beautiful as it was, It didn't feel like it fit my personality at all.

I didn’t have a singe idea on how I would color it. Just knew I needed to and from the moment I had the dress in hand I started to plan. Purple is my all time favorite so that was a must. Blue is Chris's favorite color. (Husband) Yellow was my Grandfathers favorite color, I wanted to include it to remember him and honor him at the wedding, he was like a Dad to me. I worked as a face painter then and had this wonderful color combo I used for sunsets, starting with yellow and then orange, red, maroon, purple, blue it was perfect combo. All the colors I wanted in a harmonious way that reflected a sunset.

Better yet, orange is the color of friendship, something me and Chris were for YEARS before I started to see him in a different light; and then red needs no explanation However, I was still at loss for how I would incorporate these onto my dress. There was nothing online at the time that really fit and my ideas were not panning out. First I cut out and colored tons of pieces of lace, planning to sew them to the dress. Too Patchy. Next, I tried adding colorful tulle under the lace. Too Subtle. Puffy Paint. Too Shiny. Dip Dye. Too Light.

Finally, I was fed up with all these tests and fails, so I just took my paints and committed to the color test on my actual dress. I was not sure it would even work, all I had was a plan in my head. I was terrified but honestly messing up my wedding dress didn't sound as bad as wearing all white... Plus I'm a decent problem solver. Not everything went as planned, the process was slow very very slow. I just kept going hoping eventually it would come together.

When anyone heard what I was doing to my dress this expression just stuck to their face of worry and shock without a single word to say in reply. My poor Mom, she bought me the dress and was helping me cut out the colorful lace appliques she thought were going on the dress when I had a risky change of plans. Things like risking running a perfectly good $1000ish dress because I think I can make it better with some color, well that just doesn’t make a ton of sense to other people.

One point Mom took the dress from me, said it was time to be done, I was definitely not done but it was darn good timing because seconds later my paint jar bust open and covered me in blue paint, right where the dress was. We both just busted up laughing at the pure insanity this all was. I cleaned up, stole the dress back from mom, got some better paint containers, and kept painting. Finally I finished the dress just one week prior to my wedding and the outcome was almost exactly as I had imagined.

The color made the dress a perfect fit for me. Bridal but Colorful. Traditional yet Unique. Bold but Elegant. The shock and awe of my dress helped me feel calm and confident. My colorful personality was shining through and everyone there loved it. I wasn't trying to make some big statement it's as simple as wanting to wear something I felt beautiful in. It's the Artistic personal flare. For me, life is my canvas. I look for any and every opportunity to add that personal flair and artistic touch, I wasn't about to hold back because it's normal to wear white.

My family thought it fit me perfectly and his family was excited to have an Artist join the family. My now husband was NOT shocked in the slightest. The only truly shocking part happened months after my wedding.