A friend of mine went to a wedding last weekend and told me what happened to the bride's dress. When one of the bridesmaids attempted to bustle the bride's train one of the strings ripped off the under side of the skirt, making it impossible to properly bustle the skirt. Proper meaning that the dress was "dragging" on the floor.
Once hearing this I said, "no problem, that's why you have a sewing kit with you as part of the emergency kit." Well, this bride didn't have a sewing kit (or an emergency kit) and proceeded to take sections of the dress and just tie the sections into "knots" and I mean the outer layers of the dress, not the slips and petticoats underneath.
So, moral of the story: Always have a sewing kit with you so if one of the strings of the bustle falls off you - or someone who knows how to sew - can reattach it and therefore be able to bustle your skirt.
Another bride I know had the spaghetti strap of her dress pop off during the reception so the mother of the bride grabbed my mom and asked her if she could reattach it. They had a sewing kit on hand.
