I know that there are a handful of people who are rolling their eyes right now, because it's not like me to be super-focused on things like weddings, or to fret over girly details like this. I have half-composed rants about the presidential campaigns and Deep Thoughts about phases of life in the works. I promise I haven't gone Bridezilla about my "special day" (gaggedy vomit); the dress is just a very emotionally charged purchase for me. Please don't judge me for caring so much about this. There isn't anything else about the wedding that's occupying my thoughts like this, I swear. I just want something I feel good in, despite my issues with my body. If you don't want to read about wedding dresses, please come back very soon for much less frivilous content.
Also, I do want feedback, both pros and cons, and suggestions. So, truthfully, tell me what you think, even if you don't like some of these dresses. (I'm not sure *I* like some of these dresses.) There are some pretty kickass ladies out there who feel pretty protective of me, which I love, because my loyalty streak makes me feel the same way about them. Speak your minds, please. Just do it nicely, m'kay?
M'kay.
So... I'm all over the map on wedding dresses now.
My first choice is still to add a halter to this one, above, but the seamstress I'd like to work with thought she could make it look "okay," but felt it would really look like a strapless gown with straps added. Don't love the sound of that. We're going to meet up at the end of the month at the store and see what the options are once she's seen me in the damn thing.
Cutting the skirt on a dress with the right bodice, as many of you suggested, isn't as easy as it sounds. So now I'm thinking of abandoning the idea of tea-length for now.
The pickup skirt would make me look like a frilly, multitiered wedding cake, wouldn't it? Although for some people, that might be what they're going for. If you haven't seen this, it's worth clicking the link. Seriously.
And then there's this one. It's not really budget friendly, and yeah- it's strapless. But I felt so pretty in it, and my armpit fat was surprisingly contained. My sister listed all the reasons it would negatively impact the enjoyment of the wedding day- really hot in August, underarms scratched up by the beading, hard to sit in, not exactly garden-friendly. I was just about ready to dismiss it altogether, but I find I just can't eliminate it just yet. Eh?
Finally, there's this one.
I like the halter top. It's fairly light and easy to move in, but it's a pretty run-of-the-mill standard cookie cutter wedding dress. I have no idea if it could be made into a tea-length dress. Or I could suck it up and just wear it, unaltered and not tea-length. I could ask the seamstress to follow me to a *different* store to see me in this one and compare the feasibility of adding a halter to the first one or cutting the skirt off this one, but... ugh. Who am I? Who's blog is this? HALP! I've been abducted by Pod People.
14 comments:
Good morning, Angie!
I'm a big fan of wearing what makes you feel beautiful. So, if the gorgeous non-budget-friendly dress is what makes you feel the best, then by all means, go for it. =)
My thought on the last dress is to stay away from it. You just don't sound very excited about it.
What about something like this? http://tinyurl.com/2g2aqr It's a little shorter than tea length, but it's got a halter top. No beading, but maybe the seamstress has ideas or guidance on whether or not beading could be added.
This one http://tinyurl.com/ysccdh
might be another option to consider...halter, but longer, with a bit of beading. Looks pretty lightweight and flowy, too.
Have you checked out Jim Hjelm's website? I always love the look of their dresses, especially the bridesmaid ones, which are often in a tea-length, and available in white or ivory.
Take a look at this one, too: http://tinyurl.com/ytynk9 It's a halter, but long. The lace going down the sides might be very slimming.
Sigh...looking at all these beautiful dresses makes me want to get married again. (Puke-worthy comments? Yes, probably.)
Ang! I don't think you've been adbucted by the Pod People- or at least not yet... :)
Whatever you wear, you're going to look amazing!
That said, of course you're stressed out about the dress. And I don't know a single bride who hasn't been!
I have no wonderful words of advice for you. One thought though, have you looked at bridesmaid dresses that happen to be white or ivory? (I started out doing this and then was abducted by the pod people and bought a dress that was way beyond the budget...) But the bridesmaids ones at least a couple of years ago seemed to have less poofy skirts that might be easier to alter to the tea length?
Sending you lots of positive vibes that you will find "the" dress soon!
I sent you two dresses over email that I saw on ebay. I know you probably won't BUY your dress off of ebay, since it would be impossible to know ahead of time if it looked good ON you, but I found that looking on ebay gave me lots of good ideas - and I found those two dresses in about 2 minutes. All the dresses you're posting on your blog are white. Are you going for a white dress, or something ivory or another color? I would say my two biggest things to try to avoid are "cookie-cutter" dresses, like the last one posted on your most recent entry, and anything that possibly resembles lingerie. Can you go into more detail about why it is going to be difficult to cut the bottom of a dress off? I know NOTHING about sewing, but lots of people suggested that you do that in your last wedding post, and so I assumed that it was done all the time, and that it was no big deal...I say, post as much as you want about the wedding, because I think everyone who responds to your blog is really helpful :)
Me again...Ignore me if I'm not at all helpful!
I just had a brainstorm, because I passed this store on Newbury st. yesterday...Is this the type of dress your envisioning? They have lots of others with halter tops too...
http://www.jessicamcclintock.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10002&storeId=10001&productId=85425&categoryId=10331&subcatname=Brides&spage=1&langId=-1&parent_category_rn=10318
Ok as the girl who has not yet gotten married (and who hadn't even secured a proper husband prospect... err... ok moving on...), but who's family did previously own a bridal shop, I would say let's get back to the core of the decision: What will DEFINITELY make you look beautiful on your very special day is that you are going to be RADIANTLY happy marrying cutey-pie, perfect-for-you Joel with all of your dearest friends and family supporting you and it will show in your every pore (which your photographer will light brilliantly). Next is the fact that your comfort will inevidably be paramount so I feel the dress that you can stand, sit, dance, and hug excessive amounts of people in IS the one you want. And lastly you have TIME so don't feel rushed, listen to the wise-words of your been-there bride friends and if at all possible avoid looking like a cake of any sort... aka my subtle vote against the "pickup skirt" ;)
I actually really like all of the wedding dresses you've posted pictures of here. (Except the first one, and I think my reaction has less to do with the dress and more that I want that model to eat a sandwich.) Even the one with the pickup skirt, I think is really cute.
The thing is just to trust your gut and go with the dress that makes you feel the best. If the style of the dress seems a little bit cookie cutter, so what? The rest of your wedding will be true to your wonderfully wacky personality, so pick the dress that makes you feel the prettiest and leave it at that.
And btw, this was the one part of planning my wedding that stressed me out more than anything else (I cried! In a bridal shop! In front of the employees!), so I totally feel you on this one.
Angie Dahling,
of course you shouldnt settle on a wedding dress but if the last dress (halter one) fits/moves well then cant you add a splash to it? Before I decided to get married in a sweater and jeans i had grand ideas of getting a plain dress and adding a simple trim of my/my future hubbies birth stones just to add a bit of sparkle. i'm sure you could have a pimp my dress party with your crafty-er friends...just something to think about.
Go with the one that makes you feel the best! Have no regrets....
I agree with your mom -- go with whatever feels right to you. But, for what it's worth, I really like the first one.
Having been chided for my last post, I'll keep things observant as opposed to opinionated. [grumbling is my hunger]
Observation 1: Are you for or against strapless dresses? Last [wedding] post you said definitely against, and there was much solidarity amongst the readership. Is unclear.
Observation 2: I imagine that if you love the cut of the dress but it happens to be strapless--like dress 1, which is gorgeous by the way and I'm going to run off to Vegas and elope with it (ok, that was Opinion 1)--then couldn't you wear a shawl/bolero over your shoulders to even out the silhouette?
(Opinion 1.5: The lower half of that second dress does indeed look like a wedding cake. It's not ugly, though.)
Observation 3: It says a lot that you felt pretty in Dress 3. ...and also, Dress 3 is (Opinion 2) soooo pretty--geez, that bodice! Lovinks.
Observation 3.5: Underarm chafing caused by beading could, I think, be mitigated by the application of Vaseline to said area. Oooh, I just remembered that Band-Aid makes this stuff called Blister Block, which would probably be less better (i.e., less goopy) than Vaseline.
Observation 4: Regarding hard-to-sit-in, I have heard that the bride pretty much doesn't sit on her wedding day (necessitating comfy shoes, or a change into comfy shoes), so maybe that's not as big a concern as it appears. (?)
On a side note, it would be great if *you* could give *us* some feedback on what's been helpful to you in our comments, so we know if we're being at all helpful or if we (ok: I) should just shut up.
Har har, I meant: "Band-Aid makes this stuff called Blister Block, which would probably be better (i.e., less goopy) than Vaseline."
Also, I agree with jwbebe: you'll look RADIANT in whichever dress you choose. Of course this is a difficult purchase for you--it sounds like maybe you feel a little silly worrying about it so, but no one who's commented here thinks that you're weird or frivolous for caring about it. Quite the opposite!
Okay. Here's my thought, and please don't yell at me if this sounds crazy!!! I want you to love how you look and feel awesome on your wedding day!
I like the last one. The halter is very flattering, and the skirt has a nice clean line.
I would get some sort of small brooch with your aqua color in it to put in the center of that gathered section at the waist. Perhaps you have a talented friend who can make you one... :)
I would then have your seamstress cut the dress to tea length - not too short! You don't want to chop yourself off.
Then, have her make you a georgette or soft tulle petticoat in your aqua color for underneath that peaks out a few inches.
Top it off with a coordinating mo-fo of a headpiece, and you have a unique, fun, and comfortable wedding day look. :)
Hey lady,
I also think the first dress is beautiful, and I know you keep coming back to it, which makes me think it might be your favorite? Is the only problem with it the fact that it is strapless? Because maybe that would be ok if you had the correct size dress and good undergarments.
When I was dress shopping, I had the same issue - didn't really want strapless, for obvious reasons. We have the same reasons on that one. But the dress I ended up loving, is, for better or worse (ha) a strapless a-line (my saving grace is that I have my fingers crossed that my uber-talented wedding photographer will figure out how to make me not look like Triangle Man in my wedding photos!). I found that when I tried on dresses that were strapless and a wee bit too small, I had all the bad strapless issues that you're worried about. However, when I tried on a strapless dress that actually fit me, those issues went away. Everything felt and looked properly contained.
I still haven't solved the undergarment issue (corset, anyone?), but I have to believe that someone out there can help me contain the um, issue. ;)
So, maybe, if that first dress is the one you love, perhaps just a properly fitting dress and some good undergarments will be all you need. With a nice shawl or jackety thing or something like that just in case.
I also like Andrea's ideas for the last dress, too. I think those things would make that dress feel special and non-cookie-cutterish.
Good luck. Maybe we can go undergarment shopping together. I think we will scare the bejezus out of the shop owners. ;)
I ended up splurging on my dress too and never regretted one cent spent! (Of course I had my mom and aunt to help me pay for it too!) When I put it on for the first time, I just knew it was for me...I remember jumping up and down and being soooo excited to finally put on a dress that made me THAT excited :) And it made me feel pretty too. Whatever makes you feel like you will be walking around all night feeling like the most beautiful woman in the world is the ONE! So if none of those fits that description then KEEP LOOKING....
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