 |
| via Ruffled |
Apparently not EVERY bride-to-be analyzes every part of her wedding to help determine what her wedding dress should look like. Lesson learned. From my perspective, this wedding dress is my ultimate costume, the most influential dress I'll ever wear up until this point in my life (and, lets face it, probably ever unless Connor reveals that he's secretly a Californian Prince and we're going to live in a castle...then maybe not.) So, now that you are all dying to know how I'll ever find a dress of such epic proportions, here's how I've STARTED the process of finding a beautiful dress (notice I didn't say THE dress...I don't believe in that only one dress in the entire world that would work business).
 |
| via Ruffled |
 |
| via |
Pinterest really has been my best friend in this entire process. All of my girlfriends who got married before me are quite jealous that they didn't have access to such a wealth of inspiration and truly, I can't imagine how they designed their weddings without it. When I started my wedding Pinterest account, I made a board for "wardrobe", dresses, veils, headpieces, shoes, and anything else I might wear in reference to the wedding. I didn't look for a specific style of dress to pin, I just waded through pages and pages of pins. If I liked it, I pinned it, easy as that. The real fun part was going back and looking through all of the images. There was definitely a theme that I didn't even realize I was attracted to! Illusion Lace backs, long elegant lines, soft tulle, a vintage flair....I had identified all of the elements of my perfect dress without even stressing about it!
 |
| via 100 Layer Cake |
All this time, in the back of my mind, I'm thinking about the elements of our wedding day and how this dress (and myself of course!!) will fit in. A church wedding that leads into a rustic dance hall reception can be a tricky combination. The first is classic and reverent, the second is earthy and fun! The combination of a late fall wedding plus the use of gold in the decor PLUS my red hair/freckles/fair skin call for a warm white dress rather than a pure, cool white. In an effort to be somewhat modest I'd really like to avoid wearing a strapless dress, though regardless of that, I am just more attracted to sleeve details anyways. There will be a live band at the reception playing rocking music so one more thing to consider is the danceability of the dress. Girl's gotta get her groove on. And finally, I need a little sparkle.
So, after all that, I'm left with this list of Loves and Hates:
OMG I love:
Lace...especially beautiful back details
warm, golden white
tulle, silk, lace
one shoulder or cap sleeves
fit and flair or long and drapey silhouette
sparkle!
vintage meets contemporary
unique
Please stay away from:
strapless
bad satin
gigantic skirts
poofy mermaid silhouette
pick ups
 |
| Via |
I'm waiting in the airport now to fly to Houston to meet up with my mom, my future mother in law, and two local bridesmaids to try on dresses on Friday!! Saturday and Sunday we will be in Brenham meeting with vendors and making a few more decisions about the wedding! I'm quite blessed that I'll have both Moms there to help out, its going to be a very busy weekend!!
So which one is your favorite? Any dress that you think I MUST have? What was YOUR list of requirements when you went dress shopping? I love hearing dress stories, please share yours below!!
Try on everything, even styles you think you hate. Don't worry if the girl next to you is trying on the same dress; it will look different on you. Bring some pictures with you to show the attendant; that will help guide her in picking out things you never would have thought of. Keep in mind the fabric; if your wedding is in the dead of winter, then you want a heavy fabric, if it's in summer, you want a lighter fabric. Don't make hair, veil, or shoe decisions until after you have decided on your dress; you can know that you WANT or DON'T WANT a veil, but unless you have a specific hand-me-down veil you are wearing, wait until you have the dress. If you have a specific thing you are definitely wearing (headpiece, veil, shoes) because of sentiment reasons (i.e. antique, hand-me-down, something old, etc) make sure you bring it with you. Remember that every dress can be hemmed or lengthened, taken in or let out, so don't stress that the dress doesn't fit you perfectly in the store. Keep in mind that the dresses in the store are tried on by lots of people, so they get stretched out; adjust your dress size appropriately (current issues for a wedding I'm in next month!). Whichever dress makes YOU feel pretty and special is the dress for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenny!
DeleteThat was super helpful!! I read through it all again the morning before we went out to shop. I really did try on everything and it was really nice to be able to compare all of the styles!!
I have heard that the dresses in the store are stocked so that the majority of shoppers will think they need expensive alterations. Insist on your actual size!
ReplyDeleteJane Taylor
That is so crazy!! I got to try on my actual dress (it was off the rack!!) so I didn't have to worry about that. A friend of mine was told to get a dress two sizes too big and it was a nightmare to have it all altered to fit perfectly. Thats such great advice.
Delete