First, I’d like to apologize for falling off the face of the earth (and internet) for the last month. I’ve spent several weeks fistfighting with a very nasty flu, which essentially brought all life – and wedding planning – to a sickly, tissue-laden halt. Somewhere around week three of my cranky, fevery delirium, I decided that the best cure I could administer (short of Congress actually passing a health care plan which covered me) would be to spend countless hours mindlessly clicking through bridal sites, drooling over multi-$1,000 couture bridal gowns. How could this fail to help?
Now, I must admit something: ever since I can remember, I have sworn I would not wear a white wedding gown. Too cliche, too traditional, too wedding-industry – not to mention, I am pale as a ghost and, after beige, white is the least-flattering color on my skin. Yet secretly (and now very publicly), I covet a ridiculously whimsical white gown. Preferably a ridiculously whimsical white gown with a train as long as 5th avenue and enough fabric to smother a baby whale.
In a world where thousand dollar bills rained out of the sky, here a few of my all-time favorite dresses:
Amy Michelson, "Peaches and Cream"
Amy Michelson, "Grace"
Anjolique Couture, Style 930
Maggie Sottero, "Sabelle"
Apparently there is something about having a skirt the size of Rhode Island that I cannot stop lusting after… however, even on resale sites, these dresses are (usually WELL more than) $1000+ each. And my “outfit” budget – outfit meaning shoes, dress, undergarments, jewelry, make-up and headpiece – is $600. Still, I feel the final vestiges of illness fleeing in the wake of all that satin…
Stay tuned for my next post: how all this white-dress-lust has sent me running to the bridal salon, and questioning all my previous attire decisions…
I loved wearing a wedding gown, and it totally surprised me. I’ve never been a fancy fancy dresser, but the first time I tried on a *bridal gown* I felt fantastic. I can’t explain it. I would not have worn one if I didn’t find it at Filene’s Basement dirt cheap, but I am so glad I did. I suddenly understood why women sell their firstborn to get one, there is something about them that just makes you look great.
Jenna, I feel you about attire expectations that 180′ed as soon as they got out of the gate. I thought I wanted a simple, pre-owned, no-fuss gown, and then I fell in love with something complicated and impossible to find pre-owned that has a train. A TRAIN, for goodness’ sake.
I will say that my dress is fairly similar to the Anjolique Couture, and after some serious price-shopping, I’m getting it for just under $700 with no sales tax and no shipping costs. Check it out: http://72.232.198.18/manufcols/moncheri/sophiatolli2008spring/zoom/Y1825Crop.jpg I have to say that in all honesty it looks a thousand times better on me (or any regular, healthy woman) than it does on the model. It’s Sophia Tolli’s Y1825 style. And it’s amazing.
Alyia, it’s gorgeous! It is very similar to the Anjolique… and I’m under the firm impression that almost all well-designed dresses look better on a larger-than-model-sized body. It’s weird to me that photographers haven’t figured out that putting a girl who’s smaller than a size 0 into a dress made to showcase an hourglass figure is not. helping. show. off. the dress. (Photographers, consider yourself notified.)
So yeah, it’s off to the bridal salon for me… this wedding is turning into quite a roller coaster ride!
Oh, yeah, I was going to get married wearing something I already owned.
Then NotFroofy said she wanted something that looked bridal. However, she wanted something tea length, and definitely without a train. I doubted that we could find matching ones, and thought that a contrasting color might look better than a dress that looked like it was supposed to match and didn’t. So I figured I’d look for something like a mother of the bride dress.
Then we went dress shopping. NotFroofy found a long ivory dress with a train that was so gorgeous, I gasped when I saw it. At that point, I realized that if I wore a mother of the bride outfit, I was going to look like I had strayed in from a different wedding–or perhaps like I was NotFroofy’s mother.
In the end, I had a long ivory dress with a train, a crinoline, pearls, a veil, and bridal slippers. Yeah, not exactly “something I already owned.” About all I can say in my defense is that both dresses came from a consignment shop. And although they were not matching, they were definitely similar enough in style and color to look coordinating.