Wedding Plans: The Dress
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 by Lindsey
When I first started wedding planning, I really thought that the dress was a priority for me. It was my chance to wear a formal, I've never had an occasion to wear a formal, and while I don't feel bad about that...it's exciting! To have a dress custom altered to fit me, to really feel beautiful as a bride...it's every girl's dream, right? At this point, while I still don't want to settle, I think that I'll be so focused on getting married, and being Nathan's wife...I won't even be thinking about how I look. Plus, I want to be comfortable. Still though, I want something that will make me feel good, and fit well so I'm not tugging and fidgeting through our whole event.
Ultimately, the thing that I finally resolved to is that the only "the one" at my wedding will be my amazing future-husband.
Being on such a tight budget, I knew I would have to be creative. I set a self-imposed $200-$300 budget for my dress, I knew I could find something in that range that I would be happy with, and had plenty of time. I started trolling eBay, craigslist, and preownedweddingdresses.com, for good deals on dresses. I looked at David's Bridal online, and nothing appealed to me.
Over the course of my exploration and internet gazing, I started coming across beautiful gowns from designers like Maggie Sottero, Liancarlo, and Paloma Blanca. I had a huge "dress crush" on these two dresses in particular, but knew that neither were in my price range.
Liancarlo 3820
Maggie Sottero "Alannah"
I just knew that I wanted a dropped asymmetrical waist, a ruched bodice, a corset back, and a sweetheart neckline. (And...how cool is that bubble skirt on the liancarlo?) I also know how ridiculously inflated the prices for wedding gowns are. Even if I had a few grand to drop on a dress I'm going to wear for 6 hours, I would never feel comfortable dumping it into such a deceitful industry. So, I went to the natural "back-up option" for budget brides: chinese knockoffs. Yes, there's a lot of debate about them...I'm not here to debate them, I wanted to give it a consideration.
It sounds "too good to be true" right? Get the dress of my dreams for $250? I was skeptical. I still really have no opinion on the subject, I read a lot of mixed reviews, and basically came to the conclusion that there are some reputable china-based sellers out there, and that you get what you pay for: cheaper fabrics, less lining, less structure. It wasn't a great option, but I felt like it might be the best way for me to go.
Queue my all-time favorite website: Etsy. Why had I not thought about this before? I love Etsy, and I feel really good about buying handmade. (I'll post more about this, later on.) I immediately ran out to post an Alchemy listing with a sketch of my dress, and my budget. Within 24 hours I had 6 seamstresses offering to make my dress at prices ranging from $200-$350. Out of this range, I really "clicked" with a girl who runs a group of independent designers and seamstresses. She said she really liked my dress ideas (see above) and would love to make my dress for me, for $250, she didn't have experience in specifically making wedding dresses, but had made prom dresses and ball gowns in similar styles and materials. I was sold, and soon had agreed to purchase my dress from her.
But then I started thinking...what if that style isn't flattering for me? I have a dress made, it gets here two months before the wedding, it looks awful, and I have to find something else last minute. I told my seamstress to hold off on buying fabric until I could at least go and try some on. In the meantime, I kept gazing...and started leaning towards something with more of an empire waistline. Being realistic, that's the style that typically suits me. This was also at the turning point of our wedding plans when we decided to throw tradition out the window and really make the wedding our own.
Wai Ching "Athena"
Then I discovered Wai Ching. The queen designer of the bohemian wedding dress. Since Nathan and I have decided to save ourselves for marriage, it is important to me (and my family) that I do have a white dress. But boy did I swoon over some of her luxurious colors and unconventional styles. Her dresses are out of my price range...but I love color so much, and started thinking...maybe I could incorporate color tastefully into my dress without taking the bridal look away. (Just a note for anyone who is interested: she does make her dresses in all white, or shades of white and ivory, and I've heard great reviews from brides who have worked with her.) I didn't end up with any color in my gown, but it did open my mind to going a more bohemian direction with my dress to match the rest of the wedding.
Wai-Ching "Zolotova"
I finally came to the conclusion that I needed to be realistic about my body type, and the style that looks good on me, and that I would probably need to actually go try some dresses on. So, I went onto the website of our local bridal shop, to see what designers they stocked so that I could go and look at the websites and decide which dresses I wanted to try on. I messaged my awesome Etsy designer, who said that she could make any of them. So, today I trekked out with my friend Natalie to try on some dresses. Fortunately, the shop had most of the styles I was interested in trying on, and I came away knowing which style I wanted for my wedding! It wasn't the most thrilling experience of my life, though. I had a ton of fun with Natalie there, but the shop didn't have a lot of samples in my size (and I'm not that big...), and maybe it just wasn't my "thing." It was useful, but I'm glad I found a good style the first time, and don't have to drag around to a bunch of other stores.
Plus, since I'm having mine custom made, I can make any changes/alterations/additions to it, and make sure that it is just right. Now, I am not superstitious at all, and I don't feel like posting a picture of my dress will take away the precious "first look" moment from our wedding when Nathan sees me in the first time for the dress.
With that said, this is the dress style I've finally chosen. It is made from champagne colored dupion silk, which is a really different texture and sheen than typical satin or chiffon. It's not flowery, but it definitely has a unique, bohemian vibe. Mine will not have pockets, and the little jeweled piece on the front will be different.
This is the front, the original dress is Paloma Blanca 4004:
This is the back of the original dress, but I'm considering having it made differently:
I'm not sure that I like the "tail" on the original dress...it's different, but I just am not convinced. This is a similar look and could be easily modified, so I'm thinking I might go with a back style more like this:
My other option is to have a corset-style back, which I think could be really cool and different, especially if I used satin ribbons for the corset in sapphire, olive green, and teal blue to match our wedding colors. I'm going to draw up some sketches, and am looking forward to putting in the deposit so that she can start making it! It'll still be 6 months or so before I get it, but she said she'll send me pictures as the process moves along! :-)
So, yep - that was my short, simple, abbreviated wedding dress adventure. And I highly recommend Etsy.
-Lindsey
Oh that's so cool! my first gown (yeah I had two, long story) had a corset back that I *loved* and originally I was going to buy (or dye) the ribbon red (since I was going with red and white). The one I actually wore, had a lovely open back and little sequins all over the front (I incorporated red with my flowers...instead of on the dress, I had a short engagement, and mostly just wanted it to fit and be all sewn on time ;) ) I love how you get to completely design your dress, it looks like it's going to be awesome :D
Oh, that's awesome - I can see a corset back being beautiful on you. But, I've seen pictures of your wedding, and your dress was absolutely gorgeous. Suited you perfectly! And the red flowers popped really nicely. You know, I actually considered doing red at first solely because I'd seen how pretty it was in your wedding. :) As excited as I am to have my dress custom made, and be able to plan everything out nicely...I am tired of being apart, and if he was to work it out where he could graduate in two months and be here, I'd happily have a courthouse wedding. Hehe.