Anyone here have a dress with long sleeves?

[gwendolyn]

My boyfriend is English and I'm American, so we have to decide at some point on which continent we're going to be married, and since I am a castle-lover, I'm thinking of maybe having it here in England so I can be married in a castle. I can see this dress in particular working quite well in castle, I think...

 

[gwendolyn]

Usually I have painfully expensive taste, so I''m quite encouraged that the first dresses that really snagged me are described as being ''fairly cheap!''

 

[misysu2]

Date: 1/8/2008 9:42:34 AM
Author: gwendolyn
Oooh, brazen_irish_hussy (awesome name, by the way

), thank you SO MUCH for the links!!! Some of these dresses are just fantastic! I want to show you guys some of the ones that made me ''oooh.''

Oh. my. stars. That is the PRETTIEST dress I''ve ever seen, gwendolyn! I have dress jealousy!

 

[sumbride]

yay!!! those are all awesome!! And if you get married in a castle, you''ll definitely NEED sleeves... they are drafty, right? The scene will CALL for sleeves!!! You''re definitely on the right track!

 

[gwendolyn]

Here''s one that I quite like that has no sleeves. I wonder if it would be difficult to get extra fabric and have them added on? Do you think it would look ok? I think the off-the-shoulder straps on some of the gowns would work well, but I''m not sure some gowns would be able to pull it off while looking like the dress was made that way... Thoughts?

 

[sumbride]

Date: 1/8/2008 9:58:01 AM
Author: gwendolyn
Here''s one that I quite like that has no sleeves. I wonder if it would be difficult to get extra fabric and have them added on? Do you think it would look ok? I think the off-the-shoulder straps on some of the gowns would work well, but I''m not sure some gowns would be able to pull it off while looking like the dress was made that way... Thoughts?

I think that would look lovely with sleeves! Look at the way the fabric gathers in the skirt... it could definitely coordinate with some billowy sheer sleeves.

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 1/8/2008 10:04:17 AM
Author: sumbride
I think that would look lovely with sleeves! Look at the way the fabric gathers in the skirt... it could definitely coordinate with some billowy sheer sleeves.

Yay! I am feeling very encouraged.

Thank you so much for all your links, suggestions and beautiful photos!

 

[sumbride]

Date: 1/8/2008 10:55:04 AM
Author: gwendolyn

Yay! I am feeling very encouraged.

Thank you so much for all your links, suggestions and beautiful photos!

Good! PS is about support, and we''re here to support you, whether you''re "official" or not! You have a lot of good ideas and will be a beautiful bride!!!

 

[Po10472]

Here''s a thread with some pics of my dress. I designed it and had it made. The bodice was white velvet with georgette sleeves and satin. I love short sleeves, just not no me cos I don''t like showing the top of my arms.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/8/2008 9:58:01 AM
Author: gwendolyn

Here's one that I quite like that has no sleeves. I wonder if it would be difficult to get extra fabric and have them added on? Do you think it would look ok? I think the off-the-shoulder straps on some of the gowns would work well, but I'm not sure some gowns would be able to pull it off while looking like the dress was made that way... Thoughts?

I love this gown. I believe it would look fabulous with sleeves.

Deborah

 

[04diamond<3]

I love that one!!! It''s gorgeous!!!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I think sleeves would fine on the one dress depending on what kind of material you had in mind. Light lace, gossomer or tulle would be ine but satin or beaded lace would be too heavy for the straps that are there. You would then need to add thicker straps and adding both might be a bit obvious.
Go with the wedding in Europe, if it were up to me my FI and I would be getting married in Barcelona, but there is simply nothing in the US like a true castle.

 

[bee*]

Date: 1/8/2008 9:43:55 AM
Author: gwendolyn
My boyfriend is English and I''m American, so we have to decide at some point on which continent we''re going to be married, and since I am a castle-lover, I''m thinking of maybe having it here in England so I can be married in a castle. I can see this dress in particular working quite well in castle, I think...

The dress that you posted with this quote is gorgeous-it would definitely be fitting for a castle. I''m a bit castle lover too hence having my wedding in Cabra Castle.

 

[liz]

Here''s my dress with 3/4 sleeves from Augusta Jones.

 

[liz]

And here''s the back. The style is called Avril.

 

[gwendolyn]

Thank you again, ladies! I am feeling better about being able to find what I want, and feeling more secure in having things changed if that''s what it takes to have my perfect dress!

Oh, Po10472, you designed your dress?! It looks just amazing!

Liz, your dress is beautiful too--I love the delicate lace and the back is just lovely! Thank you for sharing it!

 

[HollyS]

My dress was a customized version of this Eden dress. I had it made in silk-satiin charmeuse with the same beaded netting as the sleeves overlaid onto the entire gown. My salon assured me that many manufacturers of mid-priced lines will customize a gown with details you prefer, including sleeves, for a relatively small fee. I think I paid an additional $150. for my changes.

You can see an up close of the bodice of my actual dress in my wedding proofs I posted in Nov.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 1/9/2008 1:43:08 PM
Author: liz
And here''s the back. The style is called Avril.

liz,

I''ve never seen anything prettier than the back of this dress!

Deborah

 

[UCLABelle]

I almost bought a dress just like KSPrincess posted (first one). Because I am short, long sleeves make me feel even shorter (no idea why!)...so I strayed from them, but fell in love with the long lace sleeves in the dress....

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 1/10/2008 7:24:42 PM
Author: HollyS
My dress was a customized version of this Eden dress. I had it made in silk-satiin charmeuse with the same beaded netting as the sleeves overlaid onto the entire gown. My salon assured me that many manufacturers of mid-priced lines will customize a gown with details you prefer, including sleeves, for a relatively small fee. I think I paid an additional $150. for my changes.


You can see an up close of the bodice of my actual dress in my wedding proofs I posted in Nov.

Holly, your dress is lovely and you look absolutely beautiful in it! Thanks for pointing me towards your pics!

It''s good to know there''s some flexibility with the designs of the dresses. I was feeling kind of discouraged at first even though I''m only very casually looking, because I wasn''t finding anything that really jumped out at me, but you ladies really helped me see other options, so thank you!

 

[Pandora II]

You're at Cambridge aren't you Gwen?

If so, you know you can hire the college for weddings - lots of my friends are doing that.

FI and I even considered having ours at Brasenose College, Oxford, but he said he hadn't loved his time at University enough to want to get married there too!

For castles - have a look on the English Heritage website. There is an amazing one in Cornwall called St. Mawes Castle that was built by Henry VIII and has incredible views over the sea . My brother is getting married there next May.

St. Mawes is one of the most beautiful places in Britain and known as the 'Cornish Riviera'. My grandparents bought a house there 65 years ago as a holiday home and I have been going there all my life - it's a truly incredible place!

You can have a civil service in the castle - or the gorgeous church at St.Just-in-Roseland, and then travel round to the castle by boat. It's a lot cheaper than most UK venues of that sort.

Here's some pics:

St. Mawes Castle:

 

[Pandora II]

Try again...

 

[Pandora II]

.

 

[Pandora II]

Here''s the church:

 

[gwendolyn]

Yup, I am at Cambridge, but like your FI, I''m not sure I''ll enjoy my time here enough to want to get married here.

Maybe, though; I''m only 1/3 of the way through my course, and it is beautiful here...

St. Mawes Castle is very lovely, and that church is beautiful too! I have visited a few English Heritage sites while I''ve been here, but most of them have been ruins (Scarborough Castle, Whitby Abbey, Helmsley Castle, Rievaulx Abbey--which is gooooorgeous but has no roof), so they wouldn''t really do for a wedding. I also visited a stately home called Castle Howard which was nice but way too overdone inside (no idea if they''re all like that or just this one)--we visited with J''s sister, who kept showing us the wedding brochures and things.

J and his whole family are from up north in Yorkshire (Scarborough specifically), so it would probably mean a lot to get married up there as opposed to elsewhere in England, BUT there is the fact that I would be getting married in another country and him on his doorstep, which doesn''t sit right with me, especially since his family and friends circle is very small and mine is larger, and so more people will have to travel a pretty big distance if they will want to come. So, somewhere farther away like Cornwall might be a sort of compromise. I''ve seen photos and it is simply lovely--I definitely want to visit sometime soon, possibly when my degree finishes.

Other thoughts have been to get married somewhere that''s traveling for both family and friends, so it''s a sort of neutral location (like Italy or France or somewhere--my idea), but J pooh-poohed it by saying that we shouldn''t make it more expensive than it already is. But I don''t especially want to get married at home, because then I won''t have the option of a castle. Which is ok, but not what I''d really like. Unfortunately, money will be an issue (as it always is), and having an international wedding with money concerns just doesn''t work very well. I''d also quite like to just run off and elope somewhere pretty and then have a big party somewhere (or two parties on two continents), but J wants it to be a proper wedding with everyone he knows (which is thankfully only about a dozen people

).

Sorry, that turned into a long ramble...this is a complicated situation. I''ll send homemade cookies to anyone who read every word.

 

[Pandora II]

Which Cambridge College are you at by the way?

Watch out with France - you need to live there for 40 days before you can get married

. Italy is way easier.

I understand all the problems you are talking about! My FBIL married a girl from Chicago and they took ages to decide which country to get married in. In the end they chose the US - FI and I turned it into our annual holiday, had a great time, did far too much shopping and felt slightly ill when the credit-card bill arrived!

You can do UK weddings for less than a King's Ransom, but you need to be creative, hunt down talent amongst friends and family and do some DIYing. An ebay account is also a wonderful thing!

If I think of any other castle-like venues that don't break the bank I'll let you know.

 

[gwendolyn]

I''m at Homerton, the one billed as the education college (because it''s right next to the education faculty building). It''s convenient, but I''ve had a lot of negative experiences, so I''m not overly fond of the place and consider it more of a prison than a home. But it''s a short course, so it''s alright.

40 days in France before getting married there? I''d heard it was difficult to get married there, but I haven''t done any serious research yet so I didn''t know. Scratch that one off the list! Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Fancy605]

Date: 1/8/2008 9:43:55 AM
Author: gwendolyn
My boyfriend is English and I''m American, so we have to decide at some point on which continent we''re going to be married, and since I am a castle-lover, I''m thinking of maybe having it here in England so I can be married in a castle. I can see this dress in particular working quite well in castle, I think...

THAT DRESS IS AMAZING! Sorry for using all caps, but it is beautiful! I love it!

 

[gwendolyn]

Date: 1/26/2008 4:15:46 PM
Author: Fancy605
THAT DRESS IS AMAZING! Sorry for using all caps, but it is beautiful! I love it!

Thanks, Fancy605! I come back to this thread now and then, and I think it''s my favourite one so far. *sighs wistfully*

 

[gwendolyn]

Found something on eBay a bit more plain than I think I would like, but not bad for $150, so I''m going to post it as a possibility, since I''m still far enough off that I have no real idea of what our budget will be.