My wedding dress came rolled up in a fed-ex box...

[diamondfan]

A good party (and a wedding is one, albeit more special) should have: great people, great food and drink and great music. A great theme is also nice if you can come up with one, and a great setting does not hurt. For a wedding, years from now, what you will have are your photos and your video. This is where to splurge, imho. I think you will look great in the dress you have and you know it suits the beach locale. Put the money where it matters...I agree we get sold on this "special" (i.e. expensive) dress idea, just like they used to say a ring should cost X months salary...but that is not really relevant now. It is taste specific, and you need to look at so many factors. I think girls think they are going to find THE dress and they will just kNOW it. For some, yes it happens, but others feel bad if it does not happen for them. I love your story and think it will be amazing!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

TG: I soooo LOVE your attitude about your dress, wedding, etc... I dig the dress you picked out. It totally fits your california beach wedding.

I too was not looking forward to dress shopping. I just wanted to order a dress thru JCrew and call it a day. BUT, I ended up going dress shopping during lunchtime one weekday, and walked out of a Bridal Salon 2 hours later with my dress. I bought it off the rack, and spent $215 on it. My friends weren''t shocked. It''s so me to do something like this. My mom, on the other hand was horrified. "didn''t you want anyone to go with you and offer their opinion?" I told her that I liked how it looked on me, and thought that my opinion was the most important since I would be the one wearing it. ''nuff said!

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Date: 5/7/2006 11:50:10 PM
Author: TravelingGal
Thanks again everyone...I definitely feel better about the dress now. Especially since I''m deciding on a photographer now...yikes, those guys don''t come cheap, and I refuse to skimp on the photos!

The way I see it, the place to spend the money is on the food and drink. Give my guests enough to drink, and they''ll think I look gorgeous in a white trash bag!

Date: 5/5/2006 8:29:00 PM
Author: monarch64
I love the dress, and your story, Travelin!!! Your dress could be compared to LOVE: it gets dirty or wrinkled from time to time, but you work things out, put a different spin on it, and have a great attitude, and it''s beautiful all over again!!!

That is very sweet Monarch64, and a nice way to look at it.

TG- one more thing. I just noticed that now you''re on the hunt for a photographer. Check mine out: http://www.accentoflight.com/
He''s also msflutter''s photographer. She posted about him a while ago on a "who''s your photog" (or something like that) thread. I looked him up, FI and I met with him, and we booked him.
GOOD LUCK!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/6/2006 5:08:25 PM
Author: LizzieC

Yeah, I think I talked about it in my dress post, but I didn''t post pics of the actual dress..... I didn''t think I still had pics of it, but I found one! I know it makes me look 16, but I thought it was cute!! Excuse the silly veil... It was a cheapo one that I tried on just for fun.

Oh, I think that would have been great for a Vegas wedding!!! It''s just so fun!

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/8/2006 1:52:21 AM
Author: ChargerGrrl

TG- one more thing. I just noticed that now you''re on the hunt for a photographer. Check mine out: http://www.accentoflight.com/
He''s also msflutter''s photographer. She posted about him a while ago on a ''who''s your photog'' (or something like that) thread. I looked him up, FI and I met with him, and we booked him.
GOOD LUCK!

Thanks Chargergrrl, I read yours and msflutters posts a couple of weeks ago when I was doing a search and bookmarked this photographer! I think I sent an inquiry but didn''t get anything back. However, I''ve been a bit senile lately, so it''s possible I bookmarked it and may have not done anything about it yet.

I''m also looking at Andrena Douglass...I like her style. However right now the front running is a Korean guy who has done quite a few of my family''s wedding photos. He''s just so cheap...I think $3000 gets you an engagement album (which we are not interested in), a box of prints, a huge wedding album, and two parent''s albums, plus his shooting time for 2 days. And he is pretty darn good...

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 5/6/2006 5:37:21 PM
Author: San Diego Bride
TravelingGal,

here''s an update on the titaniumera.com experience. they had the best prices for titanium (and tungsten) that i saw. they said the ring would take 8-10 business days with engraving, but was at my house less than a week after the order. the ring looks great! it''s not necessarily what i would have picked, but it''s exactly what he wants so i''m very excited about it. and all for $55. the other thing i like about titaniumera.com is that they could engrave what i wanted on the inside (28 characters). most places limited it to 14-18. overall, it was a great bargain and a great shopping experience.

Thanks for the update San Diego Bride...it''s much appreciated. Which style did you get? We really need to get our ring shopping done...I would love to have the essentials finished soon so I don''t have to think about it over the summer!

 

[San Diego Bride]

hey travelinggal,

we ordered the "flat" style found in the "traditional" ring section. it looks great! i''d check out the website today if you can. they''re having a big sale that ends today. it was really nice to get this done. it is the first wedding day item that i''ve gotten since my ring isn''t in yet and my dress is being made. it made it all feel more "real"!

oh, about the presentation... don''t expect a lot. think small ziploc bag inside a priority mail envelope instead of an elaborate box with a bow. kind of reminiscent of your dress!

but for $55 i''d gladly forgo the box!

 

[LizzieC]

Date: 5/8/2006 1:52:21 AM
Author: ChargerGrrl

TG- one more thing. I just noticed that now you''re on the hunt for a photographer. Check mine out: http://www.accentoflight.com/
He''s also msflutter''s photographer. She posted about him a while ago on a ''who''s your photog'' (or something like that) thread. I looked him up, FI and I met with him, and we booked him.
GOOD LUCK!

He''s also my photographer!

 

[selflove]

Hey TravelingGal!

You were correct, I didn''t see pricescope for a few weeks around the time of my wedding. But if you still need a seamstress I''d be happy to give you the contact info of my lady who lives in S. Redondo.

I love your dress and I think it''s absolutely perfect for a beach wedding! Have you decided where for the ceremony and reception yet? I can''t wait to hear the details...

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks Selflove, I would appreciate it. And no problem not seeing the post...you were out being gorgeous and getting married!

Just doing the beachy thing somewhere on a South Bay Beach, and a restaurant luncheon. Very casual!

 

[codex57]

Wow, that dress looks... well... sexy. Your man's gonna love it.

Glad you've got such a great attitude about how the dress is. It saves you a lot of unneeded headaches when you realize you've just gotta roll with the punches. Especially when you consider how little you paid for the dress.

We did the same thing with our bridesmaid dresses. We couldn't find 4 of the same ones. Well, since they were about $15 each, we just picked two and two. They were fairly similar and c'mon, they were $15. We'll just alternate the bridesmaids or come up with some pattern. Didn't freak out about it cuz planning a wedding has enough headaches as it is.

Oh, and her wedding dress got rips and smudges and all kinds of stuff on it during the course of the wedding. It got dirty, basically. No big deal. Couldn't see them in the pics and stuff and it could all be fixed afterwards. There's no point expecting your dress to come out of a wedding flawless so if you clean it up and there's still some minor problems, just think of them as being caused during the wedding.

 

[tracys126]

I love the dress. If you don''t want it, can you sell it me?! J/K

But really, it''s absolutely gorgeous, and I don''t think you need a huge pricetag to have a great dress.

I am looking at $200 jcrew dresses for my beach wedding. I am so not into a big, expensive gowns.

Anyway, where did you find this. It''s beautiful!

I agree with SDLady - take it to the drycleaners!

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks again. I still like it.

Tracy, you may be able to buy it off me...I might not get into it!

It''s a size 6 and won''t zip up that last bit. So I keep working out in the hopes I don''t have to spend more money.

As for where I bought it...it was a dress shop I would have never gone into...Icara in Fashion Island, Newport Beach. Just a fluke I went in. I just really love the flowy, light feeling of it...I''ll definitely feel like I''m on cloud 9 on my wedding day!

 

[selflove]

TG--my email is [email protected]. send me a line and I''ll reply with Elizabeth''s contact info. You never know if she can maybe let it out 1/2 inch on each side or something...she charged me $285 to alter two wedding gowns, just to give you an idea of how much she''ll charge. But the cool thing is that she used to be a dress maker so if you can communicate your "vision", she''ll make it.