- Joined
- Nov 19, 2007
- Messages
- 4,568
Hi Ladies!
So, I finally made it out to some dress shops yesterday. I was originally looking for a nice light flowing dress, preferably with a bit o'sleeve. It is my dream to wear a mantilla. By way of background, we are "eloping", probably at the end of May 2008 most likely in the Croatian countryside, possibly in an old stone church. We are not having guests. We are still working out some details with the wedding coordinator, but this is the most likely plan. There are no back-up plans. We got engaged in January.
I tried on this dress at David's:
David's Dress
And, really liked it, however, I was not thrilled with the bustline. I wish it were more shapely and less sort of uni-bra like, but it seems a lot of dresses are made that way. Not sure why. The other problem with this dress is that I could not wear a mantilla, which is just what I picture myself in getting married. Not since I was a little girl or anything, but much more so than having a clear vision of what the dress should look like, I have a clear vision that I will be wearing a mantilla. Hope that makes sense.
Otherwise, this dress looks great on me, I love the fabric, it is soft and flowing and can be ready in one day!! That's amazing.
Then, I went to a bridal salon, mentioned my wedding date and was told that dresses usually take 8-10 months, to which I responded "Get Out!" So, we ruled out wedding dresses, and I went through their BM dresses. I love Watters BM dresses. They had quite a few. I had been loving this dress on-line:
Short Sleeved Watters
They did not have it at the shop. I would get it in ivory top and skirt. They did have this lovely two-piece dress in a size 8 (um, not my size, so very hard to imagine what it would look like on, especially the top, which was very small on my, and I did not realize it was supposed to be so fitted until I get home and looked it up on line.) I *love* the skirt. I never expected that I would, but I do. It probably would not travel well. I would also get the top in white or ivory and I would look lovely and sweet, and not uhm, like the girl in this photo:
Halter Watters
I also really like this dress, which they did not have in the shop, but which I think would be nicely complemented by a mantilla. It is not very wedding-dress'y, and I do love lace, but anyway, I like it:
Other Watters
I think they said it would be about 6 weeks for a rush order. I've found some places on-line that claim they could do Watters dresses in 4 weeks. I know the short-sleeved Watters dress will look great on me, but it does seem awfully casual, even though I couldn't be having a more casual wedding, well, maybe town hall, I guess.
But, do I order a dress that I've never seen? Haven't even seen the back of in a photo? I think the skirt of the halter top dress would be most flattering on me, but I also think the short-sleeved top would be most flattering on me. It is totally my style. The a-line skirt that comes with it comes in three different fabrics, but I think I like the dupioni silk best, and I'm guessing it will be the most "forgiving" fabric.
The other option is buying a dress on eBay and then pronto getting it fitted.
Finally, about the mantilla -- I need to do more research on this, but I thought mantillas were often totally lace, not just lace edges around sheer voile (or whatever that is). I might be inclined to find some very nice lace and make my own. I have to imagine this has been done before. I am not really concerned about budget, given we are spending so little on the wedding overall, but the little itty-bitty part of me that is frugal does not like the idea of paying $250 for a piece of fabric and a plastic comb.
Is the short-sleeved Watters too casual? Would a mantilla clash with the casual-ness of this dress? Should I worry about on-line vendors that promise dress in four weeks? Should I just go with the David's and forget about my dream of a mantilla?
Thoughts, comments, suggestions are all welcome!! I need to make a decision soon.
So, I finally made it out to some dress shops yesterday. I was originally looking for a nice light flowing dress, preferably with a bit o'sleeve. It is my dream to wear a mantilla. By way of background, we are "eloping", probably at the end of May 2008 most likely in the Croatian countryside, possibly in an old stone church. We are not having guests. We are still working out some details with the wedding coordinator, but this is the most likely plan. There are no back-up plans. We got engaged in January.
I tried on this dress at David's:
David's Dress
And, really liked it, however, I was not thrilled with the bustline. I wish it were more shapely and less sort of uni-bra like, but it seems a lot of dresses are made that way. Not sure why. The other problem with this dress is that I could not wear a mantilla, which is just what I picture myself in getting married. Not since I was a little girl or anything, but much more so than having a clear vision of what the dress should look like, I have a clear vision that I will be wearing a mantilla. Hope that makes sense.
Otherwise, this dress looks great on me, I love the fabric, it is soft and flowing and can be ready in one day!! That's amazing.
Then, I went to a bridal salon, mentioned my wedding date and was told that dresses usually take 8-10 months, to which I responded "Get Out!" So, we ruled out wedding dresses, and I went through their BM dresses. I love Watters BM dresses. They had quite a few. I had been loving this dress on-line:
Short Sleeved Watters
They did not have it at the shop. I would get it in ivory top and skirt. They did have this lovely two-piece dress in a size 8 (um, not my size, so very hard to imagine what it would look like on, especially the top, which was very small on my, and I did not realize it was supposed to be so fitted until I get home and looked it up on line.) I *love* the skirt. I never expected that I would, but I do. It probably would not travel well. I would also get the top in white or ivory and I would look lovely and sweet, and not uhm, like the girl in this photo:
Halter Watters
I also really like this dress, which they did not have in the shop, but which I think would be nicely complemented by a mantilla. It is not very wedding-dress'y, and I do love lace, but anyway, I like it:
Other Watters
I think they said it would be about 6 weeks for a rush order. I've found some places on-line that claim they could do Watters dresses in 4 weeks. I know the short-sleeved Watters dress will look great on me, but it does seem awfully casual, even though I couldn't be having a more casual wedding, well, maybe town hall, I guess.
But, do I order a dress that I've never seen? Haven't even seen the back of in a photo? I think the skirt of the halter top dress would be most flattering on me, but I also think the short-sleeved top would be most flattering on me. It is totally my style. The a-line skirt that comes with it comes in three different fabrics, but I think I like the dupioni silk best, and I'm guessing it will be the most "forgiving" fabric.
The other option is buying a dress on eBay and then pronto getting it fitted.
Finally, about the mantilla -- I need to do more research on this, but I thought mantillas were often totally lace, not just lace edges around sheer voile (or whatever that is). I might be inclined to find some very nice lace and make my own. I have to imagine this has been done before. I am not really concerned about budget, given we are spending so little on the wedding overall, but the little itty-bitty part of me that is frugal does not like the idea of paying $250 for a piece of fabric and a plastic comb.
Is the short-sleeved Watters too casual? Would a mantilla clash with the casual-ness of this dress? Should I worry about on-line vendors that promise dress in four weeks? Should I just go with the David's and forget about my dream of a mantilla?
Thoughts, comments, suggestions are all welcome!! I need to make a decision soon.