I have a dress

Previously I mentioned that my sister offered to let me wear her wedding dress.

{My sister & brother-in-law}

This weekend my sister was visiting and I was able to try on her dress. I was initially worried that it might not fit the bodice as we are not the same size (she has a wider back but smaller breasts then me), as well as the length as I am almost 4" taller then her and want to wear heals while she wore flip flops.

I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it fits the bodice and I have room to loose some weight if I want (since it looks like I have a back bum I think its more of a must then a 'want') and although the dress is shorter on me in my heals only the toes peek out so I might not even bother altering the length as it doesn't look bad.

I've talked with my 'future' mother-in-law and she is going to track down material and pattern to make me a little jacket with a high collar, which will make the dress look a little different then when my sister wore it.

Adding alittle something

I will probably wear my sister's wedding dress so long as it can be altered to fit my larger breasts and extra 4" in height. But I still want a collar and sleeves. I have seen a few designs for jackets that I have posted previously, and figure that I could get made easy enough but then I saw these sweaters from Anthropologie. They aren't cheap but it would be a lot easier then making something from scratch, not to mention I could where these again.

Passing down the gown, or is it up?

Recently my sister suggested that I should wear her wedding dress when I get married. To say that I was touched is an understatement. I reminded her that I wanted a tea length dress, which hers was not, and she responded "So, cut it". OMG, I don't think I can do that! She says that its just sitting in her closet so why not?

Since this conversation I have been re-evaluating my need to have a shorter dress. Basically my main draw to the short dress is now getting the hem stained by the grass or stepping on it while I dance, but I suppose I could work around that. I still just not that comfortable hacking up my sister's gorgeous gown.

{My sister & brother-in-law}*

My other 'problem' with the style of my sister's dress is the fact that it is strapless. When she got married in 2005 this was still a new look, at least among our family and friends, but now its everywhere and quite frankly I don't want that. But then I saw this gorgeous bride (Vintage Glam Weddings featured Jessica Kettles Photography and I found this on her site....definitely check out her blog for all the photos) and thought "This is what I need to do". Having a high collared little short sleeved jacket made for the dress is a hell of a lot simpler to do then a complete dress.

{Ashley & Curtis via Jessica Kettle Photography}

*Not sure how my sister will feel about her picture on her so that might come down if she voices any concern.

Just say NO to the Dress - A rant.

Recently I was watching an episode of "Say Yes To the Dress", which to begin with has wrong written all over it as it represents everything that annoys me about weddings but I was stuck in a hotel room and there wasn't much else on. This episode was about the budget minded bride and how the economy was affecting how much a bride was willing to spend on their dress (duh!).

The words of wisdom imparted from the manager to the consultants before the store opened for the day was that because of the economy being what it was when a bride says their budget is x amount don't bother to try and sell them xx amount because they aren't going to have room in their budget regardless of how much they love the more expensive dress.

First, WTF. I think its terrible that the shops are blatant about their planned up selling to brides on a regular day. Why is that just because the economy sucks now you shouldn't bother up selling to a bride? Why can't you just respect the bride's budget regardless of the economic situation.

Secondly, WTF to the brides. If you don't have money you shouldn't be shopping in an extremely expensive bridal salon! Why tempt yourself with something that is way above your budget.

Through out the show they do the individual interviews with future brides and consultants. One consultant explains to the camera that when you are working with a smaller budget you should cut your guest list and spend less on flowers so that you have more to buy your perfect dress with. Seriously?! If money is an issue I personally think you are deluding yourself if you think cutting back in some places just so you can afford a $10,000 is a wise move. Why not cut back EVERYWHERE and maybe, just maybe you won't go into debt over the wedding and have some money left over to start off your married life?

It bothers me that these wedding "reality" shows (which I'm guilty of watching) insist that you can have a budget friendly wedding and still have the extremely expensive items that particular show is promoting. It doesn't work like that.

Of course if you have the money and you want to by the $10000 wedding dress then go for it, if that's your thing. I personally would rather spend my money on entertaining my guests, good food, a honeymoon or future plans, not a dress that I will wear for ONE day of my life. But that's just me.

Making the dream dress

Awhile ago I found a pattern on Etsy that resembles that dress I fell in love with via Martha Stewart Weddings, a mentioned in my January post, but at a tea length skirt.

On this pattern I like the Option A's skirt and Option C's top (sleeve length) but I still prefer the collar on the dress featured in Martha Stewart Weddings.

Another Wedding Dress Option That I Adore

{Sloan Photographers via Rock n' Roll Bride}

I think this is an adorable option for a short Tea Length dress with a collar. I'm still partial to a slimmer 3/4 length sleeve though.

Navy & Yellow

Since RED, BLUE & WHITE reminds too many of my Canadian friends and family of a truly American affair I've been looking for other combos that use either the blue or the red, and lately I've come across some beautiful blue and yellow templates. I was never a huge fan of yellow but I find its growing on me. And pairing it with a dark blue like navy I think I can pull it off in a late summer/fall gathering rather then giving off too much of a spring feel.



I especially like the idea of using the yellow for my shoes and navy suits for the men like this gorgeous couple features at Green Wedding Shoes. This is also the length of dress that I'm currently in love with!

In my defense

So apparently white, red & blue = Red, White & Blue of America and since I'm NOT American, rather Canadian, this is a no go.

Well I like it regardless.

Mainly I love red and white(see that's Canadian), and thought the addition of blue took away the Christmas feel. Not to mention that I'm currently in love with the collared dress below,from Martha Stewart Wedding Magazine, and thought that color scheme would work. Other ideas are welcome though.