Making my Wedding Dress

A I don't think you read this anymore, but if you do... press the close screen button NOW!

 

Last Saturday I had my second wedding dress appointment, and I got to see my skirt and train for the first ever time!!

 

It was so exciting, but I must admit every time she asked, "how do you want this..." or "do you like it like that...." I freaked out a little before answering... if I thought it was nerve racking choosing THE DRESS it is even moreso deciding details on THE DRESS.

 

So here it is....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(blank space so A doesn't accidentally see)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The silk on the skirt is skill so new it is very crunchy and crinkly.

 

 

Getting pinned and pulled.

 

 

This is the "fake" (I forget the name of the material) bodice as it started out.

 

 

After reshaping the bodice and adjusting etc.

 

It still doesn't have anywhere near the amount of boning in it and it definitely wasn't pulled as tight as I would like my actual dress to fit, but I think the lower bust line is a lot more flattering.

 

 

Ignore stupid face.

 

We lowered the back, from the height on the right to that on the left. When she asked how low I wanted it, I replied with "as low as we can go" (without ruining the make of the dress.

 

My bridesmaid told me I have a sexy, fatless back. I guess if the wedding weight loss journey doesn't work out I can "back it up" the whole day lol..

 

 

 

 

and TAA DAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

 

My over 2mtr train!! I love it and can't wait until the other layers and finishing touches are put on it.

 

I have always wanted a train it was a must have in my books.

 

 

I'm not sure you will get to see much more of this bad boy, because I think in my June appointment it will start looking a lot more real, but I'll see what sneak peeks I can provide.

 

Despite the stress I am really loving the dress making process and I would recommend it to any bride. I love the fact that the end product will be all my ideas.

 

Now I can't wait until June....



My First Dress Fitting

Remember how I found my dress in ahhhh like July last year?!!! Well last Thursday I went back to Couture by Francesca for my very first fitting!

 

To say I was excited is an understatement, I was giddy, a little nervous and felt like a little kid at Christmas time all over again.

 

See the excitement?

 

We actually didn't do that much for my dress, except talk about what I wanted again, have a quick sketch drawn up and take my measurements. Of course this was followed by the whole "what do you intend to do leading up to the wedding...", which was started by some comment I made about my sausage arms. Pretty standard in a wedding dress salon I am guessing.

 

 

Seen as it had been 6 months since I picked the dress, I asked if I could try on the sample gown again. I was so so nervous as she put me in it, I was scared I was going to become one of those girls on "Say Yes to the Dress", who argues it is not the same dress, or who knows it is the same one but hates it now and has to fork out thousands more dollars for a new one.

 

Luckily, I am not one of those girls. As soon as I was clipped into my dress, I fell in love all over again! I couldn't stop smiling, my bridesmaid and mum were taking pictures and I wanted to get married there and then!

 

I am so excited about my dress, I want to show you, and everyone else the photos... but for once I am going to keep my big mouth SHUT! SORRY!

 

At my next appointment, I will take photos of the construction and that should be okay to share.

 

I will show you one photo now though... my shoes underneath my dress.

 

 

The right show still has the cardboard under the flowers, but you get the idea.

 

Under 10 months to go now. YEYYYY!!!

 

P.S. Sorry for the poor photos, my iphone flash has broken.

Mini Freakout

 

Last Thursday was an eventful day. It was such an eventful day, it gets its own blog post.

First things first, I had another wedding delivery arrive at work... YEY!!

 

This little wooden sign for the pageboy to carry down the aisle, instead of a pillow.. I think it is adorable and I can just imagine all the "awwwwws" when he walks down.

 

 

On the other side, is this cute saying for our wedding photos.

Thursday night after work on the train to my mum's house, I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw a photo of my wedding dress sample in a wedding magazine, I knew it was going to be featured so that didn't surprise me, but what did surprise me was that I didn't realise it was my dress at the time and I thought it was very average looking, I actually didn't like it at all.
 

I kept staring at the dress. I felt sick.
 

All of the worst thoughts started going through my head. Even though my dress is being made from scratch, with all the little things I want to add to it, I still could not help but freak out.
 

Was it just because I was exhausted or did I actually not like the dress anymore? I didn't know, but I knew my mum would talk sense in to me and she did - pointing out all the differences in the photo and my dress, the styling etc. She even made me look the photo on a computer and once we realised it wasn't even in focus, that eased a lot of my worries!! It made me realise why I couldn't see any of the detail. My bridesmaid also helped me by telling me that she saw me in that dress and she would not hear me saying anything other than "it is the most perfectest dress ever". She told me "the woman makes the dress, not the other way around".
 

AHH.. I am surrounded by the best women ever! I trust them completely and was so grateful they smacked some sense in to me.
 

Has anyone else had this feeling? You know the feeling you picked the wrong dress? Were you proved wrong later? What happened? tell me allll! hehe.
 

After my bride moment, I went to pole dancing for my first lesson with Suzie Q - she is amazing and she is also the hardest task master!! I have never worked so hard in a pole dancing class before and by the end by arms refused to lift me anymore. While I hated it, like you do when something hurts, I loved it and I am soo excited to do more classes with her and hopefully improve improve improve! I hate feeling like the whimpy unco kid in the back haha.
 

I am now COVERED in bruises and my muscles hurt for days after, but i'm heading back there tonight ready to work off some more of these wobbly bits.
 

 

Suzie Q is amazing.. check out this video of her in a NSW comp.

 



I FOUND THE DRESS!!!!

A I SHOULDN'T NEED TO TELL YOU THIS, THE TITLE SHOULD SAY IT ALL- BUT LOOK AWAY NOW PLEASE =)

Ummm yeahh so I think I might have forgotten to tell you all something on Friday??

ON THURSDAY NIGHT I FOUND MY FREAKIN' WEDDING DRESS!!!!!

bahahahahahaha... I am soooo excited! I was soo giddy all day Friday and in general disbelief, I could think of nothing but THE DRESS.

Remember a little while ago in this post, I told you I had another appointment to try on dresses?

Well on Thursday night mum and I went... we tried on THE dress first, then another 2 for good measure, but I couldn't wait to get back into the first. Then I didn't want to take it off! I left it on until the last possible second.

I couldn't stop smiling, mum got teary and as I hugged her I think I did a little bit too. I knew I would never be one of those bawling brides (not that there's anything wrong with that) because I was just waaaayyyy too happy to cry and the only time I have cried from happiness was when A proposed. Regardless, I knew this was the dress. I couldn't stop staring at myself in the mirror and doing twirls, with this ridiculously huge grin on my face!

The sample gown is not exactly how I want my dress to be, so the designer is making me a custom dress using the sample as a kind of "base".

Francesca from Couture by Francesca was great. She was truly wonderful, genuine and helpful. She said yes to most of my requests for alterations, except for where it would compromise the fit of the dress. She let us ask a million silly questions and even made me sit in the dress to see how it felt/looked - which ps. was amazing! haha. She has been designing from home for the last 20years, working with Jessica Fontaine and her own brides purely by word of mouth. Luckily for me, she opened a boutique two weeks ago.

Francesca told us she will only take on a certain amount of brides at a time and the best part? Unlike many pushy stores I have been to previously, Fran did not ask me to put a deposit down or sign anything - Oh no, she doesn't even have EFTPOS facilities because she wants her brides to go home, sleep on it and then when they are still 100% sure, email her, pay the deposit etc. amazing!

Given that my dress is custom, I cannot show you any pictures and I don't want to give away too much by showing you the sample. What I will do is show you this lovely sneak peak again and tell you a few details...

I will have a loooongg train.

My dress is WHITE white, which I think looks best on me.

My dress will be made of lace, silk and french tulle.

I will have a long plain veil.

The bodice will have Swarovski crystals all over it.

It will have buttons, just like my shoes.

I am taking my girls to see me in the dress on Saturday, but after that I won't see the designer again until January when we do the first measurements. I'll take photos at the starting appointments to show you all how it's going, before it starts to look too much like the real deal.

I seriously cannot believe I have found my wedding dress, I am soo nervous about my decision, but in a good way if that makes sense? It's a huge decision, I can't believe I made it! LOL.

What kind of reaction do you think you'd/or did you have?

I can't wait for my shoes to arrive this week!

Argghh it's all coming together now!

One more Time

A IF YOU ARE READING THIS, CLOSE THE WINDOW NOW PLEASE :)

I have made an appointment to try on dresses at one more store in a couple of weeks.

I am really excited about this one.

One of the dresses encompasses most of what I want, it is the closest I have seen.

EEEEP!! I AM SO EXCITED

Sneak Peek.



Wedding Dress Shopping

A IF YOU ARE READING THIS - LOOK AWAY NOW!

IMAGES YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE! ;)

On Saturday I went wedding dress shopping with my girls along Parramatta Road, St Peters area.

Any female who lives in Sydney and has driven along Parramatta Road, knows about the abundance of wedding dress boutiques along there.

The girls hadn't seen me in a wedding dress before, only my mum had.

We started off with an appointment at Oahn Ma.

 

The first dress I tried on before walking out, I shouted "are you ready" so the girls would look up from the magazine they were ready. When I walked out they were all speechless, not because it was the perfect dress, but because here I was, their friend IN A WEDDING DRESS!!!! To get them out of their daze, I started talking about the various parts of the dress which we liked and did not like. We liked the big bow at the back, did not like the straight neckline. Loved the fullness of the skirt, but not the lack of detail.

I tried on a few more at Oahn Ma and one in particular was loved by the girls.

I loved this dress too, but I wasn't sure that it was the one.

Here is my dilemma- I love a tulle skirt because it looks soft and princessy, however I have been told by a few places that you can't really have a train with a tulle skirt as it will tear easily. I have always wanted a train and when this was told to me my heart sank! I can't be without a train, no no, not an option!

After Oahn Ma, we just strolled down the street walking into every bridal store. The girls and I found something for me to try on in almost every store.

The girls wanted to try dresses on too, despite already having their bridesmaid's dress, so I picked a few ......

 it was fun to try all the different styles and colours, whether they were our taste or not!

After an hour or so we were all starving. The only place open for food was the pub, so the pub it was!

Chicken Burrito

Seriously though, someone should open a little cafe amongst all these wedding stores. Wedding dress shopping is hungry work and women want to eat!!!

One of the other stores we went it to was Evermore Bridal. In there, I tried on a beautiful mermaid gown with lace cap sleeves. I fell in love with the lace detail on this, but mermaid gowns DO NOT suit me and I am not just being a typical girl. All of my friends confirmed my thoughts. Mermaid gowns accentuate my butt and hips in ways I do not want on my wedding day.

The designer was very helpful and told me they could alter the skirt to make it into a ball gown. HMMMM...more things to think about! Has anyone had a dress made here?

One of the dresses in a store I cannot remember the name of, the girls fell in love with. It was their pick of the day! It is an absolutely beautiful gown with so much detail!

(the crease isn't there, the designer just lifted it up to show me where the dress would sit)

I think part of the reason the girls loved it was also because it was the first time they saw me in a veil. I swear a veil makes such a difference! Alana even drew a tear.

I was surprised at how much I liked this dress, being a big dress girl and all, but now looking at the photo it just doesn't look like me. It's not me.

We left Parramatta Road exhausted and confused!! I think I had a clearer idea of what I wanted before I started looking.. The only conculsion I HAVE reached is that I will have a long veil.

 

How do you even combine all these ideas to design a dress? has anyone done it?

Tears for a Dress

On Saturday afternoon, I went with my mum to Peretti on Parramatta Road. After inspecting the bridesmaid's dress we were in full wedding mode, so it was the perfect time for my appointment.

I made an appointment at Peretti, because I knew they specialised in the "bigger" style dresses, which is what I have always dreamt of/imagined myself in.

Arriving at the appointment, we had to wait about 15minutes while they finished up with another bride, so mum and I looked around at all the beautiful dresses and picked 3 that I was going to try on. At this point, I'm not sure I was even feeling it... my mind was still back at home with the bridesmaid's dress haha.

As soon as I walked out in the first dress (the one on the right) both my mum and I started smiling. I knew straight away that I wasn't a fan of the bottom of the dress, the pick ups just aren't me, but the detail on the bodice and the way it fit me was just perfect!! The helpful lady Sona told me that they could change anything I wanted, they could take things away or put things on. This was good to know.

I tried the next two dresses on and then went back to the first. This time my mum insisted that I put a veil on. This was my first time in a wedding dress AND a veil!! Looking at myself in the mirror, dressed like that, that moment right there, was the single most grown up moment of my life!!! At first I couldn't even look straight on at myself and when I eventually did I couldn't stop smiling - YEP it is official, I am a BRIDE!!!

I turned around to see what my mum thought and she was turning away, because she had tears. She had tears for this dress.

So did I buy it? No.

A. I need to consider all options.

B. The dress wasn't my perfect dress, it was a bit too blingy for my taste.

Mum and I both agreed however, that this was the silhouette for me and we took notice of where the bodice went to and how it was cut. I also loooved loved loved the long train on the dress. If I do end up getting my dress made, these are the details I will need to remember.

So now I have a few shops down and the rest of Parramatta Road to check out with my girls! Can't wait!

Just one thing though.... how do you know? how did you know that the dress was the one you would wear down the aisle?

More Dresspiration

I love love love the back of this dress and by the back I mean the low cut back, poofy skirt and the big bow.

source

I have also decided that I love when you can see the little shoes and socks on flower girls.. how cute are these two?

Dresspiration

I haven't started trying on dresses yet, but like most girls I have looked at tonnes on the Internet! I think every bride has a type of dress for her and me personally, I am a big dress kind of girl... I figure it is the one time I can get away with it, so why not?? I also loooveee a massive train! How this will all work with my plans to dance all night at my wedding, I have no idea! Maybe I will have to look into a detachable train or something like that? I have always thought of my ideal weddings dress as one with a very detailed bodice with the plainer skirt, big at the front and back (with super doper cathedral train), but not TOO wide at the sides.

I have seen quite a few dresses, which have given me dresspiration, the latest of which I thought I would share with you. I don't know this bride or where she got her dress made, but I just love the whimsical, soft look of the dress. I am not a huge fan personally of the layered look on the skirt of some bigger dresses,  but this one just grabbed me, it just looks so lovely! Well I think so… :)

The bridesmaid's dresses are pretty too- beautiful wedding!