do-do-do… puttin’ on the dress

I did my own makeup, wearing just my underwear in the bathroom, so there won't be any of those photos here to share with the interwebs.

The photos of Andrea/my mom zipping up my dress are funny. I'd asked my mom to zip me up, but while I was standing there and holding up my dress Andrea swooped in and did it for me. Whoops! So there are two sets of photos of zipping up my dress!

Remember all those password protected posts about my dress? (The password is DRESS, if you want it). I think that my dress is perfectly twirly! It was perfect.

I really look forward to wearing my dress again in March to Andrea's wedding in the Berkshires. Don't worry, I'm not tacky, I'm going to have it dyed Williamsburg blue. Only the dress and strap will take the dye, the exposed tulle and inner-lining are polyester and won't take silk dye. It will be my formal dress for anything I can get away with wearing it for! Ben's got a suit and a tux and now we can go to the Nobel award banquet or an inaugural ball, or something!

Up next: going to meet Ben

Getting my hair did

Rachel, from ZING, did my hair. She was great. My hair stayed put all day, and she was very calm and quiet while doing my hair. I don't remember her once asking me to do anything other than look up/down/to the side. Plus, my head didn't ache at the end of the day like it did after my trial!





There were a LOT of bobbie pins in my hair, but look at that shiny pile of curls!



At that point, I had to get up and stretch. I think this was also when Miri came in and dropped off her baby for me to snuggle.



And the crowning touch, my tiara!

Also, did you notice a difference in photo quality there? The first photo is with my old point-and-shoot and the later ones were with the new camera we received as a wedding present. Andrea used both to take some photos of me getting ready and of the bedekin/ketubah as well.

While Rachel was fussing with my hair, Amanda, from Kokoro Photography, took photos of many of my accessories and details. Her mom and partner, Debi, took lots of photos of Ben (I'll post those tomorrow).

I know that my mom thinks that these photos of what I wore are excessive, but I appreciate them! I spend all that time and effort gathering them, it's nice to have that documented. Plus, now you all can see them! Would anyone like to borrow the veil, tiara, shoes (size 6.5), or earrings? I suppose I could just pass on those accessories, and they can make their way through the world. Especially the veil, when can I ever wear that again?! I suppose it'll just stick around as a future dress-up item if no one else wants it.

I'm sure I'll find other reasons to wear the earrings and shoes again, the brooch is my great-great grandmother's (or her sister's) and is in my mother's keeping, the pearl bracelet is from my grandma via my uncle Richard. Everything else is new.

I have everything but a hairdresser

To look the most awesome I've ever looked for our wedding, I have everything but a hairdresser. Originally my cousin was going to do my hair, but I'm not OK with her doing it without a trial. Sadly, the hotel's salon and spa has been booked from 9-4 for an entire wedding party (a wedding that isn't even taking place at the St. Julien!). Ugh. I'm f'ed you guys. Who is going to do my hair?! I don't think what I want is TOO complicated, but I can't do it myself. WHAAAAAA!

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Thankfully I have everything else figured out: dress, undergarments, bouquet, shoes, sweater, and most of my jewelry (mom, WHERE THE HECK IS MY BRACELET? IT HAS NEVER BEEN IN COLORADO!)

Oooh, I need to schedule my makeup lesson!

I also need to figure out which antiperspirant actually works, because I'm a sweaty beast. Any suggestions? Secret clinical strength is crap, FYI. And Degree clinical strength doesn't work any better than the regular one after about noon (but I'm sweat free when I wake up and all morning).

Goal for the next -3 weeks: find an f'n hair dresser, book makeup lesson, find antiperspirant that works, avoid stress (AKA sad tummy and pimples), go to bed early and get lots of sleep, drink lots of water.

Have I left anything off the list (other than finishing craft projects)?

I'm a true dork, but not a Degas Dancer

I'm a big dork. At my fitting this morning, I kept standing in the mirror and twirling, clapping my hands, and saying YEY! I have such a cute little shape in my dress, especially now that the seamstress added some light boning and some extra bra stays (thingies that tuck into my bra to keep the dress from shifting).

Is it weird to be so excited about wearing my dress? I guess it just means that I picked the right dress!

(source)

dress fitting, in my REAL DRESS!

Straps: my cute little flowered bra straps will be covered with a 1.25" strap (shown later in the gallery with a polyester proxy), there will be loops to thread my bra straps through to keep the straps from running away on me. I'll also be adding my Great-Great-Grandmother's (or her sister's, no one remembers) brooch on my right hand side, where the straps attach to the dress.

Sweater? No sweater? I'll button it up all the way, but I didn't want to fuss with silk/linen covered buttons and then have to undo them.

Is the veil too yellow?

I feel funny without my necklace, but I think it looks better without.

UPDATE: I went back on Monday, Sept. 20 and the seamstress had sewn on the straps and adding some light boning to the dress so that it lays flatter. She'd also added "bra stays" which are sewn to the lining, just under the top of the dress, and tuck into my bra, one in the middle, one in each cup, and two on my back. They keep the dress up/my bra from peaking out. It looks EVEN BETTER now!

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my dress is here!!!

I'm working at the off-campus book store for the back-to-school rush through next week, after that I may or may not have scheduled hours. Then, we have our menu tasting, yum!

Once I've been nicely fattened up by pizza and burritos at work and our menu tasting, I have to go have the final fitting on my dress. Ugh!

My big personal debate is whether to try and make my own veil, or just order one online (I found the perfecto one for under $40). I think I'm just going to order it. I only bought one length of tulle that matches my dress perfectly and don't want the stress of not f'ing it up.

auf ruf

Our friends, D and J,  had their auf ruf (calling up) where they were called up to the torah for an aliyah (an ascent to the bimah to say the prayers before/after reading the torah) on Saturday at services. We were asked to hold two corners of the rabbi's tallit (prayer shawl), to represent the chuppah they'll be standing under this coming Sunday. Ben read torah for them between their blessing over the torah, then Rabbi Marc said some prayers for them, and finally the congregation pelted them with candy!

I've never been at services when someone had their auf ruf who was a friend, or at all connected to me. It was kinda awesome, especially when thinking that it will be our turn in less than 4 months.

Our auf ruf will be the day before our wedding, and I hope that everyone we know through the congregation can come! If we have people that are meaningful to us, and our families there, I'm going to cry the second I make eye contact with anyone; I just know it. Adrenaline will keep me from being too emotional on our wedding day I expect, not unlike during my recitals (when I'm sick as a dog, but play to the best of my ability anyway).

A smaller, more day to day, way that I've been preparing for our wedding is drinking lots of water and trying to watch my tan lines (something I've been failing miserably at). I apparently suck at putting on sunscreen and have blochy blobs of sunburn on my arms and that little white triangle above my boobs, and various strap marks. I've either got to go out more with a strapless top on, or stay indoors/covered in SPF 100 for the rest of the summer. I think I'm going to go make myself some more strapless shirts.

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(source)

PS- want to see some funky tan lines? Click here, I think they're beautiful.

it's all in my head

I went back to the seamstress today, my dress was perfect, though I did shorten it a bit more; now it is tea/bellow the knee length instead of ballet/mid calf. How the bodice was fitting was all in my head. I'm going to be beautiful and twirly!

aaaaargh

I kept thinking about my dress last night and little tweaks that they should make to make it even better. Ugh. I sent a 4 AM email to the seamstress! I'm turning into one of those typical freakout brides! Rut ro.

first dress fitting!

I ordered a muslin for my dress, so that it would be fitted exactly to me and include 2 fittings. One with the muslin (made to my measurements) and another once the real dress is in. Weee! It was so twirly and fun, I'm glad I picked the dress I picked. I asked the seamstress if the dress is popular and she told me that it is with girls with "bubbly personalities." I know I -can- be bubbly, but some times I'm kinda dowdy and boring too. Oh well. TWIRL!

+++=

dress + expensive/good bra + spanx + seamstress = happy day

100th post & it's time for my first dress fitting

I got a call that the muslin for my dress is in. Crap. I'm EXACTLY the same size/shape that I was back in February and a year ago, and the same size I've been basically since I graduated from college 3 years ago. I keep hoping that I'll loose some weight or gain some muscle, but it's just not happening. Between working from home and perfecting kitchen techniques, I'm feeling kinda chubby lately. Pooh.

So yeah, I've got 1 week to get comfortable with my body because some elves are going to make a dress just for me. First, they'll fit a muslin to me, then take it and make a real dress out of silk for me. My dress. My twirly wedding/party dress.



Oh, and I've blabbed my 100th post now. I hope you enjoy the gift of wedding pants above. It I were a waif with a big old 'fro I'd might have wanted to rock a similar look. Too bad I'm not a waif, but a short curvy girl. Instead, I'll be rocking a twirly party frock with a sweetheart/halter neckline. It's going to be awesome.

DREW veil

There's a veil out there that probably costs WAY more than I'd be willing to pay for it, but minus the crystals is EXACTLY what I want. It even has the same name as my dress!

Will someone please buy me this veil in ivory without the bedazzling?

http://www.saragabriel.com/collection/veils/products/118-drew

PS- Just incase you're concerned about the dress; I'm super curvy and I'll also be modifying the dress so that it's more late 50s party dress and less, um, exoskeleton than it appears on the runway waif.

aaaargh - dress stress

I just got an email from the salon I ordered my dress from, saying that ALL dresses are going to be on sale next weekend for 15% off. Crap. I just ordered it last week at only 10% off because of a trunk show going on (when they have more dresses than usual for a line and want to move them quickly). GURR.

I need to call anyway and order more fabric. I want another yard of tulle because I'll need to add the blusher. I can't decide if I want to order fabric to make a bolero jacket too, but I don't think so. Any opionons on adding pockets in the side seams? I just want a place to stash my chapstick!

the crucial twirl factor has been obtained

you can click on any of these photos to see them larger. The first one is from when I first looked at the dress in June, the second 2 are screen shots of detailing from the website, and the others are all from my adventure in ordering today. Someone will need to come with me next time to take better pictures. The ones where the dress looks great obscure my face and when you can see the dress, my damned camera bag is blocking the dress!

I ordered the dress to end all dresses (or so my wallet says) as a custom order, meaning I paid a reasonable fee to get 2 muslin fittings before they cut the real dress and am then allowed one minor alteration (up to 1" in or 1/2" out) on the dress once it is finally cut. That means that the torso won't be too long and my bosoms will be properly covered. I also ordered extra tulle to make a matching veil out of and an extra yard of silk to make the halter straps out of (instead of taupe ribbon, that's there just to get the right width [1.5"]).

One last note: my $49 DSW shoes are the PERFECT color and look like their from the same silk/dye lot as the sample!

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I want to feed the models

Is it bad that I often think that and not "Oh, I like that dress" or "That's not my style, moving on" when I look at bridal gowns? But seriously, what's up with all the waifs in wedding dresses?

that was a waste of time

Ben and I drove into downtown today (my bus passes expired!) to hunt for parking in Denver and to attend a bridal expo. This is notable because it was not a bridal show. As far as we can tell, bridal shows are meant to show off the venue and their preferred vendors. This was not the case at the bridal expo, an expo appears to be more like a conference with booths showing stuff off and presentations. While it did highlight the venue, they used the conventional hall space and had a huge runway for a fashion show (which we left long before). There was also only ONE vendor handing food out samples. Shocking! We were sorely disappointed by this, since we had gone with empty tummies expecting to fill up on lots of catering/cake/bar tending samples.

I did get to see some pretty dresses from the "bridal barn" that I didn't see when I went to visit there about 9 months ago. Sadly, the one dress I did see that I liked there isn't findable on-line. Whatever, I guess I'll just have to sell my soul and make another trip there. This time, I'll bring a friend to guard the door so that no old ladies open the door to show my panties to some other gal's dad again.

The saving grace of the bridal expo: free Lindt chocolate truffles, free bridal magazine, free tote bag, and only 2 blocks from getting a smoothie!

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if only I wasn't so short and curvy

BCBGMAXAZRIA Dress, Strapless Satin Tiered Gown - Macy's

someone needs to wear this dress

Lela Rose | Metallic tweed dress | NET-A-PORTER.COM

$995

David's Bridal - Taffeta jewel neck ball gown featuring side pockets.

EW9848 via David's Bridal - Taffeta jewel neck ball gown featuring side pockets. .

I can't tell if I'm really digging this dress or not. I imagine it would be great short, but would I just look like a muffin with boobs from the front? OTOH, I totally dig the back, and for $399, with the opportunity to get it on sale through next week, I might find I think I might go try it on. But GEEZ to I hate David's Bridal BARN. Ugh. It's probably more of a polyester monstrosity than a thing of beauty in person, right?

Say Yes to The Dress AKA sometimes I watch wedding porn on TV

re: Say Yes to the Dress, a reality based TV show on TLC about Kleinfeld's bridal salon in DC.

Just a short thought, but why would anyone want to wear a dress that doesn't allow them want to spin and twirl like a little girl in a fairy costume? Some of those dresses appear to weigh more than the waify  brides do!

Also, some of those women must have very rich daddies. Walking into a shop and saying that your dress budget is $5k and then walking out having spent $9k to me says that your entire wedding budget is something like 1/2 a million USD. That's WAY too rich for my blood. If I had that kind of money to spend, I'd hire a planner right now, and then just have more food and a real band instead of a DJ. I don't think we'd change much about what we have in mind right now. OK, and maybe I'd ask my parents if we'd be allowed to pocket the change too. Just saying....