Finding the Dress Part II

It is so hard for me to believe that the Mister and I recently celebrated one year of marriage. It's been an amazing year, but also a crazy year. A year filled with three moves, the purchase of our first home, hospital stays & surgeries, a new job for him, and the decision to open up my own business. 

I am playing that constant game of catch-up and do apologize for falling behind on my blog. But, I am back! I plan to fill you in on lots of details from our wedding in the hopes to be an inspiration for all the other DIYselfers out there. I’ve mentioned before the fun of finding the dress, and now, here's the long awaited round two.

You might remember me saying something about it all being a bit overwhelming, trying to decide what style of bride you want to be - classy, artsy, vintage, vogue  etc. If you get overwhelmed, just remember:

• The most important style is YOUR style;
• Stay true to your personality; 
• And keep your venue in mind - you don't want a heavy dress for an outdoor wedding!

The person selling you your dress should listen to you. I promise you will not find your dress by trying on everything in the store, you will only find frustration. Just keep trying until you find a bridal consultant who actually listens. Bring in photos of styles that you like and every time you try something on that the bridal consultant pulls for you, tell her what you like and don't like about it. This communication will help them so much. 

My journey started here, pretty classy.

Then went here, a little more artsy.

Then went here. 

Frustration. 

I had been to four stores and tried on at least 20 dresses at this point and was starting to get a vision of what I wanted. Lace and an open back were definitely on my mind. But, when I told the staff my vision, this is what was given to me. Quite the opposite. 

I couldn't handle that flower!

I was getting way too far away from my personality.

 So, they took me back to classy.

Then back to the artsy.

 Then, I went to sassy. 

To save my sister, Mother, & Mother-in-law from my sassy mood, I decided we'd better switch something up. We went to a boutique which I was honestly afraid would put me over budget.   Little did I know that this was the BEST WEDDING BOUTIQUE in Wichita, I Do Bridal. The prices were so much lower than I had expected and the staff was AMAZING! They were the first girls who really listened to me when I explained my style. They picked four dresses for me, a couple Watters & a couple Wtoo, and I immediately fell head over heels for the dresses, the boutique and the lovely bridal consultants.

Wtoo Brides Lycette Gown
I had actually pinned this one. It was darling but I wasn't sure that it was the right dress for my frame. I did love the trumpet style and that re-embroidered lace was so romantic!

   

Watters

Oh, I loved this dress. It had such a classic feel. The neckline was so ladylike and the pearl buttons that went all along the back side were swoon worthy. But, it still didn't quite fit my personality. 

*My apologies, I don't have the style number but the Sonia Dress is very similar. 

         

Wtoo Brides Miriam Gown

AKA The One, Almost.

I knew right away this one was special. The ivory english netting was screaming my name. The lace applique on the bodice and the keyhole back fit all my style "must haves". The sweep train was a little shorter than I wanted but, this was a sample/discontinued dress, so the price was amazing. Amazing enough for me to be able to afford modifications by Trinh Nguyen, the owner of I Do Bridal, who helped me make it the best dress ever.

The first thing I knew I wanted to go was the sash. Although it made the dress more fitted, it cut my back in half and took away from the detail on the lower side of the back of the dress.

  

So, we played around with just doing a strip of the fabric across my back... 

or adding a belt...

We decided to just take the sash out all together, without adding anything, creating a beautiful open back gown. 

I decided I wanted to add more lace to the dress. Since it was discontinued, I had to go on a lace hunt. I searched thrift shops, etc. for old wedding dresses, hoping I would find one with similar lace on it, so we could recycle the fabric.  But, after a month or two of searching, I came up with nothing so Trinh saved the day. She found the lace and was able to get it ordered into the store within 10 weeks or so. Trinh took the lace along the entire keyhole to add a beautiful scalloped edge the the back of my dress, including the sleeves which she had thinned out to fit my frame better. She transformed the unfinished hemline to the beautiful lace line you see below and tightened the shape of the dress, making it a bit more fitted than the intended fit of the original design. 

The lace hemline was so beautiful on the train of the dress, which Trinh had transformed to the perfect length. 

When bustled, I could bust a move on the dance floor...

and when kissing in a tree, I could let it blow in the wind. 

The dress was perfect and so was the Mister. 

Professional Photos by Mollie Wetta Photography

So, married ladies, how many dresses did it take you until you found "the one"? And don't you think there should be one day a year you should be allowed to wear it again ;)