I bought my dress!!

[jjc]

I went to a Vera Wang trunk show today, more to have a dress shopping day with my mom and aunt than anything. I was completely not expecting to buy anything - but then I had the moment: my mom was crying, my aunt was crying, and I was crying. I''d found THE ONE!

 

[jjc]

a little closer

 

[jjc]

a little closer still

 

[jjc]

side detail, these are three fabric flowers that are so beautiful in real life

 

[jjc]

other side

 

[jjc]

and the back, with organza bows down the zipper (please excuse the partial openness

)

 

[jjc]

that's all!
one thing i LOVE about the dress is that it's SO light and comfortable - no crinoline at all! the volume is from all the light layers that swirl about, the edges are vera's classic 'bands,' but done in what the rep called horse hair (it's kind of stiff and looks like slightly metallic thread)
thanks for looking!

 

[Miss Sparkly]

Stunning

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 1/16/2010 1:39:28 AM
Author: Sparkly Blonde
Stunning

My thoughts exactly!

Absolutely stunning!

 

[yssie]

It''s just beautiful on you

 

[Bella_mezzo]

that''s an incredible dress and you look fantastic in it!

 

[vc10um]

Oh my, jjc...that is one heck of an amazing dress! It looks just perfect on you! I love everything about it...but I think my favorite thing is those little organza bows down the back! Just lovely! Congrats on finding THE ONE!

 

[idreamofcushions]

Perfection! I love the soft, romantic, floaty-feel. Congrats on finding the one!

 

[jjc]

Thank you so much Sparkly Blonde, VRBeauty, yssie, Bella_mezzo!

vc10um - The bows are fun, aren''t they? It kind of works out perfectly, because I''m not the girliest in terms of taste, and the bows definitely help add to the whole ''bride'' effect - and I don''t have to see them! Perfect!

idreamofcushions - Thank you so much! I love the soft, floaty feel too!

I was actually a really difficult one, because I needed so many things out of my dress. My venue is a warehouse space that has been converted by a group of artists to use as a photography studio, gallery, and they also throw a bunch of Fashion Week events there. The ceremony space is outdoors, and a delicious mix of gray concrete, exposed brick that is in stark contrast with green grass and a bright blue sky. So a theme throughout my wedding (and just a part of my general aesthetic) is contrast, namely architectural/structural with soft and ethereal. And my dress has that because the top part is suuuuuper simple and has boning, and the bottom is a big soft swirl. I also wanted such a specific silhouette, not poufy but not a sheath - so basically with some structure but very soft overall. I can''t believe I found it, this had only been my second dress shopping trip!

We''d actually gone to a different salon right before the trunk show, just to take some pressure off, and I tried on about 15 dresses. They were all gorgeous, but none really made me feel anything, until the last one. It was a tighter, more mermaid silhouette, and the first dress that made me feel like a bride. It definitely got my attention, but ultimately that silhouette wasn''t ''me'' (I look reeeeeeally young so it just doesn''t match. So pretty though!!). I think finding that dress right before I found The One made my decision that much easier.

Sorry for the novel - I''m just so excited!! I''m pretty picky and I know exactly what I want, so I''m pretty over the moon to have found a dress that combined every element I was looking for! There''s also a little backstory - originally I made the appointment for the trunk show to try on one dress in particular, only to come to find out that the dress is exclusive to Vera''s NY flagship boutique (I''m in CA)

However, the rep told me that the dress really did not translate well in real life, and that the reason it was exclusive was because they didn''t want to insult Vera by not producing it, but it really just wasn''t going to sell well because it didn''t look good on anybody! Hearing that whole explanation did make me feel a tiny bit better, and the dress I got definitely has the same feel as the elusive (and thus all the more desirable!) NY exclusive dress

Wow I really need to calm down - I woke up 5 times in the middle of the night just to look at pictures of my dress hehe!

At least I know I''m in good company with the rest of the BIW and their beautiful wedding gowns

Thanks again for letting me share!

 

[Steel]

You look so pretty. It is a dreamy choice!

 

[charbie]

that is a dream dress...love it. what is your venue like? gosh, you could create an entire wedding just based on that dress!

 

[Maisie]

Its so floaty and girlie. I love it!

 

[Tuckins1]

It''s lovely!

 

[tigian]

Your dress is absolute perfection. I actually gasped when I saw the first pic. Beautiful!

 

[CDNinNYC]

Wow, that dress makes me want to get married all over again.

You look beautiful!

 

[princessplease]

Wow, what an amazing dress!!!!! Congrats!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Kim N]

Incredible dress. It looks perfect on you. What romantic, flowy lines.

 

[Lofi]

JJC ~ You look sooo gorgeous in your dress!!! Absolutely LOVE it. Congrats on finding the one!!!!

 

[shertz1981]

Very ethereal and romantic! Lovely!

 

[happydreams]

wow. it is simply stunning (STUNNING) and you look gorgeous in it!!!!!

 

[jjc]

Steel, charbie, Maisie, Tuckins1, tigian, CDNinNYC, princessplease, Kim N, shertz1981, happydreams - Wow, thank you sososo much for your kind comments!!

It's turning out to be a very successful wedding weekend - we had our first meeting of the parents meal yesterday and it went great! *phew* so glad to be done with that!

I also purchased my veil from the bridal salon, 50 inch drop with bands in the back and just a simple raw edge in front. Please ignore the uber bad posture (yikes!!! gotta start hitting that pilates religiously again!) and weird expression - seeing the veil of my dreams on top of everything else just sent me straight into OMGOMGOMGOMG

Please also ignore the folds of the dress that look like they're sticking up weird (those poor trunk show gowns sure do get beat up!!), and the haphazardly thrown together hairstyle approximation

The veil will be slightly gathered on the crown so it's not just sitting on my face and will look basically like the pic on the right:

 

[LtlFirecracker]

beautiful dress!!!! And I love those long, romantic veils.

 

[lulu66]

swoon. i love your dress

it''s soooo dreamy!

 

[jjc]

Thank you so much LtlFirecracker and lulu66!!

(Ltl - just wanted to tell you again how beautiful you look in the Monique!!

)

 

[mayachel]

It is fantastic! You look like you just stepped out of a fairytale in it.