La Sposa Fanal brides

[notdub75]

Love the pearls Zappagirl! I am still trying to figure out what I''m going to do with that sort of thing. I have my eye on a couple of things but am not sure which what to choose yet.

Have you any pictures of you wedding to show us yet?? You were getting married in Italy...sounds amazing. Congrats on your wedding

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

This is so NOT the thread to read three and a half weeks before my wedding! I. LOVE. THAT. DRESS! I wish I had seen it (or this thread) when I was dress shopping

Not that I don''t love my dress....

Blackbettie-you''re a knockout! The dress looks amazing on you, I''m so glad things worked out size-wise.

Lanie-You look amazing as well. I personally loved the sweetheart neckline, but it looks fantastic both ways.

To the other LaSposa Final brides-GORGEOUS! All of you

 

[soon-to-be-mrs]

hey!
seeing all the pictures and comments has made me so excited about finally getting my dress in a few weeks!it seems like forever since i fell in love with it in the shop, i had wondered if i rushed into getting the dress but seeing it again has confirmed that it the one for me!! i went for ivory and am actually thinking about adding a halter-neck strap..when i first had it on in the shop i used a shread of material and was suprised at how much i loved the "new" look of the dress!i put up some pics when i meet up with my dress maker!

 

[notdub75]

I was actually thinking of a halter neck too! Would really be interested in seeing the pictures when you have them.
When are you getting married Soon To be Mrs??
I''m the 8th of August...I hope to be going for my first fitting around the end of this month. I went for the oyster colour in the dress any can hardly remember how it looks its been so long. I have shoes and accessories sorted now. Having a hair trial on the 18th and then I should really know how its all going to come together.

 

[chibride10]

I have my first fitting tomorrow! So nervous and excited...I''ll post pics when I get back!

 

[blackbetty]

since chibride and i apparently do EVERYTHING the same, i had my first fitting the same day. at the same place. back to back with her. weird, huh? lol!

 

[Lanie]

Post pics ladies!!! My Fanal debuts in 12 days!!! AAAAHHHH!!!

 

[chibride10]

Here''s some pics from my first fitting...the dress was too big (YAY!!!), so it doesn''t look great yet. The second pic shows the jewelry I''m wearing...diamond & pearl earrings and bracelet I''m borrowing from a family friend and a necklace I bought downtown. The picture doesn''t do it justice. It''s pearls and crystals and is sooooo sparkly!

Also, it was hilarious running into Blackbetty...what are the odds we''d have fittings back-to-back at the same salon!?! The dress looks GORGEOUS on her, let me tell you!

 

[chibride10]

Here''s the necklace!

 

[Lanie]

Oh chibride!!! It looks great! Can you get the pictures any bigger? They are kind of hard to see!!!

YAY!!!!

 

[smonc001]

Hi everyone i''m also going to be wearing the Fanal for my wedding in Sept in the UK. I go for my first fitting in a couple of weeks and am so excited about seeing the dress again. Everyone looks amazing in the photos - really glad i found this website as been looking for real photos of the dress since i ordered back in Jan!

 

[dalinda40]

Hi Fanal Ladies,

I''ve been reading this forum for a while now, as I am a Fanal bride to! My wedding will be on 4 September 2009 in The Hague, the Netherlands.

This is me in the dress on my last fitting.

As you can see I will be wearing a crystal headband and no necklace.

Linda

 

[blackbetty]

Well, I forgot my camera when I went in the day I met Chibride, and I went in today without one, too. It just never occured to me! The fitting went well. One more appointment to hem & bustle, & an "oh, shit" appointment just in case, and we''re done! I was hoping i wouldn''t have to go w/the French bustle, because it creates the bulk at the bottom with "corners," but the seamstress seamed to think that doing it under so it looked like a hemmed edge would be really difficult for my girls to bustle & she thought that due to the weight, it might not hold. BUmmer, but I guess this will be ok.

There are a few things about a fitted dress I never considered (maybe since I wasn''t looking for a fitted--or strapless--dress). All silly but true: I have to go head first rather than step in, because I''m bottom heavy and now that the dress is altered, there is no way my butt is getting thru a waist-sized opening. Also, gotta hike the dress up to sit. And lastly, you can have no shame going to the bathroom. It will take at least two girls to hold the dress after I hike it up to make sure it doesn''t fall in! I think this is the other use for handicapped stalls.

For jewelry, I have a yellow gold & rhinestone bracelet. Really pretty. The place I bought the dress brought it out and my mom insisted I buy it. I WAS going to do white gold, but yellow really compliments the dress, since it''s champagne. I''m also wearing my grandmother''s gold engagement ring on my right hand and simple, long gold & rhinestone earrings. No necklace.

 

[jennybean]

Hi girls -

I need some help. I am from Chicago and currently trying to decide whether to order the Fanal dress from accross the country, where I found my size (well maybe, see below) at an awesome price. I have tried the dress on at two different places and loved it. One of my problems is that I have been wedding dress size 10 but the 10 in the La Sposa Fanal was too tight on my hips. I am planning on ordering a size 12, but I am also planning on losing at least 15 lbs before the wedding. Have you ladies heard anything bad about taking this dress in? Everyone is telling me that taking in is easy. Also, if any of you are from the Chicago area (I think I saw that some were earlier in the posting) could you tell me any suggestions for alterations and busteling?

Everyone in this forum looked great in the dress!!! I am getting so nervous!!

Thanks!

 

[Lanie]

Dalinda40...I didn''t see this post since I was on my honeymoon! You look great! I think you did a good choice with the accessories!

 

[Lanie]

Date: 7/29/2009 11:30:29 PM
Author: blackbetty
Well, I forgot my camera when I went in the day I met Chibride, and I went in today without one, too. It just never occured to me! The fitting went well. One more appointment to hem & bustle, & an ''oh, shit'' appointment just in case, and we''re done! I was hoping i wouldn''t have to go w/the French bustle, because it creates the bulk at the bottom with ''corners,'' but the seamstress seamed to think that doing it under so it looked like a hemmed edge would be really difficult for my girls to bustle & she thought that due to the weight, it might not hold. BUmmer, but I guess this will be ok.

There are a few things about a fitted dress I never considered (maybe since I wasn''t looking for a fitted--or strapless--dress). All silly but true: I have to go head first rather than step in, because I''m bottom heavy and now that the dress is altered, there is no way my butt is getting thru a waist-sized opening. Also, gotta hike the dress up to sit. And lastly, you can have no shame going to the bathroom. It will take at least two girls to hold the dress after I hike it up to make sure it doesn''t fall in! I think this is the other use for handicapped stalls.

For jewelry, I have a yellow gold & rhinestone bracelet. Really pretty. The place I bought the dress brought it out and my mom insisted I buy it. I WAS going to do white gold, but yellow really compliments the dress, since it''s champagne. I''m also wearing my grandmother''s gold engagement ring on my right hand and simple, long gold & rhinestone earrings. No necklace.

Yeah, the bustle is an issue. Look at my wedding pics thread if you want an idea on how to do one. The seamstress said there were a couple of ways to do it. My bustle had 6 different buttons, and you had to double loop them for them to hold. The dress is VERY heavy. It wrinkles very easily too. I bought a hand steamer, and put a cheese cloth on top of it (so no big droplets collected) and that worked well. And I was the same way...my hips are bigger, but I was able to step in okay as long as it was zipped all the way down. I ended up wearing a necklace with mine, but didn''t originally want to. My DH gave me a pretty peridot necklace for a wedding present, so I wanted to wear it and it was simple enough that it didn''t compete.

And girls, you wouldn''t believe the compliments I got on the dress. I know everyone says the bride looks pretty, and her dress looks pretty, but I think a lot of people really liked it. I loved the dress so much, and I had doubts about it being to plain when I bought it, but I''m so glad I stuck with my decision. Now I''ve just got to have it cleaned bc there is a good 6 inches of black JUNK on the bottom from dancing the whole night! Enjoy the Fanal ladies!!! And good luck with the dress!

 

[blackbetty]

Lanie: I''m doing the same bustle as ZipZap, the French bustle. I don''t love it, but it will do. Such a pain! It would seem more worth it if I were head over heels for the dress, but oh well. I wish I had that OMG moment with the dress, but maybe it''s yet to come. Maybe on the big day or at my final fitting I''ll look and think "Damn! That''s beautiful!"

JennyBean: My dress is being taken in at least 2 sizes on top. It''s an 8 & I''m a dress size 4 on bottom & 0/2 on top. I was a little heavier when I bought it (had I bought it later, I may have gone w/a 6), but would have to take the top in a whole bunch either way. When I went after the 1st set of alterations, it looked fine. If you go for a fitted dress, you have to buy for the biggest part of your body, be it hips, bust, or stomach, and take in the rest. A great seamstress would not have a problem doing that. If you are concerned, and if you don''t want to worry about the aforementioned tightness-related issues (moving, bathroom, etc.), I''d go a-line or something with straps, so it will be held up by the straps to a certain extent & maybe won''t need to be quite so tight.

 

[blackbetty]

Jenny Bean: To answer your other question, I got the dress at Wedding Belles in Barrington, great price, but I''m not using their recommended seamstress (for one, I didn''t wnat to haul my butt to the burbs for that). I''m going to Weddings 826 on Armitage in the city. So far, I''m very pleased. My 2nd/final fitting is 9/3 & I''ll post to let you know about my experience. Chibride is also getting her Fanal altered there, and I believe she also bought it there. I''ve also seen rave reviews of Mary Catomy on theknot.com, but she books fast.

 

[jennybean]

Thank you for the advice, ladies! Exciting that some of you are in Chicago!

Blackbetty: Ha ha - Weddings 826 is were I originally found the dress, but if I order it from California, it will be 50% of what the dress was at 826. (I did think that place was great, but 50% off is 50% off ) Do you feel that they are expensive for alterations? I went to Caroline DeVillo''s studio in Bucktown to try some dresses (I loved two, but I don''t know about more than the Fanal and they were more than triple the price of what I would pay for the Fanal, and only for the samples) and Caroline''s assistant said that it is outragous what the boutiques charge and her alterations would be $150-200. Weddings 826 said their most simple alterations usually started at $350.

Your advice about the biggest part of your body makes sense. Even if my waist shrinks, what would I do if my hips didn''t? That would be a problem. If you are ok with going in two sizes, then that makes me much less concerned about taking mine in. I can only wait so long to get the dress and I don''t know how long it will take me to loss 15 lbs!

 

[blackbetty]

The quote was $450. I thought it was high, but the hips had to be taken in, too. Try Mary Catomy. She had already booked when I called her.

BTW, what was 826 charging?

 

[chibride10]

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven''t replied in awhile...I''ve been so busy! Then, someone broke into our school and stole my laptop, cell phone and blackberry...there went my wedding address/rsvp list! Anyway, that''s another story

Lanie: First of all, your pictures are AMAZING! You looked beautiful. Those pictures of you walking down the aisle made me so excited about the dress!

Blackbetty: The seamstress at 826 is doing my bustle like Lanie''s...I literally brought a picture of it from here to show her She did say it would need to be double-hooked or whatever, but I really liked it a lot. I have my next fitting on 8/25, so I''ll let you know how it goes! I can''t believe everything is less than two months away.

JennyBean: Yay for three Chicago brides in the same dress! I did buy my dress at 826. It was definitely more expensive than what I''ve heard other people have paid, which is annoying. But I had been searching forever, so oh well. The alterations there are also really expensive...I am having them alter the back to be a v-shape, so it was a bit more than Blackbettys. I really do like the owner and seamstress there, though, so I''m ok with it. I feel like it''ll turn out really well. I''m wearing quite a bit of jewelry with the dress, which isn''t what I''d expected to do. I found this gorgeous pearl illusion necklace at Nakomol on Michigan Avenue that I couldn''t resist, and I''m borrowing pearl earrings and a bracelet from a family friend. I think the dress is just so pretty there''s a lot of options!

 

[cocolaw]

good choice ladies...i LOVE this dress!!!!

 

[pattyg]

Jennybean: Where in California would you order it from and what would the price be??? I live in southern California and have found fanal for $900...have you found it for less?

Also, those of you who have worn the dress..have you found it difficult to walk in at all?

 

[VegasBride424]

hello ladies, everyone looks beautiful in this dress, but I have another option that no one has really discussed yet. I am getting married outside at country club in Vegas...I want to cut off the train on the dress as I think it will be too heavy and too much to deal with for small Vegas wedding?? Am I crazy?? Let me know your thoughts as I am still debating on dress choice, either the Fanal or the Reese by Maggie Sottero...two very different choices...can''t wait to see input

 

[Lanie]

The dress wasn't hard to walk in at all! It was really hot up under there though!

The thing that would make the dress hardest to walk in would be if it's tight on your thighs (more mermaid fit). I had 2 girls helping me to the bathroom bc it's hard to hike up. Cutting the train wouldn't be a bad idea. I loved my train, but if it's not your thing, it would definitely make life easier.

ETA: I can't believe this thread has 7600+ views! CRAZY!!!

 

[pattyg]

So the sample I tried on was super tight around my thighs..so i guess I wouls just need to order a bigger size then have the bodice altered to be smaller.

 

[pattyg]

Here I am in it. I look a little uncomfortable...like I said it was kind of tight but I love the dress

 

[Lanie]

Pattyg: It looks great on you! I don''t think it looks too tight, honestly. But if you feel it, then I would order the bigger size. 900 dollars for the dress?!?! Wow. That''s less than I paid.

 

[blackbetty]

Date: 8/15/2009 10:29:15 AM
Author: Lanie
The dress wasn''t hard to walk in at all! It was really hot up under there though!

I almost spit out my water! lol

 

[jennybean]

Hi girls -

Ok I just ordered the dress today! I think I am excited - I hope it works out well.

I am probably going to ask for pictures of your bustles later when I get the dress!! My wedding isn''t until next July.

Chibride - I think that I want to do a v-shape on my back, too! Tell me how it turns out. I hear Ms. Couture in Lincoln Park is also good for alterations.

Pattg - Looks good!! I ordered the dress for Dori Anne Viels. I paid well under $900 but the owner just happened to have ordered the dress for another bride in the wrong size and I got her right before she was going to send it back to La Sposa, so I don''t think it will be as low as I paid, but defintely worth checking out!

Lanie - not looking forward to the bathroom part :/ Yikes!!