My original plan for the dress was a simple, vintage, below the knee dress made by my mom. I looked at photos of dresses online to see what I liked and collected them on my computer. Since I was headed back to Michigan for Alexa’s wedding, my mom and I planned to take some time to investigate and develop my ideas.
First, we headed to her favorite fabric store. This proved fairly overwhelming since we didn’t find a single pattern of anything that I liked and there are just so many fabrics that I didn’t have the first idea of what to do with. My mom was already expressing her doubts about making my dress. I’d hatched a whole plan for a communal dressmaking project which I thought might help to ease the burden on her. But I must admit that the trip to the fabric store was dulling my resolve.
She suggested that we at least visit a bridal salon so that I could try on dresses to get an idea of what was a good fit for me. After some hemming and hawing on my part we ended up at a pretty fancy shop in Birmingham. All the dresses that I tried on were around $4000 (yikes). There was just one that seemed to really fit my figure. We all agreed that was the style for me. But to be honest, I didn’t really like any of the details and certainly not for $4000! But at least I had my shape. Not wanting to give anything away, I won’t go into anymore detail other than to say that the knee length idea pretty much died when we entered the bridal salon. Fairy princess is more the concept that we’re going for now. My mom and the saleslady had me convinced: one day to be a princess, milk it for all it’s worth. So here we go….
At this point I was still angling for us to make the dress, especially since the one I liked was sooo expensive. My mom did manage to find what seems to be a pretty good pattern online. We had the Buchanans over for dinner on our last evening in Michigan. Thanks to Roger and Robbie’s obsession for cars there was a strong undertow for the boys to head to the garage. The minute their feet hit the deck the conversation shifted to girl talk. With her trusted expertise, Mary had already advised me that finding a local seamstress in the bay area would be doable. I was sold.
A personal note on bridal salons in general: they just don’t feel great to me. The prices are so inflated and the whole operation feels impersonal. That’s even with the saleslady who helped us being quite friendly and down to earth. For something this significant and special, I just feel the need to have the dress made closer to home. This is really the reason that I wanted my mom to make the dress. But it is a big burden to put on the mother of the bride, and gowns are far beyond our skills. So having us make my dress would have likely been disastrous. At least we thought the whole project out and arrived at our choice having explored all the options.
Back in the bay, I stopped into Lacis (http://lacis.com/) to have a look at lace for my dress. The gals in there are very helpful and sensible, which I like. I did find a lace that seemed just perfect, but I hesitated to purchase it what with not knowing anything else yet. I asked for the name of a dressmaker and was given Theresa LaQuey (http://www.theresalaquey.com/). I headed home, did some research online and was sold that Theresa was the gal for me. I gave her a call and within a couple days had an appointment for a consultation.
Meeting Theresa was great. She’s confident and clearly an expert. She’s sensitive to price and seems to embrace sensibility when it comes to dressmaking. She’s a dedicated lover of vintage which I can certainly appreciate given my own taste, but also my strong desire to have a wedding steeped in tradition and symbolism. I like that the person making my dress has a sensibility rooted in days gone by. Ironically, it gives me confidence that the dress will have a timeless quality, being that it’s made in a traditional way, with the benefits of modern advances when appropriate. Having a pleasant sit down talk about my vision with someone who can whip up a lovely drawing of my dress while talking seems like the perfect way to have a dress made. Again, one chance to be a princess, I’ll take it! I had a few questions, about what was the best option, Theresa gave me good insights to help me arrive at a decision. Now I have a drawing, and a contract to sign. After that, the wheels are in motion and I’m looking forward to a fun and completely sane ride.
I started this entry back in June and now in 2 days time I get to pick up my gown. It has been a fun experience and I’ve really enjoyed getting to create my ensemble with the help of trusted professionals. My friend Ingrid (http://www.simplelegancebyingrid.com/) has helped along the way and I’ve really appreciated having another set of eyes to keep me on the right path with the project. Now all Ingrid and I have to do is the veil. I just got all the materials yesterday so I’m looking forward to getting to work on that little project as well. It will be all the more special to don this ensemble being that it’s a true reflection of my original vision.
As for what to do with the dress after the wedding. Theresa offered one of her many brilliant ideas: why not have a yearly dinner party for brides? A girls only, type of affair where we get to relive our magical moments in princess garb. Being that Ingrid and I are both getting married this year, we thought that was a smashing idea. But then I guess I’m getting ahead of myself a bit, first we’ve got to get married. Onward!
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