Monday, November 9, 2009

Dressapalooza

As soon as the Architect and I got engaged, I did what any normal sane bride-to-be does and started searching obsessively for pictures of what could potentially become THE DRESS for our wedding day. In my mind, the dress had to be (1) Simple, (2) Not beaded or covered in anything sparkly -- rhinestones, crystals, sequins... you name it -- I like to keep my bling on my finger, thank you very much, (3) Elegant, and (4) Not plain. I'm going to stress this last point. Despite the fact that I wanted a simple dress, I certainly didn't want a plain (read, boring or ordinary) dress. This was my wedding dress, and I wanted it to be beautiful. I wanted it to be memorable. I wanted it to be fabulous. With that in mind I started searching for inspiration . I quickly learned that it is WAY harder than it should be to find a stunningly beautiful dress that is not beaded or bedazzled in any way. But never fear. I pushed on through websites and websites until I found some dresses that I could see myself wearing. Here are some of the fruits of my labor:

I loved this dress by Jenny Lee... and pretty much every other dress that she has designed as well. Her dresses scream "simple yet elegant" to me, which was pretty much exactly the look that I was going for.
I especially loved the notched collar on this Nicole Miller beauty. The lack of a long train appealed to me too, since I was worried about dragging a train around in the grass and dirt at our outdoor wedding. However, I wasn't sure if this style of dress was "bridal" enough for me.

Oh sweetheart neckline. I love you so. I also love the cinching around the waist on this dress that creates such a beautiful hourglass figure.
Hmmm... lace. It's a lot of embellishment, which wasn't exactly what I thought I was after, but it's not beading or bling, so it didn't break my rules. I certainly was open to at least trying out a dress with lace. Afterall, it's so pretty. I wasn't sure if lace was really "me", but hey, don't knock it until you try it, right?
More sweetheart necklines. This style is a little more flow-y, which I thought might look nice. There is a small, but potentially acceptable amount of beading on this dress.
Ahhh... beautiful. I can't tell if I'm in love with the dress or the picture itself here. Certainly the dress is beautiful, and it definitely fits into my "simple yet elegant" aesthetic that I was hoping to fulfill.
Ok, so after saving and bookmarking these pictures I definitely had something to work with. Some of the styles were pretty different from one another, but they also had several things in common. At least I now knew that I liked strapless dresses, sweetheart necklines, A-line styles, and empire waists. With my inspiration pictures in hand, it was now time to venture out into the land of bridal boutiques to search for the dress that would eventually become "the One". Did I end up with one of the styles from my inspiration pictures, or did I "go rogue" and end up with something completely different? Stay tuned to learn the answer...

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