Hello!
I've you've read previous blog posts about my wedding, you'll know it was a rough ride getting to it with the 2020 pandemic. We rescheduled once, cancelled in order to reschedule the ceremony only, the hotel cancelled on us so we had to reschedule AGAIN (on the same day and similar time at least) to actually make it happen.
Our full wedding & reception of eighty-five turned into a small wedding ceremony of twenty-one. A lot had changed and gone to waste (especially all of the stationary items from save the dates to a wedding sign). In the end, if you're reading this, it all worked out and I'm finally a married woman! One very important thing about my wedding day that didn't go to waste is my wedding dress, and that's what this post is going to be focused on. Welcome to the first post in my wedding series!
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| The see-through mesh and lash blended in so well with my skin. |
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| The subtle mesh on the side and button detailing made it even more beautiful. |
Here's me in my beautiful wedding dress! This is the Madison Collection (By Richman Group) dress in style #3050. It's available in white or ivory (I think I got Ivory? I never checked) and is described as having an illusion bodice. I love this dress because the fabric on the bottom is heavy, so I feel secure in it, but the top 'illusion bodice' lace looks so beautiful and shows just the right amount of skin. I also love that it has the tank-top styled sleeves and mainly covers my back (an area of my body I'm a bit self conscious about because of bacne scars and I'm a very hairy lady).
Unlike my original dress (yes, I'll explain more soon), this one has a train. I originally didn't want a train because it's annoying to walk in, but I'm an idiot and didn't realize you could pin up the train to make dancing and walking around easier. It also looks so pretty and elongating and the lace detailing on it is absolutely stunning.
I got lucky because the day I went to the boutique with my mother was the same day this dress arrived. We'd gotten there a few hours before closing and they had just received the shipment an hour prior. There wasn't even a price tag on it yet! They knew the MSRP (manufacturer suggested retail price) and obviously knew how much they'd have to sell it for, but after hearing my story about not liking my original dress I picked, and our strict budget (thanks to Steven thinking the original price of this dress was absurd) they brought the price down and my mom bought it.
It was quite the journey to get to this dress considering I started out with a different one (in a completely different style) that was less than half the price. My original dress was this Galina wedding dress from David's Bridal. I bought it on sale for just over $500 including taxes.
Steven and I are extreme budgeters and I wanted to find a dress under $500 because it's one I'll only actually wear once. Of course there aren't many brand new in-person wedding dresses that are good quality and go for this price so I found the one I liked best for the price and thought I loved it. In reality, I was ok with it, but wasn't in love, but it's what I could get for that budget. After a few months of owning it, I realized how much regret I had and started to hate the dress.
Fast forward a few more months of me desperately trying to find ways to make it better (I was literally using apps to draw on alterations) and my mother convinced me to go to a bridal store with her. She was outraged that I wouldn't spend thousands of dollars on a wedding dress and pretty much forced me to pick out a new one that she would pay for. Steven and I would've rather had her give us money to use towards a down payment, but she compromised and said she's get one at around the $1000 mark and give us the rest as a gift. My wedding dress was the first one I tried on at Best for Bride Etobicoke and I was instantly in love. I actually cried upon trying it on before realizing it would be mine.
When I was trying to work with my old dress I looked at detachable trains. The one I came really close to buying is the Jaspe Detachable Overskirt from Ivory and Stone's website in New Zealand (Yes, they ship to Canada). The lace on it (and colour) looked very close to my original dress and would've made it a thousand times prettier. I emailed them and they were LOVELY and so helpful, sending me all the reference photos I wanted and talking me through all my options. The same weekend I was going to order this, I got my new dress, so I let them know and apologized profusely. Instead of ignoring me or being upset, they were so happy for me getting the dress of my dreams and understood completely. Their customer service is honestly amazing so if you're looking for an overskirt, a cape, or even a dress, please go check them out!
In the end I was able to sell my original dress on Poshmark (highly recommend) and while I lost a few hundred dollars, it went to a great home and I used that money towards alterations on the new dress. If anything, I've learned a serious lesson about rushing into purchases!
As for my shoes, I wore these Nina New York shoes. I'm pretty sure my exact pair have been discontinued, but here are some very similar styles from the brand. This one pair is the closest, despite being taupe instead of gold. If you have wide feet like me, this brand is for you!
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| Very simple and a fairly neutral gold. |
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| A nice low block heel for maximum comfort! |
That's it for my wedding dress journey! I hope this was somewhat entertaining and lighthearted. I'm very grateful that my mother bought my dream dress for me. because of Covid, we weren't able to have a reception, which means when we eventually can I'll be wearing the dress again! I'm sure I'll still fit in it considering I didn't diet for the wedding and it wasn't altered to be a tight fit so unless I'm pregnant by the time we can finally celebrate things should be fine.
See you soon!
