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 The
Wedding Dress:
What Real Brides Say
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How to find a gown in
a hurry:
Many brides have
gotten BEAUTIFUL and CHEAP dresses from eBay. I have seen dresses
that were gorgeous, and cost the bride $50. Of course, you might have
to spend quite a bit on alterations, but you will have a dress.
Another way to get
a gown without the 6 month lead time most manufacturers require is to
have a dress made by a seamstress, they don't seem to be more
expensive than salon gowns.
Also, go to the
formals section of the big department stores, and get a gown from
there; either in white or ivory, or a more daring color; I know a
bride who got married in July who wore a gold lame gown, with gold
sandals, and in the pictues, she looked fantastic!"
Naomi
I'm having my
wedding dress made by a seamstress. She is a lady from church, so
it's worked out nicely. I'll have spent a total of about $350 on my
wedding dress by the time it's done. She's charging me $225 to make
it, and my fabric was just over one hundred.
The nice thing
about having my wedding dress made is that I know that NO ONE has my
exact dress - no one in the world - and I get it exactly how I
wanted it. I found a picture of an expensive wedding dress in a
magazine, and then went and found a similar pattern, then went and
picked out the material I wanted. It was great.
Diana
"Yesterday I
looked at wedding dresses for the first time. My mom and I went to
two wedding dresss shops. I don't really want, nor can I afford, to
spend $600.00 or more on a wedding dress, but I wanted to get an idea
of what type of dress I like. I think I want to find one that has a
halter top and a night flowy train. I tried on a dress that looked
like it could have been from the Rennaisance period. That was cool too".
Julie
"One word of
advice, do not go to a wedding dress salon for alterations to your
wedding dress - the bridal salons are very expensive with
alterations. I went to a woman who used to work at one instead, and
got my wedding dress altered, cups put in, and the crinoline altered
for $90... The salon quoted me $220".
Lyra
How to Store
THE Dress...
"I bought my
dress a year ago and this is how I stored it. I had it inside out and
wrapped it in a brand new white sheet. I laid the dress inside a
garment bag wrapped in the sheet and then zippered it, but not all
the way (so it could "breathe"). I then stored it under my
bed - my bedroom's on the main floor so it's not damp. And there are
no smokers in the house. My dress has been there for almost a year
now and it's still in perfect condition - just a bit wrinkly from me
trying it on everytime few weeks! I didn't want to hang my dress up
for a year because it could stretch it out. It's best to lay it on a
flat surface that isn't in a damp place.
Jenn H.
"Just make
sure that in the summer humidity it doesn't get too musty up there.
You don't want your dress getting moldy! You should also maybe stuff
the bodice with plain white or unbleached acid free tissue paper or
some white pillow cases so that it doesn't get out of shape.
I used to have
hard wood floors, and you can get lots of dust bunnies, especially
under the bed, so you may not want to put it under your bed. It
should come in a zipper bag, so you can stuff it, wrap it in the
sheet and then put it in the bag and keep it mostly zipped.
Erin
A Note From a
Designer / Seamstress
How you store the
dress will will depend greatly on the weight of the dress, as well as
on how long you intend to keep the dress in storage. If the dress is
made of a relatively heavy fabric or if it has a great deal of fabric
to it, some of the seams may become quite stressed while it hangs and
this may be damaging. Weight, type of fabric, and time are all
factors. Storing the dress ying down would be the optimum choice, but
it's often not a feasible option. You know those annoying
hanger-upper thingys that always stick out where they're not supposed
to? Now would be a time to use them. NEVER (if at all possible) hang
the full weight of your dress from the shoulder seems, especially if
these seams are lace. Most fabric will stretch given time and
incentive and lace tears way too easily.
If your dress
doesn't have the hanger-upper thingys, make some. Using several yards
of WHITE ribbon or seam tape, make loops long enough to hang from the
lower edge of the arm pits over the hanger taking the weight off the
shoulder seams. If you dress is heavy (and most are...) It's a good
idea to make loops that attach at the waistline up over the hanger as
well. These loops can be pinned in place an removed when the dress is
worn, just be careful where you chose to pin. Seam allowances are best.
Always store as
far away from any moisture as possible (I know, duh...) If I were
storing mine, I would probably cover it with a sheet instead of a
plastic bag. However, I've gotten around this problem by keeping mine
in pieces on my sewing room table!
 
Groom Seeing
the Gown Before the Wedding...
"Why isn't
the groom allowed to see the wedding dress before the wedding? It
seems like a tradition without out a base! And has anyone blatantly
ignored that "rule"?
I'm asking because
my fiance and I are trying very had to make this "our"
wedding" - not just mine, or his, if that makes sense! So I
figure, if I get input into what sort of tux he gets, why can't he
have a say in my dress? Of course, this is a little hard with the
bizarre no-seeing rule!"
Jenn
I know that the
groom is not supposed to see THE dress. But is it okay for him to go
and see me trying on dresses in general to see what styles he likes
best? I want a simple dress but I also want him "wow"ed by
it. I guess I want to see his reaction to dresses similar to the one
I want. I'm about to make a decision to buy one I've sort of picked
out, but there is another dress that I love second best and I think
maybe he'll like it better. It's just such a big decision (buying the
dress), but I still don't want to have him see me in any dresses if
he's not supposed to. My question is, do any brides take their honeys
to the bridal salon to see some? I really want to know.
Kristen
"I think that
the not seeing the dress is to make it a big surprise when you walk
down the aisle. Just like you aren't supposed to see each other the
day of the wedding before the ceremony. At the wedding I was in this
past weekend, everyone kept telling the bride that this is the most
beautiful the groom is ever going to see her, and I think not knowing
what she will be wearing makes it such a bigger surprise.
Personally, it's
not a big deal. My fiance has seen a pic of the dress that I have
deemed "my perfect dress" and we are having pics taken
BEFORE the ceremony. I give him input on the tuxes, although the
ultimate decision will probably be his. I think the issue just
depends on whether you are being traditional or not. I think it could
be kind of fun to hide the dress and myself from my fiance until I
walk down the aisle, but I know it won't be feesable. Besides, if he
doesn't see me until the ceremony, he won't be concentrating on the
vows, just on how gorgeous I look!"
Diana
"I saw on
"Wedding Story", that the reason the groom shouldn't see
the bride before the wedding goes back to mail-order bride days; if
he saw her before, he might decide not to go through with marrying her!
I agree that it's
just for the surprise and drama of the bride first appearing at the
end of the aisle. It's up to you".
Patty
"My husband
did not seen my dress before the wedding day. We did pictures before
the ceremony to get them out of the way, but we were posed as if it
was the whole first-seeing- each-other thing. So, it was still a
special moment, we had time to chat for a minute but then were
completely composed for the ceremony".
Meghan
"Personally,
I don't think it's a big deal if your guy sees your dress before the
wedding. My fiance has seen a pic of the dress that I deemed it
"my perfect dress" and we are having pics taken BEFORE the
ceremony. I give him input on the tuxes, although the ultimate
decision will probably be his.
Anonymous
Spending Crazy
Money on a Gown...
I have fallen in
love with a gown. It was beautiful when I put it on, and I felt so
pretty in it - and that is what every bride wants to feel on her
wedding day. So the question now is: Do I splurge and go ahead and
pay the extra bucks for this dress, not to mention 2 hrs of traveling
time one way for fittings, alterings, etc., or stick with my original
(and cheaper) choice????? This 'dream' dress is almost $800.00
compared to the $220.00 for the other one. How can Ijustify spending
what is equal to a house payment on a dress that I am only gonna wear
once? But then agian, I want it.
Anonymous
I could not spend
a lot for a dress, did not want anything elaborate or flashy, no
lace, pearls, bows etc. My mom and I went shopping for one when I was
home and I tried one on just because they had my size and I wanted to
see how the style looked. Well, I fell in love with it, the bow,
lace, pearls and all. It was $650 but we got it. You will only wear
it once, but it is your wedding day. I would say splurge, you deserve
it. You have dreamed about this day since you were a little girl, and
you want to do it right and feel like Cinderella, so go for it! The
two hour drive isnt that bad, if it is, then look for someone in your
area for the alterations.
Meghan
I couldn't believe
the attitude I got from the staff in a bridal salon when I went in
and asked to see any gowns they had for under $500. Is it
really that unconcievable that there are weddings done on a budget?
For me I can't see spending 500+ dollars on a dress that I will wear once....
Any good sales
associate (or manager for that matter) would have done their best to
direct you somewhere that would have what you are searching for!
Having said that....Have you tried looking in the Department stores
in their Special Ocassion Dress Sections? There are many JCPenny
Outlet stores accross the county and they have several different
dresses to choose from in a wide range of sizes that will change from
time to time. Your dress is out there waiting for you - in your
budget! Don't let thier bad attitude get you down...just prove them wrong!!
Cori
I haven't been out
to try any on any dresses yet but I have shown my fiance all of the
pictures that I took out of magazines of dresses that I like, just to
get his opinion, but that is hard because something tells me those
dresses look way different on the models than they will on me!
I will be shopping this weekend and he is not coming, I will actually
be out of town so that I can get all the females in my family to go
with me and give me honest opinions. Overall I think that the dress
that you feel the most beautiful in will be the one that everyone
else will think you look the most beautiful in, your opinion of
yourself has a way of shining through the material and creating an
overall image of beauty no matter how the dress may look in a
magazine or on a hanger.
Tara
The gown I loved
in a magazine didn't look as good on me when I tried it on. And the
gown I ended up getting I didn't even liked at all when I first saw
it in a picture. When we went gown shopping in the salons, my sister
loved the way it looked on the mannequin and asked me to try it on
just to humor her. It was the first gown I tried on and my brother
was there and saw me in it and "That's the one, let's go".
But of course I wanted to try others on. After about 10 or 15 gowns,
it ended up being the one we all loved.
Mary Annthe
tuxedo's
nor
did I want a say in it. om did NOT want to
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