The Dress

As I mentioned earlier, the dress was one of the most important things to me. I've always been interested in fashion, and I like to look good, so I wanted to be really happy with my dress.

When my sister got married in 2003 (she was living in Utah at the time) she had this really great seamstress who did her dress for about $500 and each of her bridesmaid's dresses for about $100-$150 each. She also made ties for the groomsmen. MaryClaire (my sister) was able to take a picture from a magazine bring it to the seamstress (Dani) and say I want this. And guess what? Dani made it! Beautifully. Now, I know this was in Utah and prices are cheaper there, but basically what I'm getting at is I knew that seamstresses like this exist.

They might not have an "official" business or "studio", but they have talent.

Another thing is that I had two very difficult parameters for my wedding dress. It had to be long (I am 6' 2") and it had to be modest. I went to a shop (Montclair Bridal in Santa Monica) which was great, but there were just too many alterations that would have had to be done. I knew I needed someone who could make my dream dress from scratch. For. a. reasonable. price. (The challenge). I searched tailors online, sent descriptions of what I wanted, and received quotes of anywhere from $1500-$3500. No. Thank you. My budget for my dress was $800, not a bit more.

So, then came my craigslist angel, Traci Williams. I found Traci on craigslist one afternoon, went to her house in Santa Monica one evening, looked at some past work she had done, and decided she would be great. The truly confirming moment was when she showed me the fabric she wanted to use for my dress. It was perfect and I knew she knew what she was doing. Not only was her price right, but she treated me (and my dress) like royalty. So accommodating and overall, wonderful to work with. I even went with her one Saturday to the fabric district downtown to pick out the lace for my dress.

Below is the story of my dress in pictures.

These are the pictures I found for inspiration:

These are the sketches I drew:

And this dress is what gave me inspiration for the neckline I ended up going with:

And here are pictures of the finished product:

I loved the final result because I felt like it was classy with a little bit of flair and fun. Most importantly, I felt comfortable in it all day. The fabric Traci used for it had a little bit of stretch in it which was so, so, so, so, so, so nice. I loved it and I love that it was made with love and I had a role in creating it.

Resources

There were a few resources I relied on heavily while planning.

1. The Knot Magazine (print version): The most important thing to me was my dress, so pretty soon after I was engaged I picked up a copy of The Knot magazine. I think they do an issue every year that features hundreds of pictures, page after page of different dresses. The dress was one of the most important things to me and I wanted to start early with looking at every possibility and getting inspiration for my own dress. I think it's important and helpful to be able to look at images of things in actual print instead of on a computer screen.

This was so helpful as I dog-eared several pages of dresses or elements of dresses that I love.

2. HereComesTheGuide.com: I mostly used this to find a location. They have very helpful reviews of many reception sites and this is how we found our location (which is the hardest part of the process), The Summit House.

3. Wedding Blogs: I have several wedding blogs listed on my sidebar which are all helpful, but the one I ended up browsing the most was GreenWeddingShoes.com. This is especially helpful for brides in the Southern California area. Snippetandink.com is also another favorite of mine. I didn't so much use blogs for actual, concrete recommendations, but more for inspiration. It was fun to get my daily fix of wedding-ness bliss while I was engaged. A guilty pleasure of sorts.

4. TheKnot.com: All brides should join theknot.com as early as possible in the wedding planning process. They send weekly emails to you based on the date of your wedding suggesting things like a "1-month checklist" if your wedding is a month away. There is also a Knot Wedding Shop where they can personalize almost anything you can think of. They also offer lots of great ideas for favors, party decorations, and bridesmaid/groomsmen gifts, if you choose to do that.

Recap

It's been just over 9 months since the big day. I still think it was the most perfect day and I'm so grateful for the way everything turned out. For the first four months after the wedding, I would probably a spend at least a good 30 minutes everyday looking at our wedding pictures, re-living the moments in my head. And then when my brother gave us the video he made, I watched that over and over and over.

I am going to try to recap the wedding and do my best to remember all the details of planning before the big day.

A few things I will try to address:

Budget (yes, we did stay within our budget of $10,000.)

Location

Flowers

Dress (my favorite!)

Priorities

Photographer

Attitude (both when planning the wedding and on the actual wedding day)

Photos of the Final Day!

Honeymoon, maybe :)

Good Resources

Fans and Parasols

Trying to think of a way to incorporate two of my favorite things, fans and parasols in a November wedding.

These are on sale at The Knot wedding shop for $1.09 and $4.99 each.

Hmmm....

DIY Flowers

I don't know if I could actually do the flowers by myself, but this looks like a good resource for that.  I want to spend some more time searching around the site.  Looks interesting.

http://www.theflowerexchange.com/Scripts/defaultn.asp

Update

The thing about planning a wedding in 4 months is you don't have much time to sit down and write about every little detail. The truth is, I've really been enjoying this process. My fiancé is the perfect kind of supportive. Wants to know the details, gives his opinion, but in the end, lets me make all the final decisions. We've really been enjoying this time of being engaged.

I nailed down all my bridesmaids and I'm so stoked. We are definitely having our reception at the Summit House. I just found these incredibly adorable flower girl dresses. A very talented family friend is going to shoot our wedding. And another family friend is (hopefully) gonna be our deejay.

I'm really excited about involving such close friends in the important wedding details. It seems right. I want to keep the environment intimate and personal. It also helps to have talented friends.

Mrs. Fishback

I just found this cute site, and think it'd be so cute to get undies that say "Mrs. Fishback" on the bum, for the honeymoon.

Trashy? Come on, it's the honeymoon!

Bud-get

Not the most fun thing to deal with.  It looks like the reception venue is going to take up the majority of the cash for this event, which means it's time get creative with the following: invitations, flowers, DJ, favors (if we even have any--I don't think this is necessary unless you're actually giving something meaningful), flower girl dresses, and all the other cutesy stuff.

Time to be a DIY bride.

(I'm actually excited for this.)

My Maids

I know this is awful.  I still haven't finalized my bridesmaids.  (Does there need to be an equal number of bridesmaids/groomsmen?)  I know it's anything goes, but I'd like for it to be even.   

Anyway, as far as the fashion, I love these dresses.  And, they're $88 each.  I'm about to go try them on at J. Crew.

I may even have my bridesmaids add a cute little sweater or go crazy with some awesome accessories.  

The Dress Saga

On Monday, I went to Alfred Angelo to try on this dress.  It was modest (ish), and most importantly within my budget (under $800).  It worked, but I didn't love it.  They totally tried to pressure me into ordering the dress right then and there, but I was not having it.  I told them if I wanted it, I would call them.  

So the next day, I dove deep into all my options.  I actually searched craigslist, and guess what, I found a dressmaker that I think is going to work out really well!  The best thing is I'll be able to be here during the whole process.  I'll let you know how it goes, but I'm feeling good.  I am naturally picky when it comes to my style, so I think finding a dressmaker is the only way for me.  Every dress I've tried on, I've wanted to change something about it, and this way I can!  Below are some rough sketches of what I'm envisioning.  

Hope this works out!

Never did I think I wanted a video...

...until I watched this amazing video shot by Joel Serrato Films.

Loving...

this bouquet.

I'm excited because I just found out anemones are in bloom November to April. And they're awesome. Anyone know of some other great winter-bloom flowers?

Peach and Navy

I'm thinking this board from Snippet & Ink could be the inspiration for my wedding colors.  

LOVE Peach.  And love Snippet & Ink.

The Summit House

We visited The Summit House on Saturday, and loved it.  Unlike some of the other venues we visited, it feels like it was created for the purpose of a wedding reception. It has charm, intimacy, and indoor/outdoor use. There are big windows in the banquet room, so even inside, you have a great view outside.

The grounds will be great for taking pictures as well. The price is not outrageous either and given the fact that our event will be on a Tuesday shouldn't hurt either. Carmen Kaiser, the event coordinator, was not there when we visited, but I'm really hoping we can work something out that fits within my $10,000 budget.

Finding a Modest, Fabuous Gown for under $800

My first thought was to have it made, but after Mina's Tailor quoted me at $3,000-$4,000, I felt a little defeated.

On Friday, I went to Montclair Bridal on Montana Ave. in Santa Monica. It was a great little dress shop and my first go at trying on wedding dresses. The first dress I tried on was the one I loved. The Ian Stuart Inez.


But, oh, like 80% of all the beautifull dresses out there, it is strapless. I need a dress with sleeves. Because I'm getting married in the gorgeous Los Angeles Temple for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I will be wearing undergarments that cover my shoulders. Popular wedding dress sites for LDS brides include Latter-day Bride, Totally Modest and Beautifully Modest. But I just can't see myself in any of those. They are fashioned after several popular strapless gowns. They just add sleeves to create either a square or round neckline. To me, the neckline is VERY important as several photos are taken up close. The neckline frames your face, which has the most important accessory you wear all day -- your smile!

So... the challenge remains to find a modest gown, that frames my face beautifully. I will most likely end up buying one that is not to the LDS modesty standards, and then modify it to create the perfect dress. Another dress I love is this Alfred Angelo. And the price is right.

Finding a Venue

What I want: 150 people, indoor venue with an outdoor feel, oceanview (not counting on it), Spanish architecture.  Different options for beautiful photography of the husband-to-be and me.  Catering included would be a plus.

Today I'm going to look at the Redondo Beach Historic Library as a possible reception site.  To be honest, I think this place would be perfect: old charm, indoor AND outdoor facilities, and it's right on the beach!  

HOWEVER, the $15,000 quote I received does not fit with my $10,000 budget.  I know, it's almost laughable.  But I at least want to see it.  AND, I'm getting married on a Tuesday in November.  Is anyone else really going to book their site that day?  We'll see.  

If there's time, we're also stopping by The Summit House in Fullerton.  

Inspirational Dress Photo

I've been loving this photo, found in ELIZA magazine's marriage issue for the whole length of my engagement (all 2 weeks of it).  I thought this could be the perfect dress for me, until I found out it was Monique Lhuillier and about $7,000.  But I still printed it out large, and slipped it in the back of my wedding binder.

It gives me inspiration, and, let's face it, with the challenge I'm under, I'm gonna need a lot of that.

The facts...

He proposed July 30, 2009.  (Read story here.)  The wedding date is November 24, 2009.  That's technically 3 months and 25 days, or 117 days--a pretty short engagement by today's standards.  We live in LA.  We have a budget of $10,000.

Can we have an amazing wedding?  Yes.  

How?

Let's find out...