My Wedding Gown

I love my wedding gown! Now that the wedding day is behind us, I can share images of my lovely dress. Before I did not want to ruin the surprise for Matthew and our guests. All of the images in this post are by the very talented Oliver of Oliver Fly in Paris. Even this wedding photographer has to hire another photographer if she wants some epic wedding pictures. People jokingly asked who I was going to hire if I couldn’t take them myself. For our ceremony in Connecticut we hired the very talented Visual Obsession Photographers. When it came to our photos in Paris, we couldn’t have chosen anyone other than Oliver. He has a true gift! All of the photographs in this post belong to him. 

In some ways my dress was exactly what I had been looking for, and in others it was so much more. I knew that I wanted an ivory lace dress with a train and an open back, but this dress made me feel the most beautiful I have ever felt. When you go dress shopping, have something in mind, but be open to tying new things. The straps of this dress are something I originally wanted to avoid and I was not a fan of illusion tulle, but the illusion tulle details on the back were one of my favorite features! It was also more closed in the back that I had originally planned. Know what you are not willing to negotiate on. I loved a ballroom styled dress that I had tried on, but it did not have a train. I knew that I truly wanted a train because I had thought about it for ages and I also knew that I would never have an opportunity to wear a dress with a train ever again. I knew I would regret skipping out on that detail, so a dress without a train was not even an option. 

 The Dress

My dress is simply known as dress number D2387 by Essence of Australia. I knew that Matthew would expect me to go with a 1950s style gown, my typical style, but I wanted to go with something a little sexier and form fitting. My dress was a dream. I loved the traditional and vintage details as well as the modern design of the lace in the front and back. 

After looking at numerous bridal shops without any luck, I found a whole collection of gowns I adored at Bliss Bridal in Cheshire, Connecticut. My hair stylist recommended their shop as well as numerous brides I know and Bliss did not disappoint. Their customer service is excellent and they truly care about helping you find the perfect dress. 

When choosing a dress, I wanted a design that would look formal and like it belonged to the gardens where we were getting married at Harkness Memorial State Park. It also had to travel well on our honeymoon for the photo shoot we did in Paris (so nothing too big and poofy to squeeze into a dress bag.). I wanted a dress that would fit well in a carry-on dress bag and also look elegant and like it too belonged in the beautiful city of love. This dress was versatile and fit the Harkness gardens, Eolia mansion, and Paris. 

The Veil

I grew up watching The Sound of Music. If you have seen the film, you may remember the wedding scene at the cathedral when Fraline Maria walks down the aisle with her long veil. I have always loved the simplicity of that veil; no lace, appliqués, or details, just simple illusion tulle flowing in front as a blusher, and far (very far!) behind her. Before planning any other wedding detail in my life, I knew at the early age of eight years old, that I would be wearing a veil like Maria’s: 

I looked at cathedral length veils with blushers, but could not find anything longer than a cathedral (108″) online or in bridal stores until I discovered Noon On The Moon on Etsy, an online shop in Canada specializing in handmade veils and accessories. Felicite, the designer, has numerous veils to choose from. I ended up choosing the Addison Veil. I loved the silkiness of the illusion tulle in pale ivory and chose an Imperial length (150″) to make a bigger impact. She sent fabric samples for different veil materials as well as shades, but the illusion tulle is what looked the most like Maria’s veil. 

The veil also had another purpose. Because our wedding ceremony was taking place later in the day, we decided to have a first look and take photos before the ceremony. Matthew was disappointed at first because he wanted to see me for the first time as I was walking down the aisle. To keep some element of surprise, I decided to wear only my dress for the photos and wear a veil and lace bolero jacket during the ceremony for a completely different look. He was surprised! 

The Bolero

To add the illusion of sleeves to an otherwise sleeveless dress for the ceremony, I decided to order a bolero jacket. A bolero jacket is a jacket that consists mostly of sleeves and is cropped so that it does not hang low like a real jacket. Boleros come in many shapes and styles. My grandmother wore a lovely lace bolero over her wedding dress in 1959 and my cousin also wore one at her wedding. If you cannot pick between a sleeveless dress and one with sleeves, the best part is that you can have both if you buy a bolero. 

For the ceremony I wanted to go very traditional and a little royal (who does not want to feel like a princess on her wedding day, am I right?) so I did some research. Kate Middleton wore a lovely bolero and most long sleeved boleros today are based on hers with the long v-neck. Although lovely, I wanted something a little more unique. I have always adored Grace Kelly. Her wedding bolero is my absolute favorite of all time with the high cap collar and the buttons going down the front instead of the back, but finding a bolero that looked just like it was very difficult.

I only found one that was slightly similar, this time on Etsy by Slaw, a designer in Europe called with the company Tifary. It came custom made to fit my exact measurements and it looked really elegant. I adore this bolero and it made me feel just as royal. 

My favorite part about wearing a bridal bolero is that it gives you versatility. If you love sleeves, but also love strapless or sleeveless dresses, you do not have to choose. You can simply do both my changing your look with a lace bolero jacket. 

The Shoes 

The shoes were also found online. For ages I kept going back to these lovely high heels by Bella Belle shoes: the Anita Illusion heel in ivory. They were above the amount I would normally even consider looking at for shoes, but they were so pretty that I kept going back. After several months of trying to find something similar or that I loved just as much, my bridesmaids talked me into buying them. I really could not find anything that could compare. People that know me know that I am not a shoe girl, but I love these shoes! However, because I have high arches, wearing high heels for long is not an option for me. My feet hurt immensely after staying for just 15 minutes or so in high heels so I found a pair of affordable flats that also had a touch of lace on Amazon. 

Of course, at the end of the day it is not about the dress, but the way you feel married to the one that you love most.