Okay, we may not be getting into photos of the full ensemble quite yet, but only because I don’t want to gloss over The Dress. Here, let me give you a glimpse of the back-story since I haven’t shared any dress shopping experiences…

I fell in love with my dress as soon as I tried it on off the rack at some little boutique in some little Polish region of the not-so-little city of Chicago. I can’t even tell you who the designer is, not because I’m trying to be secretive again, but because I honestly don’t know. The bridal boutique I bought it from told me it was designed exclusively for their collection but she couldn’t even look up who that happened to be. That always seemed fishy to me (what salon doesn’t keep record of the designer of each dress?) but I could care less because I love it so much. I only regret not being able to share the designer with you because the quality is SUPERB. Seriously, this dress could have been priced much higher than it was because the quality and workmanship of the lace and beading is fabulous. Bravo, mysterious designer and manufacturer, bravo.

The only thing I didn’t like about the dress was the straight neckline. The boutique owner thought I might be able to find someone to alter it back in Michigan since I wasn’t going to be travelling back to Chicago for any other alterations. When I got it home safely (on the train!), I asked around but was told ‘no’ and ‘no’. No one wanted to mess with the intricate lace and beading overlay.

the original straight neckline was too high and a bit unflattering / personal photo

But I knew there had to be someone who was both willing and knowledgeable. I know nothing about sewing and dress altering, but my gut told me that it could be done. Sure enough, we found a freelance seamstress through word of mouth who had years of experience in a professional bridal salon. She told me it would be easy to transform the straight neckline into a sweetheart neckline, and guessed that I had been told otherwise because I hadn’t bought the dress from those particular salons. Hallelujah! After she worked her magic, there was absolutely nothing I didn’t love about my dress.

Because I had bought it off the rack, I had it stowed away safely for months leading up to the big day. I found myself feeling sorry for brides who ordered their dresses, because here I could sneak away and catch a glimpse or even try it on whereas other brides had to wait…. and wait… and wait until their dress came in. It’s not surprising that some women don’t even recognize their dress by that time since they’ve had so long to imagine and re-imagine what it looked like. Memories can become warped over time, but I never once had doubts or built up too-great-of-an-expectation for my dress because all I had to do was take a peek and fall in love all over again.

I’m totally smitten with my wedding dress. Honestly, I want to marry Mr. Bunting again because I want to wear it again. But I digress. Back to the wedding day, shall we?

Pulling that gown on was like magic all over again. Except this time it wasn’t just to gawk and giggle at myself in a mirror while the seamstress measured the hem, or to test out a few necklaces to see which looked best. This time was real. This time, I would be able to show it to everyone and anyone, and this time, I would finally be able to share it with Mr. Bunting. I absolutely could not wait to show Mr. Bunting my wedding dress. I knew he would love it and would agree that it suited my personality perfectly, but I still couldn’t wait to see his reaction.

MOH Bunting helped secure me in. Don’t you just love how the accent walls of the room coordinate with our color scheme? I swear it was pure coincidence.

I’m really excited at this point, but somehow manage to keep myself somewhat contained and still. Inside, though, I am dancing all over the place.

…I step into my lovely, lovely shoes…

…and I am a BRIDE! Mother Bunting looks on in full approval.

We’re just about ready to go meet up with our second photographer, Bryan, and Mr. Bunting for our first look portraits. A quick re-application of lipstick, and this bride is on her way to go meet her groom.

*All photos, unless stated otherwise, copyright Bryan and Mae Photography.

Follow the adventure:

1. We had a fluffing party and rehearsed.

2. I woke up and got ready with my girls.

image via Male Pattern Boldness

Ha, there’s no way a good sewing machine is the only thing you need for success. You can hand me the best sewing machine there is and I wouldn’t know what to do with it. This seamstress, on the other hand….

She had worked in a prestigious bridal gallery for a number of years but then left when she got tired of them mistreating (and ripping off) their customers. Word of mouth travels well, however, and many of her satisfied bridal clients passed on her name. Long story short, she stays busy with freelance wedding work right out of her home. Mother Bunting and I initially visited her to see if she could alter my dress (the details of which are for another post) and soon discovered that she was not only altering wedding gowns, but making bridesmaid dresses.

That got my little thinking gears churning. I wasn’t fond of the stiff taffeta look of many bridesmaid lines, and most of the dresses are so expensive that I’d feel guilty for making my bridesmaids buy them. Kinda silly, I know, but true. But here was this woman with years of professional experience, making high-quality bridesmaid dresses for next to nothing. I thought surely there must be a catch – the prices were too good to be true. There wasn’t a catch. She works full-time as an accountant so the money isn’t important. Her sewing is her creative outlet and she loves doing it, so to her this is a relaxing hobby.

I admit I had some initial hesitation about having a seamstress make the bridesmaid dresses, but after having Grandmother Buntings inspect and approve the pieces she was working on (they’re so much more knowledgeable when it comes to seam quality and things than I am), we decided that this was a great opportunity to get bridesmaid dresses that are custom-tailored, made of the fabric and color of my choosing, and in the style of our choosing – all on a budget. It opened up a lot of freedom, let me tell you. I’d show her photos of nearly anything, and she would say, “Yeah, we can do that!” I like this yes woman.

our colors for the four bridesmaids

Our first step was to start looking for fabric in the right colors. Hooooooo boy. I must have picked the world’s rarest colors, because this was NOT an easy-peasy task. We’d find some fabric in the perfect shade of peach, but it was too stiff and heavy. We’d find some flowy chiffon in blue, but it was too “baby blue” and not enough “aqua”. I was unwilling to budge, because I’m stubborn like that when it comes to color.

After months of waiting for the fabric suppliers to come out with their spring colors, we finally found some in the PERFECT shades of aqua, peach, and yellow. Annnnnnnnd I still don’t know if I’m happy with it. But before you judge, let me explain! The fabric is a light-midweight satin. Not heavy, but also not as flowing as silk or chiffon. I’m afraid that it might still be too stiff for what we have planned.  You see, I asked my girls to pick out their own dress style of the flowy variety, and here’s what they chose (just imagine them in our colors):

image via Val Stefani / style 9118

image via Val Stefani / style 8881

image via Watters / style 7341

image via Watter Wtoo / style 7341

Pretty, right? Pretty flowy, right? Yeah, that’s because these are all made with chiffon. I’m afraid that if we try to make a flowy dress with a lot of ruching using the satin we found, we’ll end up with a hot poofy mess. I discussed these concerns with my seamstress, and she believes that the satin fabric we have is light enough to avoid any bulging poofs, but it definitely wouldn’t be as flowing and light as chiffon. Well then. What do I decide? To continue the search for chiffon in the perfect colors! With a month and a week before our wedding, I’m crazy, right? Because while measurements have been taken and patterns have been selected, the fabric has not even been cut at this point. I’m glad I wasn’t here at the ‘Bee yet so anyone could tell me how crazy I was not too long ago, because then I would have realized how close we’re cutting it and a freak-out would ensue.

Since then, I had a meeting with my seamstress scheduled to look at the new chiffon samples she ordered. I was rather bummed to receive an e-mail from her later that day saying the colors of the chiffon were way off. Game over for chiffon, I guess.  Super sad, I know, but we just don’t have the time anymore. Well, we’ll just have to deal and make slightly less flowy dresses.

Are you having your bridesmaids dresses made or are you ordering them? Have you had as much of a difficult time finding the right fabric in the right color as I have?