The Finished Dress

Throwback Thursday once more- one you all have been waiting for!

I can't remember where we left off... But I can tell you life happened.  I really have intended to write this post for a long time, but there are big things happening in life offline that have pulled me away from the blog-o-sphere.

I was gonna give you all more of a blow-by-blow of the ending fiddly bits- and the meltdown they almost caused.  This last bit is, I think, the thing I would do the most different, and where the best of plans ended up falling through with even better results...

All the buttons and the hem were done, by hand, on my living room floor, with the dress sitting between me and a dear fitting angel on the Wednesday before my bachelorette party Thursday and the weekend of wedding adventures. Those hours of help were filled with great conversation, wisdom shared, and oh, the stories... I'll always be grateful for the best of folks sharing their time to make this dress and this wedding happen.

My aunt and my cousin steamed the dress on the farm the morning of the wedding while my amazing bridesmaids and I were all getting hair done and having too much fun with makeup.
 Another aunt put together a veil from some tulle when I realized my grandmother's from 1952 had been left at home, 4 hours away.  I made a bow tie the morning of the wedding from some lovely Liberty of London lawn, backed with scraps from my wedding dress.  It was wonderful... The whole wedding was a great big child that the village raised, and my wardrobe was really just one illustration of that, even as last minute as it was.

 Last minute is in my blood- There's a picture of my mom ironing the Mother of the Bride dress that her mom wore to my aunt's wedding with a clock in the background, showing that the wedding started 5 minutes later.


Accessories:  If there is interest I can pull better pictures of everything.

-pearls from my grandmothers were made into my tiara, which also included a pin from my Nana, who passed away in July(she taught me to sew, and was able to help me re-make the veil I originally planned to wear).
-I wore an heirloom pair of chandelier earrings with raw diamond centers to flowers, which were first worn by my great-great-Godmother- they're over 100 years old!
-My pearls were a gift- I think from my dad's mom, but I can't remember which ones I went with in all the crazy.
-The wrap was from a professor- she brought it back from me from India as a surprise gift!

But I'm going to hush and give you pictures because they are what you really want.    The silk really glowed in the light and fell beautifully- and I'm kind of still in love with how it all turned out, despite how last minute some of it was.  I posted a couple of shots  of us practicing our first dance just so you could see how well the dress moved, and because my bustle made me really stinking happy.

Thank you thank you thank you for all of the comments, the support and the encouragement you have shared through this process.  I have always been told that whether or not you can imagine every detail of your wedding after the fact, you will always remember how it felt... and it felt wonderful to have all of my family and all of the food, and the love in one place for one magic night.