Making My Wedding Dress: The Final Post

My last post left me at the point where I was proud of what my dress became, but disappointed at the lack of luster. I toyed with the idea of hand sewing beads and sequins, thought about borrowing a sash from a girlfriend...but I wasn't quite sure if either were right. After weeks of thinking and browsing fabric stores...I found the perfect touch, a sequined lace sewn-in sash.

And...we're finally finished!!

I traveled back up to Osgood's and found this lace trim, hand sewed it in...and done.

After last minute touches, like sewing in hanger straps and having a good dry clean, it was ready for the big day!

My awesome bridesmaids (and our photographer, Jerome) squeezed me into my dress...was it tough because of the faulty zipper, or the extra Les' ice cream cone I couldn't resist (almost every other night)?

First Look!!

Any other brides considering doing a "First Look" with their fiancee, I highly recommend it. We were able to act on our overwhelming emotions and share with each other how we felt. It was just as special, (maybe a little bit more as it was totally intimate) and it made the aisle walk a little less nerve-wracking. (Plus we got to join cocktail hour :)

While Ryan MAY have seen parts of the dress construction (or even the final result while it was on my dress form) I still love how excited he looked when he saw me in it :)

Our wedding and reception was held at The Golden Lamb Buttery in Brooklyn, CT. A wonderfully magical, whimsical place that blew us away with everything.

I remember telling Ryan a Louis CK joke to make him laugh for this picture...

One thing I really didn't consider much was making a bustle. Wedding Day I begged the hotel front desk for safety pins so I could have my train lifted a little bit. 

Bustle's good enough...who's really looking anyway?

I had leftover fabric so my florist The Flower Girl tied all of the bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres with a little bit of the swiss dot.

And the woman who's dress inspired mine..my grandmother Marion

The real test was how "danceable" it was...I danced all night and thanks to my boning and super tight fit, no nip slips!

I also crocheted my cake topper...oops, look like the groom took a dip in the frosting :)

One more picture to show off our awesome photographers, Studio1923, Amanda Sumislaski and Jerome Braga. All of the wedding day photos were their amazing work. They were the greatest!

Even after using the leftover fabric for the flowers, I still have about a quarter yard for future special projects.  I'm holding onto it until I find the right way to use it.