I was on vacation in Maine last week and had hoped to post a “happy memory” swimsuit photo like Darlene and Tina did, but it turned out to be too cold (and later rainy) to go to the beach or lakeside.
But then at the end of the week, my boyfriend surprised me with spending the weekend at Mohonk Mountain Resort (in New Paltz, NY) to celebrate my birthday, which is this week. The weather was absolutely perfect and we ended up swimming a couple of times, so I made sure to snap a “happy memory” photo while there:
Hmmm and do you spy anything additional in this image? Note the odd placement of my left hand. Here, I’ll zoom in for you:
It’s an engagement ring! Yep, the trip wasn’t really for my birthday after all, it was so he could propose. Now I’ll always have a really happy memory associated with wearing a swimsuit! (The one above, by the way, is the Freya Fever sweetheart top and boy short bottoms.)
So then you must know what comes next, right? Wedding dress shopping! And after that, the hunt for appropriate lingerie. And along the way, writing about it for Hourglassy! I’ll be starting with a trip to David’s Bridal with my mom in a couple weeks.
But even after flipping through a few bridal magazines, browsing online, and watching years of the TV show “Say Yes to the Dress,” I still have no idea what kind of dress I want to wear.
I like vintage and want to look a little offbeat. I definitely don’t want a poufy cupcake dress. I’m open to experiments in color, length, and texture. And of course I want to flatter (maybe flaunt?) my assets. Also, nothing backless. Much as I’d love to show off my entire back tattoo, I need to be able to wear a bra. No stick-on cups, no depending on the dress to hoist me up, and no BS built-in bra. I want to be comfortable and be able to dance and move all night without needing adjustment.
I also may be seeking a second, more casual dress. My fiance wants to get married a.s.a.p. so I can get on his health insurance (as a freelancer, I don’t have insurance), so we’re tentatively planning on having a legal ceremony with just immediate family at my parents’ place in the upstate New York countryside this fall (as in, two months from now), with the actual wedding coming a year later. I figure I can also reuse the more casual dress for the rehearsal dinner of the wedding. I still want it in white or ivory, but will not be paying a “wedding” price for it. So you’ll get to read about adventures in both off-the-rack dress shopping and wedding gown shopping.
Congratulations! I know you say you don’t want cupcake but check out Dolly Couture (I seriously considered some of her dresses, they have/had a “Jane Mansfield” option to do a FBA to their patterns) http://dollycouture.com/ and Whirling Turban http://www.whirlingturban.com/wedding_boutique/ . Both are definitely vintage inspired and WT can definitely be offbeat as well.
Wow, congratulations to you both! Such exciting news! I’ve had two really good experiences at the Manhattan David’s Bridal, FYI 🙂
Congratulations Leah! I’m excited to see what’s out there for brides now as opposed to when I got married 11 years ago.
Congratulations!!! 🙂 that is awesome! Can’t wait to hear more about your adventures, good luck and enjoy the wedding mania!
Congratulations! That is so exciting!
Congratulations Leah! What a perfect happy swimsuit memory 🙂
Congratulations! (And I’m sorry you had bad luck with the weather in Maine! I live there, and we’re enjoying sunny skies with temps in the upper 70s in Portland this weekend. Please come back again!)
Check out “My Fair Wedding” with David Tuterra on Netflix. Tons of good ideas there – especially the dresses.
If you really want/need to get married right away, I would suggest having a reception for your families / friends to celebrate and meet each other later on, rather than a second wedding. A couple we know had a second (big) wedding about a year after their first ceremony. The whole thing just seemed “fake” and and sort-of looked like they were just looking for wedding gifts. (We didn’t attend as I had an “ick” feeling about the whole thing.) A wedding is one moment where you commit yourselves to each other forever. A “historical reenactment” for family, friends and fashion, is *not* the same thing. JMHO, but maybe food for thought.
I love “My Fair Wedding”! I actually want to make my beau watch it because he wants to be equally involved in the planning, but clearly has no idea what goes into it. It’s such a good resource for ideas!
We’re not really having two weddings. This fall would just be a weekend spent with both our sets of parents with a judge or officiant (or whatever) coming by and making it legal. I’d be wearing a white cocktail dress just ’cause it’s fun, not a “wedding dress.”
I also initially wanted to have the real wedding at my parents’ place, but it’s so far from our home and so in the middle of nowhere that it’d be really difficult to work out the logistics and planning. This is basically a compromise.