A Dress! At Last! (Click "Read More" to see the actual dress)

We have a winner! The trigger has been pulled! And other metaphors indicating happiness at having finally made a decision that had been plaguing me for, admittedly, long before Jay got down on one knee. (Yes, I had clippings at brides.com. I know.)

It's different than I expected. I'm blaming it on this Anne Barge you see here -- which is NOT my dress. I saw this dress in a magazine and was enthralled by it. The 50's styling on the model; the floaty English net on the skirt; the delicate embellishment; the non-straplessness. The problem? Uncomfortable top, $1500 over the price range, and the realization that the delicacy of the details that really make the dress (pintucks on bodice, etc) weren't visible from more than 3 feet away, so it just looked plain, rather than than intricate. Sigh. Oh Anne Barge, LF150. The coulda, shoulda, woulda dress.

BUT, it made me deviate course, just a tad, just enough to find my dress. Before Anne Barge LF150, I was not aware that English net over silk creates a dreamy, floaty look without the cupcake effect of layers of tulle. I had been shunning sparkle and beads and embellishment, fearing the dreaded "Jersey princess effect." 

And so, by opening my eyes a bit, and getting back on the horse after the sample sale of which we shall no longer speak... I was able to find my dress.  After the jump, of course, to dissuade Jay from peeking!


Ethereal, whimsical, romantic, with a bit of an old-timey flavor.  I give you Freya, by Augusta Jones (with pearl necklace simulating the pearl beaded straps we ordered from Augusta Jones, because the dress was a sample -- and, ps, obviously will still be taken up and in!):

 umm, ignore the messy room in the background...

I wish I was able to include a picture of me in a veil with the dress, because that was what sealed it for me: a simple sheet of tulle behind it all, tying together the flowy net of the skirt and the more structured feel of the bodice.  But, alas, the veil is still in progress (hoping to use Mom's but needing to update it to match the feel of this dress, rather than hers.)

So, even though I didn't have "the moment." Even though I didn't cry.  And even though my dad's reaction was not glistening eyes, but a shrug and and a "yeah, it's a pretty dress."  My dress makes me feel like this when I put it on and think about walking down the aisle...

So I'm calling this a mission accomplished!