This is a sponsored post for Bride.com.au
All opinions expressed are my own
While James and I ran away to Broome to get married (well, almost) and I was able to leave all the details for someone else to worry about, I did do the whole wedding dress buying thing. Although, originally, there was talk of a bare-foot wedding on the beach in a sarong, I felt the need to have a ‘proper’ wedding dress, which surprised even me. As a not-so-girly-girl, I didn’t expect to have such a strong desire to don a big white dress for my walk down the aisle, especially when we weren’t doing anything else the traditional way.
So, James, my mum and I made a trip to Sydney, meeting up with my great aunt and her husband to look at dresses for inspiration as my great aunt was going to make my dress, just as she had made my mum’s when she got married.
We sent the boys off to hang out (which actually saw them doing rounds of the block and little else ‘just in case’ we might be done soon. I try not to bring it up, apparently James was scarred by the experience) and we started the casual perusal of all things white.
I had little idea of what I wanted past the colour (ivory) and walking into a space full of every shade of white and every type of dress imaginable was quite daunting. I had never been in a shop like it before (or since). The assistant helping us asked lots of questions before pulling out a dress here, a dress there and a couple from out the back. I was bustled into a dressing room and helped into the first dress.
My first thought, as a woman wearing a gorgeous silky white wedding gown was ‘boy is this dress heavy‘. There’s a lot about wedding dresses you don’t know until you’re trying them on. Like, they’re heavy and at least a million layers (okay, that may be a slight exaggeration) and are often quite complicated to put on.
The other thing people don’t tell you about wedding dresses, is how they transform you from just you into a bride-to-be. I stood on the little platform in front of the wall-to-floor mirrors (I also didn’t realise you really did that, I thought it was just a movie thing) and saw myself in a completely new light. I was tired, pregnant (I don’t do glowy pregnancy), anemic and without make up but when I looked at myself I saw a radiant beauty. And that was with the wrong dress!
I think there’s just something about ‘the’ dress. You just know. When the second dress was pulled over my head, all the layers were properly arranged and the lace at the back done up, I knew. That was it for me. I stood on my little circle again and didn’t want to take my eyes away. I was in love.
My aunt had a look and, as it was on sale and much cheaper than she could have recreated it, we decided to buy it and alter a few things. There needed to be a bit of give for growing room as I was 14 weeks pregnant at the time and would be 20 weeks by the time we were married and I also didn’t like my back being shown through the lace.
She made the appropriate alterations as well as a shawl/shrug type thing and it was perfect.
I might have had the dress, but I wore thongs on my feet. Can you see them? They’re silver and dainty… but still thongs.
The day of the wedding was hot, the dress was heavy and I thought I might melt but I would not have had it any other way. There’s something special about your wedding dress. Maybe even a little magical, just like in the movies. You just don’t know that until you’re wearing it.
Tell me about your wedding dress?
What did it look like?
Did you just ‘know’?
