detail post #1: the dress(es)

Since our professional photos won't be ready for another 2-4 weeks, we figured we'd pass the time with some posts covering all of the wedding details we hadn't already described. These are things we hadn't posted before either because we didn't want to ruin the surprise for our guests or because we were still working on them up until the wedding.

Since our guests have already seen all of these details in person, these posts are geared mainly toward readers who might be planning their own weddings.

The first detail to report, of course, is the dress. Or I should make that the dresses, because I kind of became of a "two dress bride" (albeit a very cheap one).

I posted earlier about finding my wedding gown. I loved the thick silk material, its 1940s style and shape, the buttons that ran down the back, the rounded seams in the front, and most of all its extremely affordable price.....but it was at least 3 sizes too large.

I found a fantastic seamstress in Lititz (where we got married), who was much more affordable than most of the ones in Philly and after several trials, she magically shrunk my dress. She even made a few other modifications at my request which made the dress almost begin to feel like a couture creation. The cathedral train was dramatically shortened, a one point bustle was added, the neckline was pulled back further, and the beads at the center of the v-neck were removed completely. In the end I got the dress of my dreams for $300 total. I love how it turned out and would highly recommend Karen Chow to anyone needing alterations in the Lancaster County area of Pennsylvania.

Before

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After

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My dress was super comfortable (one of my requirements while dress shopping) and I would have worn it all night long, but I needed a second, shorter dress for our getaway (I'll cover more on that soon). I had envisioned a fun, slightly retro party dress for this one, but it had to be cheap since I hadn't left any room in the budget for it. About a month before the wedding, my mother-in-law took me on a mad dash through most of the stores in their mall and I found this one at Boscov's department store:

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this photo was taken during my last hair trial and the band-aid on my ankle is due to a the worst cut i ever got while shaving, only a week before the wedding....like i said, i'm a complete klutz.

It was in the junior's department along with the after prom "sale" dresses, marked down from $65 to $20. And because I can't seem to leave anything well enough alone, I removed a couple of bows in the front and added an extra layer of tulle to make the skirt a more poufy. I felt like a glitter-y ball of party tulle while wearing it which pleased the 5 year old inside me to no end.

Next detail post to go: the favors