On the hunt: inspiration

I wasn’t kidding when I said we still had lots of wedding goodness to discuss! Let’s start with the gown, a topic I’ve been dying to talk about for almost a year but that has been off limits because someone special just happens to read this blog.

Clearly, the suspense is over, since y’all saw the gown I ended up with last week. So there’ll be no surprise ending to this series, but we will have the extra richness of hindsight as we go through the journey, so that’s something.

Let’s start with inspiration! I gathered many photos of dresses I loved, and they all had a few things in common. Here are some of the pretties I printed out and brought to salons with me. In a binder. I was thorough.

I kid you not, the Brisa was one of my inspiration pics from the beginning! Even though Christos is clearly a favorite brand of mine (always has been), Brisa didn’t stand out as a top contender until I tried it on.

From top to bottom, we have Christos “Julianna” and “Arabella,” Christos “Maribel” and “Brisa,” a Liancarlo design with added sleeves (photo by A Bryan Photo), Priscilla of Boston No. 4709 and Melissa Sweet “Dora,” Jewel by Priscilla of Boston No. 307 and Pronovias, Watters “Sydney” and “Carins,” and Oscar de la Renta (photo by Meg Smith) and Reem Acra.

Of course, there are several more dresses that have caught my eye since I was looking in summer 2011, but this gives you a good idea of what I like: natural waists; soft, full skirts; soft and flowing fabrics like silk gazar, tulle, and organza; bows; sweetheart necklines; tiny or gauzy sleeves; point d’esprit or swiss dot fabrics; matte fabrics; and draped bodices.

Of all these dresses, I would say my favorite before visiting any stores was the “Maribel.” Oh my goodness, I loved (and still love!) those sweet swiss dots! But, as you know, she is not the one I took home in the end, so stay tuned to see where we go from here!