How did you both decide on what you would wear? Was it an enjoyable experience?
I had a clear vision of what the boys would wear, and lucky for me as soon as my partner tried on the colours and saw how handsome he would look, he was sold.
My dress was a little more difficult as I was initially really unsure of what I wanted to wear. I wanted something unique and complimentary of the natural outdoor setting, which is exactly what I ended up with, but it came with a lot of second guessing and stress. Overall I enjoyed the experience, as it was a once in a lifetime.
Tulle
From the get go I knew that deciding on what I was going to wear would to be the most difficult decision of the whole planning process.
For me the combination of working in fashion and more importantly, being an increadibly indecisive person, it was bound to be a tough process.
I started off with the usual dress shopping with girlfriends and my mum. Overall it was a good experience in that I was able to try on various different shape dresses and decide on the one that was most flattering for me. However I didn’t find the actual ‘shopping’ experience particularly welcoming. I found the assistants in the dress shops quite pushy (I was shopping for the dress 9 months before the big day and they said I was ‘leaving it to the last minute’) and the time limit for actually trying the dresses on was very restrictive. I was shocked to find out that in some shops you even had to pay to have a consultation!
After 2 failed days shopping in both Melbourne and sydney, trying on 20+ dresses, and hours spent trawling bridal sites online, I still didn’t have that holy grail ‘this is the one’ moment. I even thought maybe it’s just a marketing tool that retailers use but doesn’t actually ever happen in the real world… Except that I actually saw girls falling in love with dresses right before my eyes and me standing next to them wondering what’s wrong with me?! Why aren’t I having that moment??
I thought all the dresses were pretty, but maybe I was just looking for something more. I wanted the experience as well as the moment! I know I’m so needy!!
I wasnt getting what I wanted in the shops so I went in search for a dressmaker.
I remembered a conversation I had with a friend of a friend at a wedding a few months before and she said if I decided I wanted to get my dress made she could give me a recommendation. At the time I thought I’ll never need it and didn’t think I’d end up contacting her. I thought I’d have my ‘the one’ moment… Little did I know.
I eventually contacted her and she gave me the number of a girl who made her dress 5 years earlier. Her name was Yulia. I did a bit of research on her and gave her a call to set up a meeting.
Turns out meeting Yulia was my ‘the one’ moment. Not because of the dress, but because of the person. She was so lovely and welcoming, and helpful. She knew her stuff, but at the same time was so down to earth. When I told her the date of my wedding (now thinking it was very last minute) she said ‘no problem, that’s plenty of time’!
Turns out what I was looking for was not just ONE moment, but many moments. A whole experience of watching a dress being created over time and seeing it come to life. It was so much fun having input into the design and seeing it take shape. I loved every minute of it.
As far as the grooms outfit, well that was a much simpler affair… Initially I wanted him to wear a black tux but after seeing him in one I knew immediately it really didn’t suit him. The words ‘people will think I’m part of the wait staff’ actually came out of his mouth and at that moment I knew we needed something a little less stuffy. In the end we went with a rich blue suit with a black bow tie and white shirt. It was just formal enough to give the wedding a sense of occasion, but still stayed true to his personality. Also, went perfectly with the button holes and flowers which was a bit of a fluke!!
Lace