About Wedding Dresses

Betty is asking about wedding dresses:

What did your wedding dress (and shoes and veil) look like? Do you still love your dress as much you did then? Do you wish you’d done anything differently?

I’m all too happy to oblige dear Betty. What better way to spend an evening than digging through my wedding photos?

Arriving at the church with my sister, my maid of honor, who is half an inch shorter than me; but wearing heels.

When I went hunting for a dress I knew pretty well what I wanted: it had to be floor length, it had to have sleeves. I didn’t want lots of lace or sequins. Something simple. Classic.

I found just what I wanted on the sale rack at David’s Bridal, the first store I went to. Which is good because I hate shopping.  The dress had to be taken in at the bust, which just about doubled the price. Still very affordable at that.

Scoop neck, simple bodice, sheer sleeves, small train. Very minimal bead work on the bodice and sleeves. It is so me!

At my apartment before leaving for the church. If you look closely, you can see some of the beading on the bodice and sleeves.

Here’s the best picture I could find that shows the train. Father Murphy, who married us, has also baptized all of our children. The altar servers are Dom’s niece and nephew.

My sister pinning up the train after the ceremony before we take the official photos in the Marian garden beside the church, Immaculate Conception in Salem, MA.

Leaving the reception. You can see the back of the dress with the train pinned up.

Sleeves!!! I felt like a princess. (This is me waiting while Dom went to fix the iPod, which was refusing to play our song for the first dance. I still am glad we went with the iPod instead of a DJ.)

I really wanted a mantilla instead of a pouffy veil. I found the perfect knee-length mantilla on eBay for, I think, $25. Such a deal!

I absolutely adore the lace trim on the veil.

For shoes I wore plain, white, flat sandals. No heel because I’d fall down in heels, I’m a klutz, and they hurt my feet. Also because I’m already taller than Dom. Don’t really need to add extra inches. And I do not regret that choice for a second. They were so comfy and I continued to wear them for a couple of years until the day of Sophie’s baptism, when I had to limp down the aisle with a broken strap.

Leaving the church. Blissfully happy.

My necklace is a sterling silver miraculous medal given to me by my dad. I still wear it all the time. I also carried a little pearl rosary, given to me by my maternal grandmother, wrapped around the stems of my bouquet.

Thanks, Betty, for tonight’s romantic stroll down memory lane. After today’s drama it was a balm to the soul.