'The wedding was very much like other weddings, where the parties have no taste for finery or parade, and Mrs. Elton, from the particulars detailed by her husband thought it all extremely shabby, and very inferior to her own. 'Very little white satin, very few lace veils; a most pitiful business.'
But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the predictions, the confidences of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.'
Jane Austen, Emma
Every girl dreams about her wedding, the flowers, the cake, the reception, the church, the guests, the husband... I dream about my wedding dress, and only my wedding dress. Cursory thoughts are given perfunctorily to the man of course, clever and funny and handsome (which, as austen taught me, a young man ought to be if he possibly can), but all my life the profound and overriding image has been the dress.
What would i wear? What colour? White, cream, off-white, off-cream (which sounds rather hazardous to your health if you think about it.) What would i have in my hair? a veil, flowers, garland, feathers? What about the shape? sleek, shift, pouff, meringue, tiered, empire line? Would there be a train? and if so, what adorable little girl would hold it up? And on my feet? The shoes, oh the glorious shoes...
Because, at the heart of it, isn't your wedding really just an excuse to put on a marvellous dress and look fabulous and be the centre of attention for a little while? I mean, i'm not against the institution of marriage itself, but i think weddings have become so gloriously but unnecessarily extravagant over the years that the real purpose, that of committing yourself wholly to a person, has been lost. A wedding isn't so much about love anymore, but about labels. Which isn't a real issue in and of itself provided that people recognise that the purpose of a wedding has changed. Commitment can be honoured in a small and private way, but the bride and her loveliness, well that requires a big white dress and a cake with 7 tiers.
In a perfect world my wedding dress would have been hand made for me by one of my obliging designer friends, of which Fabulous Future Me will have many. I've always wanted a country wedding, and i can see a lovely marquee tent built with mis-match chairs lined up in rows and me in a glorious dress and sandals or gumboots, or something silly like that, walking up the aisle to the strains of laura marling or norah jones. Odd, but very cute. And there my future-husband would stand, proud and slightly offbeat, and me clutching a bunch of daisies. And afterwards everyone back to our cottage for tea and macaroons and cucumber sandwiches.
Just like all brides, i think, i change my mind daily about what the dress would look like. At the moment i am leaning slightly towards a Rochas-esque Olivier Theyskens confection out of whispy chiffons layers in icy blue. Wouldn't that look wonderful with a pair of ballet flats and a garland of flowers? But then other days i think, no, you should wear heels to your wedding, and so i imagine this amazing tulle skirted christian lacroix dress with a sky high pair of heels and a bunch of deepest red roses. And then other days i want a wedding dress like Audrey Hepburn in funny face, ballerina length tulle skirt, boatnecked bodice, typical hubert givenchy with long satin gloves and a veil. Or what about the pale pink lace and silk of a valentino couture dress? So many dresses, so little time.
I want something that reflects my own style, and i want it to be classic and wearable. I know, it's your wedding dress, you're not supposed to wear it again, but i wear my mother's wedding dress all the time. It was a gorgeous chiffon slip with a cropped ivory vintage lace overshirt left over from my grandmother's wedding dress. Mum wore it with this amazing hat, embellished with roses made out of soft gauze, and she looked fabulous. Sort of inspires me to wear a really big hat to my wedding. Oh the choices!
Rochas. Olivier Theyskens thou truly art a god among men. Can't you see this dress with a messy bun like lily and a bunch of wildflowers or gardenias?
Jean Paul Gaultier. Okay, not your traditional dress, but bear with me for a moment. Forget the parasol and the wet hair. If you had your hair up but whispy and loose, and had a bunch of daisies, don't you think this dress could be very elegant? I love the colours and the shredded effect at the bottom of the dress.
Comme des Garcons. I mean, you wouldn't pair it with tennis shoes, obviously, but i think this could look kind of cute as a wedding dress?
Christian Lacroix. The traditional, the pouffy meringue, the master that is Lacroix. A wedding with this dress would be fabulous.
Valentino. With less severe hair i think this could look very elegant.
Anne Valerie Hash.
Sophie Kokosalaki. Not for the faint of heart (of the large of legs) but this dress is just gorgeous, and imagine it with long softly curled hair, a diamond necklace and a bunch of white gardenias.
Rochas. I know, two by Olivier theysens. But look at this dress! Look at how it moves! I just love it so so so so so so so much. I would kill to be married in this dress, with a soft bun and a big hat and pretty shoes. What a fabulous and romantic wedding dress!
Aren't these dresses just lovely? I can see some of them with great big hats, others with veils, and some with feathers in your hair like marie antoinette. Big bunches of flowers, wildflowers maybe, lavender, bluebells, cornflower... I can't wait to serve everyone turkish delight and glasses of champagne and lovely little petits fours at my wedding. (freudian slip of the tongue, when i wrote that sentence originally i wrote 'at my weddings'... maybe i shall have to have many in order to have all these different dresses!). Multiple weddings, multiple dresses, multiple presents... How lovely!
I was also awarded the 'Kreativ Blogger' award by the tea drinking english rose.
she is such a darling, and her blog is filled with cute thoughts, lovely little pictures and snippets of her life. It is such a joy to read and brightens up any day. check it out, if you haven't already!
I pass the award onto Ane from FeedMeBerries... have a look at her splendiforous designs and you'll see she embodies creativity like no other!
Love to you all...
now i'm off to listen to 'going to the chapel' by the chiffons.
'gee i really love you and we're gonna get married, going to the chapel of love.'
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