Short Dress Bride!

I got a lot of comments on my short wedding dress in my post, Informal "Formals" so I thought I'd address this in more detail. I didn't set out to buy a short wedding dress. After looking at many different dresses and many salons (see my "dress shopping" post), Anju, the wonderful woman helping me at Mark Ingram's Bridal Atelier said, "I have an idea, I'll be right back."

When I first started looking for my wedding dress I was drawn to lace and all things romantic! I also knew (or thought I did anyway), that I didn't want a strapless gown. Basically I was trying to avoid the standard A-line long strapless wedding dress I'd seen in every magazine! Don't get me wrong, it's a lovely silhouette, but I just wanted something that was more "me," you know?

So, Anju brought me two dresses. The first was a short Monique Lhuillier similar to this one (except on my five foot nothing frame it was more mid calf):



It was lace -- which I liked, and the short was a bit of whimsy. OK, I thought, this is a nice thought. And it had pockets which I just adored! But it wasn't quite perfect. I didn't feel beautiful in it.

The second was a two piece short raw silk gown. I didn't know what to make of it. She told me it was a "Romona" and I smiled as if I knew what that meant.



It turns out it was a Romona Keveza from her Legends Collection (I discovered when I scoured the internet to find the dress). When I brought my mother to New York to see the dress she said "You look adorable!" That was her first reaction. Then she said I looked like a Degas Ballerina.



Image from Pre1900prints.com

And when I showed it to a dear friend from college she gasped and said "Oh my god! You're Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face!"



Now, here I am at my last fitting:



Here are things I love about my dress:

1) It's comfortable. I had room to eat, could sit comfortably and really enjoyed wearing it.

2) Wearing it again. Because it's two pieces I can (and will) wear it again. I'm already thinking about being invited to some fabulous black and white New Year's party (I'm open to your invitations ;)). I have a black velvet and raw silk top that would look awesome with the skirt!

3) Any shoes I wanted. Because the length was a non issue I was able to buy any shoes I wanted and didn't worry about the height of back up shoes for the reception. Also, major bonus, people could see my fantastic Cynthia Rowley Shoes.



4) No Bustle. Because there was no bustle to worry about I could sit easily, dance easily and just enjoy the party.

5) It's different and totally me. Because I'm so petite one of the issues I had with dress shopping was, even though I tried on many beautiful gowns, they just seemed to be wearing me.

Some Tips:

If a short dress is what you're after, don't go straight to wedding gown salons. If I hadn't fallen in love with this dress first I would have looked off the rack. Take a look at white party dresses at department stores. Even if you spent $300-$800 on a fabulous designer cocktail or party dress that is still much less than your typical wedding gown.

During the planning process I got a lot of "Love the short dress, wish I had the courage," or "I could never do it, but it looks great on you." So I say to you -- don't be motivated by convention. If you want to wear a short dress to your wedding -- I say go for it! Just because tradition says it's not "bridal" or you don't think it's formal enough for a wedding doesn't mean you can't look fabulous! If you feel beautiful that is all your husband and guests are going to see.

So now I'm dying to know -- are there any other bees or readers out there who were or plan to be short dress brides? If so, was it for a first or second wedding? I know that it used to be the case that woman would choose a shorter dress for a second marriage. I'd LOVE to see photos of you in your dress! I felt like a huge minority in the process (not that I minded at all) but it would be lovely to share with some other short dress brides!

Family Connections...Part II

As I mentioned in a previous post, we shared a photo slide show with our guests at the reception and it was very well received. I think our families enjoyed seeing childhood photos of both of us as well as photos of themselves (we had a photo of almost every single guest). After the historic and childhood photos we moved on to photos of us with our friends and family during our courtship and finally some engagement photos. Enjoy!



Best friend, his wife and Mr. Onion



Mr. Onion, Mrs. Onion and dear friend on our first trip to Vermont in 2005



Momma and brother Onion



Mrs. Onion's Parents



Mr. & Mrs. Onion skiing



Mrs. Onion and bridemaid/best friend from college



Mr. Onion goof off at his college graduation with his brother



With the in-laws at Disney in Florida



With Momma Onion at my Litchfield Jazz Festival debut



Mr. & Mrs. Onion goofing off at Disney in Florida



BIL Onion and his girlfriend



Bridesmaid with Mr. Onion



With my bridesmaids at my bridal shower in August

I would highly recommend the photo slide show. It's very personal and a great break in the evening. We didn't have a "dancing hour" per se, so we showed the video while people were eating their cake toward the end of the evening. It was a great diversion. I narrated a bit as we went a long and it made people laugh. Deffinately on my list of "Things we did right!"

Family Connections

One of the best things that we did was put together a slide show of images to share with our guests at our reception. I wish I could share the video with you but we created it on my mother's MAC at her office because I thought that would be quick and easy. I began the project using a PC program called Photo Story on the recommendation of weddingbee readers. I think it was actually more flexible than iPhoto but I simply ran out of time and was home the weekend before the wedding and just HAD to get it done.

My brother and Mr. Onion were best childhood friends and boy scouts together -- this means Mr. Onion and I met when we were 5 and 6 years old! Here are the boys as kids (Mr. Onion on the left, my brother on the right):



We included historic photos from my family and Mr. Onion's family, photos of both of us as children growing up, photos of us with our family and friends during our courtship and finally our engagement photos. I set the slide show to a beautiful solo piano version of "There Is No Greater Love" (which a dear friend sang at our ceremony) performed by Bill Evan. It lasted about 10 minutes and everyone really enjoyed it.

In lew of the slide show itself, I thought I'd share some of the photos with you.

First, Childhood photos of Mrs. Onion:



My first birthday party with my mom



My first ride



When I learned to swim in St. Martin



A bit of mischief in San Fransisco



With my grandmother who I adored



With my mom at my grandmother's house



My favorite photographer of me and my father. This was on a trip to the south of France when I was nine

Next, Childhood photos of Mr. Onion:



Playing spaceship with his big brother



All dressed up for Easter



School Picture -- too cute



He didn't know it then, but he was getting ready for our honeymoon!

Up next -- the last part of the slide show: photos of us with our family and friends during our courtship and a few more engagement photos.

I am happy where you are...

"Near and far, near and far
I am happy where you are"

-- From the Tin Wedding Whistle by Ogden Nash

Our ceremony is something that I put a lot of time and thought into. I began very early searching websites for readings and knew I didn't want a cookie cutter ceremony. I also didn't want it steeped in religion as neither of us are particularly religious. Our minister gave us a typical ceremony that she uses and said we could modify it however we liked -- add our own readings, include music, write our own vows -- as long as it was "us" she was happy. Because she gave us so much freedom I think our 30 minute ceremony was really personal and touching. Everyone who greeted me afterwards commented on how lovely, how personal, how enjoyable the ceremony was.

And now -- on with the pictures!



Last minute adjustment from a bridesmaid



My dad walking me down the isle -- Photo: Daria Bishop



A dear friend singing "There Is No Greater Love" with our guitarist Brendan Burns.



One of my beautiful bridesmaids walking down the isle -- great shot of the earrings and flowers



Exchanging rings



Reading my vows -- getting a little emotional



You may now kiss the bride!



Yea, so happy!



Outside the church after the ceremony -- getting ready for a group picture will all 45 of our guests!

For those of you who are working on your ceremony and program order, here is what appeared in our program (it was all lower case as was all our stationary -- invitations, place cards, menus etc. Very e.e. cummings):

prelude
selected solo guitar music

processional
sleeper's awake (wachet auf), bach

bride’s entrance
barcarolle from the tales of hoffmann, offenbach

introduction
minister

reading
marriage advice from 1886 by jane wells
read by mother of the groom

reading
tin wedding whistle by ogden nash
read by mother of the bride

homily

musical response
there is no greater love
by isham jones and marty symes
friend of the bride, vocal
brendan burns, guitar

declaration of intention
minister

pledge of support by family and friends
minister and the congregation
answer together “we do with joy!”

prayer

wedding vows

exchange of rings

musical interlude
"better together" by jack Johnson

blessing of the hands

announcement of marriage

apache blessing

recessional
“wouldn’t it be nice” by the beach boys

How did you plan your ceremony? Was it traditional? Did you use non-religious readings? What poems did you choose? Did you write your own vows? The ceremony is possibly the most important part of your wedding -- I'm sure other readers would be eager to hear your experiences.

Informal "Formals"

One of the things that led me to our photographer, Daria Bishop, was her photojournalistic style. Now I know that is a phrase that is so over used these days (much like bridezilla) it's all but lost its meaning. But Daria is really a photojournalist -- she free lances for the Burlington Free Press. We didn't fill out any "must take" photos list, we didn't have to sit for endless posed portraits, it was great. In fact, we were running late before the ceremony and took all the family/wedding party photos in 10 minutes then it was off to the church!

That being said, I only have a few photos from Daria so I'm going to also share some more photos taken by our family and friends.



Beautiful Bridesmaids



Handsome Groom with his Groomsmen

Photos above by Daria Bishop



Mr. Onion with his parents, grandmother and brother



Mrs. Onion with her parents



Mrs. Onion with her new in-laws



The entire wedding party



Mr. Onion with the girls!

The Rehearsal and the Afro-Wig!

Our rehearsal began and I was a little nervous as I didn't have every detail of the ceremony planned (who would stand where etc). Our minister quickly put us all at ease with her great sense of humor and we started walking through the ceremony. I have no idea HOW I didn't notice but suddenly our minister looks at Mr. Onion's brother who was one of our groomsmen and just couldn't keep back a laugh.




He was wearing an Afro-Wig, a gold tooth, a dollar sign necklace and a belt that read "PHAT." So freakin' funny! Note the look on my father in law's face -- is it fear or embarrassment? I'm not sure. It's a good thing I have a sense of humor and have had almost 3 years to get used to my brother in law!

The rehearsal went pretty well but I still wasn't 100% sure we'd all remember everything but I had faith that our wonderful minister would keep everything running smoothly (which it did)! Here are some more pictures of the walk through (we even got to practice the kiss -- so fun)!







See how long my hair was? I had been growing it out for a year and it felt so great to get my hair cut on our honeymoon!

Next it's on to the pre-ceremony portraits...

Note: All the photos so far were taken by family and friends. Just wait -- they get even better! The only professional photos we have yet were included in my first wedding post, I *Heart* Daria Bishop.