Finally... "The Dress"

It finally came! After nearly two months of mild worry, my wedding dress finally came!

When I came home from work, I found a small yellow DHL bag on our doorstep. I was pretty confused as to how they fit a big ol' wedding dress in a square foot of packaging, but it was all there, neatly folded, so it was barely wrinkled. Amazing! (I'm easily impressed)

First, the very good news. The color of the embroidery, the look of the colored lacing down the back, the quality of the fabric - all perfect! Honestly, I don't know how it would look more like what I had wanted. And this makes me especially happy since I wasn't sure if the people I got it from could possibly get the right color from my description: "pale pastel blue embroidery with matching pale pastel blue lacing..." I'm very pleased with the quality. Absolutely luxurious fabric that's much nicer than the stuff they made the David's Bridal wedding dresses from. Very heavy, very soft, and very warm! I was tromping around my apartment with the wedding dress on, and I got hot already. (Note to self: put on extra deodorant on wedding day! =P)

Next, the nitpicky news. The dress is really hard to put on over my enormous shoulders. I needed to unlace the entire thing to get in it. Also, I kinda wish the dress part was a little bigger so the laces could form a much smaller and tighter V. I wasn't laced up very tightly (just enough that I could see what it looks like), but the laces seemed very wide to me. And I kinda wish the color of the lacing was paler, to match the embroidery, but I do like how it looks , so I'm just being anal. Also, even though the dress makes my stomach look flat, it really isn't and the "privacy panel" kept snapping out of place when I bent over. It's not really the dressmaker's fault that I love pasta and bread and potatoes, so I'm gonna have to work harder to lose a couple inches around the waist before May.

Also, Sam saw me in the dress. I was so eager to try it on, but no one but Sam was around to help me get in it, and I couldn't lace myself up, so he laced me up in it. So much for not seeing the dress before the wedding. He loves it, though.

Anyway, here's a whole barrage of pictures for everyone to enjoy.

Please excuse my messed up hair. I had just gotten home from work. Oh, and please excuse the towels too. We haven't had time to tidy up.

The back! I think for the wedding, I'll just have the laces tied in a knot instead of a bow, so the tails fall lower down the back. Also, you can't see it, but the train seems really long! It goes back about 4 feet behind me!

Back closeup.

Side front.

Front.

Front detail.

Embroidery detail. I think this picture shows it very true to color.

Side closeup.

Honestly, though, these pictures don't really do it justice. I'm so happy with how well it turned out! Even though it came late, I think I'll give the seller a positive feedback anyway. I mean, I got a $800+ dress for $264 including shipping and delivery insurance. I certainly feel like I came out ahead with this one.