Wedding Dresses For Under $1,000! Thanks, Sue Wong

I just discovered L.A. designer Sue Wong's fantastic gowns, created with gorgeous Jazz Era-beading, tons of tulle, whimsical whispers of feather, and gorgeous gems, jewels and embellishments. And you KNOW how I love an embellishment. (Taylor Swift, Pink, Anne Hathaway, Christina Ricci and lots more lovely ladies have all worn Sue Wong's designs.) Now, these dresses aren't specifically designed as wedding dresses, but hi! That's part of why they're under $1,000 each! You could buy and wear THREE Sue Wong dresses in one night for the price of one actual wedding dress.

Check out a few Sue Wong dresses I'd rawk down the aisle in a hot second:

($578, Sue Wong, LordandTaylor.com)

($658, Sue Wong, Bloomingdales.com)

($518, Sue Wong, Lordandtaylor.com)

($328, Sue Wong, Bloomingdales.com)


($508, Sue Wong, Bloomingdales.com)

Best Worst Wedding Dress Ever!

(Via Telegraph.co.uk)

Yawl. Tonight is my first dress fitting. Only a genius such as myself would plan a fitting for five seconds after Thanksgiving. Anyway, thanks to the magic of altering, hopefully my dress will look almost as fantastic as this Russian chick's rather immodest wedding dress.

Wedding Dress Steals: J. Crew Silk Sophia Gown

Errrrryone be gettin' hitched up in herre. My fiance's sister just got engaged, so we're off to HAWAII in just a few months for her beachside wedding. NOT mad at it! She's looking for a simple white dress, and I saw this one in the new J. Crew catalog (which, BEE TEE DUBS, I love ALMOST EVERYTHING IN! Ann Taylor isn't the only maje retailer that's stepped it ALL the way up! W2GJC!), and it's so simple and beautiful:

($395, J Crew)

It's the "Sophia" dress, and for under $400, you'd think it'd be cotton or jersey or something, but it's silk and it's beautiful, especially for a summery beach wedding. The dress is styled far better in the catalog -- the model is hunched over like a sad emo lady -- and is wearing a gorgeous statement necklace, which is what's so great about this necklace -- it's flattering in the high waist, and it's simple but not boring and a great canvas to personalize it with some beautiful, possibly bright (if you're me) accessories. Also, since the straps are thicker, it's perfect if you're a big-busted bride or for whatever boobs you do or don't have. Plus, the empire waist (versus mermaidy tightness) means you can have at it with the pizza without the punishment of Spanx. My own wedding dress is a similar style -- I've been doin' work on my arms, but a totally flat tum is just pretty much not in the cards for me.

Anyway, check out how pretty it is in grey too:
With some yellowy or magenta-y accessories? OMG. Beautastic.

($395, J. Crew)

Also gorgeous -- the Whitney silk dress with a pretty sash that actually doesn't suck.

The MOST Beautiful Vintage 1950s Wedding Dresses Evar.

If you dream of wearing a 1950s vintage Mad Men-inspired wedding dress (though hopefully you don't aspire to a marriage like Joan or Betty's) AND have a waist that's less than like 27 inches, check out these dream-worthy vintage wedding dresses from Etsy seller Fab Gabs, who even styles her seller's photos so it looks as if she's partying like it's 1959.

($395, William Cahill, Fabgabs.etsy.com)

This dress has FIVE -- count 'em, FIVE -- Mcdreamy layers of tulle. You could be riding a bike or wearing snow pants under there and no one would know. It's so gorgeous I can barely breathe. Bury me in it. But leave the back unzipped, because this bad boy's got a 25" waist. Talk about waiting to exhale. (Shooby!) And credit where it's due -- The Bridal Wishlist scouted this one out!

($225, Fabgabs.etsy.com)

SIX layers of tulle! FOR WHEN FIVE will not do! It's SO beautiful, and I love the sweetheart neckline, but with a 28" underbust: 28" and 24" waist, I'd have to get several ribs removed and drink all my meals through a straw. Ah, but what price fashion? (Side note: the woman who sold me my wedding dress told me that a girl she sold a dress to had to cancel her final fitting because she'd starved herself to the point that she fell over and cracked her head open and had to get about 40 stitches. AHH, admirable committment!)

($250, Fabgabs.etsy.com)

My absolute favorite for that super lacey post-modern dash of Madonna.

PS -- I know I'm probably tardy to the party, but did you see Christina Hendricks on/ in In Style Weddings? (That's my only other non-barfy bridal mag besides New York Magazine Weddings.)

TEAM JOAN! Girl, you could do sidebends and sit-ups, but PLEASE don't lose that butt!

The Most Expensive Outfit I Ever Wore

So, yeah. I'm married. So, wanna see what I wore? I didn't get a $5 wedding dress, or a $50 thrift-store wedding dress, or even a $250 Running of the Brides dress (my bridesmaids REFUSED to go with me!), so basically this ended being the titular Most Expensive Outfit I Ever Wore. It's sort of sickening, really, but I do plan on selling the dress, if possible, so I can buy, like, some boots or something. I'm keeping the shoes, though. Anyway, drum roll please!

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THE DRESS!

I was absolutely thrilled to find my dress at the Bridal Garden, a New York City shop that sells dresses that have been donated by designers and brides and whose proceeds benefit New York City children's education (currently a charter school in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn). I was even more thrilled with my dress, an Anne Barge trunk-show sample from her spring 2008 La Fleur line that had never been worn. I got a ton of compliments on it. Love those little bows! Here's how it looked when I was getting ready:






And here's how it looked swishing down the aisle with my dad:



THE SHOES

I have talked at length about my shoes. Anyone who doesn't know I wore rubber Vivienne Westwood for Melissa shoes with red hearts on the toes hasn't been paying attention. People adored them. I didn't even get one "different," although my mom did laugh in a way that suggested she wasn't 100% in favor of the decision. You can get them, and lots of other Melissa shoes, via Epaulet in Brooklyn, online or in person.




THE HAIR ACCESSORY

I got this fantabulously fun ostrich-feather hair piece from New York City milliner Artikal:



The designer, Holly Slayton-Chance, does lots of cool fascinators as well as veils and hats. To me this piece sort of echoed the freedom and movement of the bows at the bottom of my dress, and just screamed FUN! You can get her pieces for reasonable prices direct from her (either at her East Village studio or online), or pay a gigantic markup at Kleinfeld's. Yeah.


THE JEWELRY

I'm not really a jewelry person, and I didn't know for sure what I was going to wear for jewelry until the day of the wedding. The necklace was from Etsy seller Tree and Kimball, made of vintage lace with a little blue bead (something blue!):



Looking at the photos, I realized it doesn't photograph that well, but whatever. We all liked that the bead sort of nestled in my cleavage. I borrowed my bridesmaid Randi's grandmother's watch for my something borrowed as well as her diamond studs even though I never wear earrings. And that was that!

THE BAG

Yep, Etsy again. Gotta love it! I got this to-die-for vintage crystal-beaded purse for $25:



It came with two matching clip-on earrings and a great shoe clip (sadly, only one, because it would have made a great earring itself). I barely used this all night but I DID need to reapply lip gloss, after all, so. There. I DID need a bag! Take that, naysayers! Plus, it's gorgeous!


THE SECOND DRESS

Yes, that's right, I had a second dress. For dancing. ("What a DIVA!" they said.) It was a short little Betsey Johnson number that I simply couldn't resist. I'd discovered while dress shopping that I unexpectedly loved lace, and this was a really interesting type of open-work lace:





Also, it was $50. And I was really happy to be able to change into it before the cake cutting, because it was hot and humid that night, and we were dancing our faces off.


DRESS #3 and HAIR ACCESSORY #2

Oh yes I did! I had a dress for the afterparty, too.



I actually bought it before the Betsey Johnson, intending it as the dancing dress, but then I couldn't resist the Betsey Johnson and felt it was fancier, and so this became the afterparty dress. It is vintage and sweet and easily the most comfortable dress of the three. I got a ton of compliments on it, with some people even voting it their favorite of the three (by a hair, I think/hope!). Not too many people were still taking pictures at this point (our photographer had left), so this is the best I've got so far:



The headband is from Forever 21. Loved it, too.

THE BRIDAL PARTY

You've all been patiently waiting to find out what I made Tamron and the rest of my ladies wear. I chose J.Crew dresses: easy and cute. I wasn't really sure about the color (fresh mint, in the Crew's parlance) until the day of the wedding, when all my girls looked so beautiful, especially against the backdrop of the lake.



Eagle-eyed readers will notice that Tamar sluttily shortened her dress and later paired it with silver Toms for dancing (of which I was profoundly jealous). All the bridesmaids wore silver shoes of their own choosing , and I got them all different silver bow necklaces from Etsy, to echo the bows on my dress. Here's Tamar and her fiancé — how do they make their eyes sparkle like that??



Moving on to the boys: They wore black suits and stripey multicolor-blue ties (see the pic of my brother, above).



We didn't want to spend a lot of money on ties, so we got stripey aqua ties for $15 each at thetiebar.com. Don't judge. The colors were perfect and complemented the groom's tie, too.


THE GROOM

The groom wore a windowpane-print Hickey Freeman suit that (even on sale) cost more than my dress and still needs to be cleaned. He looked absolutely fabulous in it, even when he'd sweated through to the pits. (Note to future brides: Make sure he wears a V-neck T-shirt underneath if he's a schvitzer—wife-beaters not so classy in this situation!)



And that's all she wrote as far as my wedding fashion is concerned. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to take a totally normal walk in a meadow with my husband!

Random Wedding Dress Love: Jovani (Plus A Few Gross Options For Prom!)

Jovani makes some wack-ass shit, to be sure. Especially in the prom dress department. Like, for example this PLAID, TAFFETA prom dress:

Plaid and taffeta -- never the two shall meet. Except for that they DID.

... And this prom dress that looks like 1,001 Dalmatians are now about 23 dalmatians short...

... And this dress, which makes me reconsider freedom of expression

But, aside from all of that, I must say, I think this 1930s/1940s-inspired Jovani wedding dress is completely gorgeous:
I'm not sure where you can buy it, but it's Jovani #195779320. Ask for it by name!

+ Classic Binge: When Prom Dresses Attack!

To-Die-For Vintage Wedding Dress On Etsy!

($300, VonlenskaVintage.Etsy.com)

Granted, you'd definitely be flipping the script a little, but if you're looking for a super non-traditional vintage wedding dress, then seriously? Yes. This cream-colored, beaded drop-waist dress has more potential than Lindsay Lohan circa late 2004 -- like, right after she did Mean Girls but before she slid down the coke ladder and into the anorexic abyss.

I love how it's sorta '30s-meets-'80s but not overly either, which makes it still sort of modern without screaming "I THRIFTED THIS AND THEN WORE IT TO MY WEDDING!" Because there's a time and a place for yelling about thrifted stuff, but maybe your wedding isn't it.

Anyway, this could also be a lovely end-of-night dress, if you're so inclined. I'm not, but if you are, then go for it.

Jenny Packham Trunk Show At Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier

Brides and bridal types who love reading about bridal stuff -- I think/ hope I'm gonna get my dress this weekend! Weeeee! I have an appointment at Mark Ingram Bridal Atelier (they're having a Jenny Packham trunk show May 14 - 16). I went to Mark Ingram earlier this year for a sample sale and had SUCH a pleasant, non-pushy, non-bridal-factory experience, and one of the seriously non-pushy saleswomen (I know -- I couldn't believe it either) brought me a Jenny Packham sample dress. Unexpectedly, I feel in love with it, basically said Yes to that dress ;p and on Saturday, I'm going back to try it on and a few more Jenny Packham dresses (I figured I might as well since I'm not in any hurry) and... um, yeah. I guess I'm maybe gonna get a dress! A Jenny Packham dress. Woah.

I'm not posting a photo of the exact dress here because SOMEONE's being all superstitious, but here's a sampling of some of Jenny Packham's old-Hollywood style.

Oh, and I'll of course let you, the interested bridal sorts, know how my Mark Ingram experience went -- I've only heard great things about their customer service, and my few experiences so far have been great (the sample sale, promptness returning phone calls, oh yeah, and when I first tried on the Jenny Packham dress at that sample sale, I guess I really must've been that excited, because I accidentally left my cell phone and a necklace there, and they were very good about getting them back to me), so I'll let you know how it went.

By the way, the first photo is the Jenny Packham Rosalind dress I love dearly but it's around $5,000. Not happening. The bottom photo is from Jenny Packham's Spring 2009 runway collection. The two right above that are from Jenny Packham's Spring 2010 bridal collection.

The $1 Million Peacock Wedding Dress

I don't really care if the ENTIRE PEACOCK POPULATION needs to be become extinct in order for me to own this peacock dress, exhibited at a wedding expo at in China. I just WANT it. Main factor deterrent -- I don't have 2000+ peacocks. Other issue: I don't have $1.5 million dollars. Minor setbacks. Actually, no, I don't want it. It's sorta scary looking, and it makes me feel like we all owe peacocks a major apology. I just wanted to make that joke about the entire peacock population becoming extinct to make one dress.

Witness the horror yourself at LuxuryLaunches. Or, check out more reasonable peacock fashions, dresses and accessories.