Also, my Mom's been traveling, so she fell a little behind in her writing. So you're getting Bonnie this week!
I'd like to talk a little about being prepared for the worst. I hate when unexpected things crop up, so I like to prepare ahead of time to minimize the impact. This seemed especially important where a wedding was involved!
For our guests, I took care of them with my save-a-guest kits, packed full of medical supplies, a sewing kit, safety pins, and about a dozen other useful things. I know it saved at least one guest from a pounding headache, so it was totally worth it in my book. (Hey guests - if you know of someone else using them, tell me in the comments!)
Nobody knew this, but we also had an extra dress and button-down on hand in case someone had a wardrobe malfunction. It was my Mom's runner-up Mother of the Bride dress and Tommy's runner-up shirt. Good backups for them, yes, but also good alternatives for similar-sized guests.
For myself, I had a whole variety of backups! My #1 goal of the day was to get married. My #2 goal was to not get a migraine. I had over the counter and prescription meds on hand all day. I also had some fabulous bridesmaids who made sure I ate, drank plenty of water, and stayed in a relaxed environment. No migraine!
For any post-ceremony wardrobe disasters, I had an ivory BCBG cocktail dress (reception dress). I figured if something happened to my dress, I'd still look like a bride but be perfectly comfortable in the smaller dress. I ended up changing into it when I got too hot in my wedding gown.
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| it looks a lot shorter on the model! |
While my Mom and I were driving down to South Carolina for the wedding, we had a conversation that went kind of like this:
Bonnie: "It seems weird that so many expensive wedding gowns seem to have issues. Just in the past year, I've been at two weddings where something happened to the bride's gown, and one where a bridesmaid had an issue."
Mom: "Well, just because the dress is fancy doesn't mean the thread and zippers are, too. Most wedding gowns have the same zippers you'd find in garments from Target."
Bonnie: "How long do you reckon it takes to sew someone into a wedding dress?"
Mom: "Um, about fifteen minutes I'd say."
Fast forward a week, and it was 1:00 pm on our wedding day. Makeup and hair were perfect, I had the shoes on, as well as the torturous undergarments. It was time to don the dress! I slipped it on, my Mom zipped it up, ... and the zipper separated. My bridesmaids gaped in horror. We tried to unzip it, but it was stuck at the top. Everyone kind of held their breath, expecting Mom and me to lose it. Instead, those years of costuming (and costume emergencies) kicked in, Mom pulled out the needle and thread, and she spent the next 45 minutes sewing me into the dress. Crisis averted!
I did my first look with Tommy, and we rushed off to get some pre-ceremony photos at the Battery! It's a beautiful park, but it's 100% mulched. Those amazing shots we got left us with some souvenirs - namely, mud on my dress. But never fear! Mom grabbed a wet paper towel and it rubbed away flawlessly! Thank goodness for polyester!
We absolutely, 100%, recommend the following:
- Schedule more time than you think you need. Even with my extra hour, we didn't have time for pre-ceremony family photos as planned.
- Make sure someone with a sewing kit (and who can sew) is on call. Have thread that matches the bride, groom, bridesmaids, groomsmen, and parents. Every single wedding I've attended (and I'm in my late 20's so that's a lot), I've known at least one person who had a clothing issue, many of those being the bride. I actually bring sewing kits with me to all weddings now, and tell the bride ahead of time, "call me if anyone has a wardrobe malfunction!!!"
- Be sure you know how to get stains out of your wedding dress fabric. All fabrics are different, so ask at the store what to do.
- Have some form of backup, maybe with a spare dress (for ladies) or button down (for men).
There's just no sense in letting your clothing mess up your wedding day. Plan ahead, and it'll all work out just fine.
people think that photo of me sewing is 'soooo sweet', until they hear what/why I'm doing it! But I'd have to say, as far as disasters go, we handled that one fine! You were beautiful and I loved doing it!
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