The Dress: A Saga

So, I'm not all that good at the whole bride thing. I'm not a very girly girl, and most of the time I just dress in the same old jeans and T-shirts. I don't really know how to put on makeup, and I don't even blowdry my hair - I just let it air dry. I am not a candidate for being a pretty princess on a pretty princess day.

Thus, I have certain things that I DO NOT WANT for my wedding getup:
NO train
NO strapless
NO veil
NO crinoline or ball-gown shape
NO weird lines, like a mermaid dress or pickup skirt,
etc.

The picture to the left is the best approximation of what I envisioned when I first started thinking about wedding dresses. Simple and elegant, with beautiful lines and sumptuous material (crushed velvet with beads). I found it on the Nordstrom website, but it is no longer available. I really like the Nordstrom dresses, but I don't like the idea of buying a dress online sight unseen with no idea whether I will like it in person or not. I spent many months wondering what to do, until....

I decided to ask for advice.

I talked to my mom, my friends, Charlie's mom, girls on the Knot, and many others, and they all told me basically the same thing: I should have my dress custom made. This opened a whole new set of doors for me in thinking about this problem, and my mind kept returning to the same dress, one I had seen in Evita and had always loved. I'm especially a fan of the sheer brocade panel on the back, the way the brocade works into the bodice in the front, and the kickiness of the skirt (I want it to look great when I dance). I showed this dress to a number of people, and my future mother in law, who is an accomplished seamstress, has offered to make it for me. So my wedding dress is basically going to be my dream dress, as captured in the (rather small and blurry) screenshots below. I am so excited!
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