Bride | 12k Wedding Blog

August 27, 2011 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Behind the Scenes, DIY

So, don’t judge me, but I just picked up my dress from the cleaners yesterday.

Sure I got married two years ago and I put my dress in the cleaners almost a year ago. But whatever. Life happens.

Anyway, being the miser that I am, I didn’t want to pay the extra money to the cleaners to have them put my dress in a preservation box. They simply cleaned it and hung it back up for me in a white bag.

Aside: I’m pretty disappointed that they couldn’t get all the dirt and marks out of the hem area. The rest of the dress looks good, but I was had my hopes up for that part I guess. Oh well.

Anyway.

So my dress is hanging up and I need to find a way to actually preserve it. One day I may sell it, but I’m not really planning on it any time soon. So I need to figure something out for now.

Here’s what I gather from doing a little research.

The dress should lay flat to avoid undue stress and sagging on the seams from hanging
The box should be lined with acid free paper and be acid free itself
The box should be taped to keep out any bugs while the dress is in storage

A lot of the DIY preservation kits I’ve seen online are in my opinion too expensive. My other issue with them is that the creators of the boxes tried to be too fancy and ended up putting gold Victorian features all over it and making it look super gaudy.

It’s like wedding dresses have come up since the 80’s but the preservation boxes haven’t.

So as usual, I’m trying to figure out how to make my own preservation box.

So far, I’m thinking I’ll get a big white box and some acid-free tissue paper from Jo-Ann’s or Michael’s. Some of the pre-made boxes have windows into the box, bu I don’t need to be able to see into the box to make sure the dress is still there. I’m sure it’s not going anywhere. Since the box won’t be going on display in a museum and will likely end up on top of my portable closet in the basement, I think this should be sufficient.

What do you guys think? Have you seen any decent DIY preservation kits or should I just do it my way?

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Technorati Tags: acid free paper, acid free tissue paper, Bridal Gown, Bride, DIY, Preservation, preservation boxes, storage, Wedding Dress

A Wedding Day Gift For Each Other

June 17, 2011 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Behind the Scenes

Before we got married, I’d watch these wedding shows and the groom would have a gift delivered to the bride the morning of the wedding. Sometimes it was just a hand-written card. But sometimes it was a hand-written card and an extravagant, over the top piece of jewelry.

Now. Maybe it’s because we were on a 12k budget. But probably not. I couldn’t bring myself to even consider exchanging gifts with my groom on our wedding day. To us, the only gifts needed on that day, was the wedding we just paid for and the life we were about to embark on together.

So you tell me. Am I wrong on this one? Is it customary for the bride and groom to exchange wedding day gifts? If so, why?

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Technorati Tags: Bride, Gift, Groom, Present

Nice Hanger Now, Nice Pictures Later

June 13, 2011 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: Photography, The Bride's Stuff

It’s one of those commonly overlooked details.

You pack everything up the night before nice and neat, labeled and organized. Your dress is steamed and bagged and ready to go.

Your wedding comes and goes and it’s time to look through your pictures.

But what is that awful metal and plastic contraption supporting your gorgeous dress?!

It’s the hanger that you grabbed last minute and didn’t even imagine would rear its ugly head. But it did.

Now all of your wedding pictures are super perfect and everything you imagined – except of course for the hanger.

Thankfully, our photographer was thoughtful enough to mention to me beforehand to bring a nice hanger for dress pictures. I happen to have a dress form that I used, but there’s no way I would’ve thought to bring it on my own.

So here’s my nudge to you, my fellow brides. Take a few minutes and spend a few dollars if you have to. Find yourself a hanger that you won’t mind looking at over and over again when you’re taking a trip down wedding memories lane.

A friend of mine recently attended a bridal shower and instead of just mentioning it to the bride, she went all the way and gave her a custom hanger as a gift. Both practical and thoughtful. It’s perfect.

My friend found her personalized hanger at the Etsy Shop, The Painted House and More. There are a bunch of different options. You can have a common word bent in the wire like love or Mrs., but you can also take it a step further and order a custom name, like Mrs. Williams, for instance.

So do yourself a favor and remember the little details like this one. Believe me you’ll be glad you did.

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Technorati Tags: Bridal Gown, Bride, Dress, Hanger, Pictures, Wedding Gown

And the Winner is…

August 23, 2008 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: The Bride's Stuff

Marta!

Yes – This beautiful dress is the one that I’ve chosen. It fits almost perfectly and will need minimal alterations. I love that it’s simple, but with some interesting details. I’m not sure if it’s clear from the picture, but the top has pleat-like architectural detail that I love.

And it’s not stark white, either, which I didn’t want. It is strapless, and for a long time I didn’t think I would get a strapless dress. After trying on a few strapless dresses in a bridal salon and having the consultant tell me I could pull it off with some good alterations, I gave in.

The dress may have cost a little more than I would’ve liked, but after looking for so long and loving this one more each time I looked at it, I splurged. It probably means I’ll have to cut costs somewhere else, but I don’t regret my decision.

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Technorati Tags: Bride, Dress, gown

I Got My Dress

August 9, 2008 by Mrs. 12k | Filed in: The Bride's Stuff

I didn’t go the traditional route to find my dress. Rather than visit a bunch of bridal boutiques, I started my search online. I used to work in a bridal salon, so I kind of had an idea of what I wanted. Plus, since I’m a shortie (only 5′1″) I knew I couldn’t get a huge, poofy cinderella gown. It would be way too overwhelming.

I did visit one bridal salon. The first time it was during a Monique L’huillier trunk show and the second time it was during their annual sample sale. Two very good reasons, in my opinion. Both visits were fruitless, but I wasn’t discouraged.

I scoured different used wedding dress sites online including oncewed.com, preownedweddingdresses.com, partypop.com, eBay, craigslist, and the Weddingbee Classifieds. I ended up finding my dress on Oncewed and I couldn’t be happier.

I was a little hesitant about getting a used dress, because it’s just that – used. But my persistence paid off and I got lucky. My dress was a once-tried-on sample, sold to me by the bride who’d planned on wearing it. The transaction was smooth and my dress arrived in just a few days.

The dress fits almost perfectly, is in excellent condition and I got a really, really good deal on it. I couldn’t be happier.

I know you’re probably wondering where my pictures are or what my dress looks like. I’ll just say this – the dress can be found on the designer Michelle Roth’s website. Can you guess which one it is?

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