To meringue or not to meringue...?!

Silk, Lace, Crystal Embellishment, Ribbon or even Tartan; whatever your style 'The Dress' is a big deal to any wedding day. I found my wedding dress in a vintage shop in Perth Australia whist on a working 'holiday' visa with my husband. I say the word holiday loosely as the majority of our time was spent working, especially whilst we were in Perth. When we weren't working we spent the majority of our time taking in the local sights, Aussie beer and me dragging Liam into random shops. On our first day in Perth Liam and I took a wonder around, trying to familiarise ourselves with the place that was going to be our home for the next 3 months. To our surprise it was raining, yes it was their Winter and we had just left a boiling hot Summer on the other side of the world but no one had told me it rained in Australia! Not just any old little bit of rain but it was pouring! We looked like typical tourists in our flip flops (thongs as they are known to the Aussies), shorts and factor 50 in my bag, if we didn't laugh we would have cried as this rain lasted a good few weeks. Gutted! Anyway back to our first day... we wondered into Northbridge, an area right in the heart of Perth City Centre. Northbridge had lots of bars, restaurants and my favourite; vintage shops. Often the term vintage can be a bit of a joke because honestly anything can be vintage now depending on how you perceive it. Calling something vintage because it is old or used I don't always think works but when you find something that is unique, preserved and with a history behind it that's when I think it deserves to be labelled vintage :-)

I loved my wedding dress as soon as I saw it! The shop was called Two Up Vintage and it was just by chance that Liam and I wondered in. Each collection of clothes had been separated into different colours, I always like wearing light colours so I wondered over to the clothes rail of cream and whites. I browsed through each item of clothing and then a off white lace dress caught my eye. My first reaction was '"look Liam wouldn't this make the perfect wedding dress?!" Thinking back if I knew this was going to be my actual wedding dress I wouldn't have shown it to the groom, duh! However in my defence I had no other family or friends with me to share my excitement, plus I can't keep a secret. So Liam did what most males would do and responded with "I'll wait outside while you try it on". I was very lucky because as soon as I tried on the dress it fitted me perfectly. I was really keen to show someone apart from Liam so I asked the shop assistant for her opinion and I asked her to take a photo of me in the dress to send home. I fell in love with the dress even more when she said it was made in the 50's and original purchased in America, I would love to know the history behind it. The following few days consisted of me trying on the dress a number of times to make sure I really liked it, as well as out of fear that someone else would buy it and steel it from me. Every bride-to-be worst nightmare come true! Then to my relief the owner advised me that I can give a deposit towards the dress and then pay it off over the next few weeks. Happy tourist! I fully purchased my dress 3 weeks later and it was given to me in an everyday blue carrier bag (to my horror). I know it was a vintage shop but I felt really sad having to carry my beautiful dress in a carrier bag! I had images that I would always leave the shop where I bought my wedding dress from carrying beautiful ribbon boxes and me a bit tipsy after taking advantage of the complementary champaign. Yes I was being a snob, but my happiness returned as I headed to the post office and carefully packed my wedding dress into a box and sent it on it's was to Sunny England.  

I always like sharing this story with others because I think it's a perfect example that your wedding dress should be what you want and not what others want you to have. I also feel proud of the fact that I bought this dress on my own and that I found it. My mom to be fair was a little bit disappointed that I had bought a wedding dress that she had not yet seen but when I got home I shared my story with her and I still got her and others involved with the dress. I brought my dress to a brilliant wedding shop where I purchased my veil, headband and where they advised me on some alterations. I still got to experience the fun and tradition of being in a wedding shop with my family and friends but at half the price! I really enjoyed combining the old with the new, choosing new accessories which complimented my dress and that added a bit of bridal sparkle. I imagine that there are some wedding shops which would not want your custom if you had not purchased your dress from them but I think if they turn you away then they are not worth going too. You might think that finding your wedding dress in a vintage shop is defiantly not for you or your style, but don't disregard it straight away! There are some really high quality vintage shops and hidden treasures out there, that even if you don't find a wedding dress you might gain some ideas towards the dress you do want. If you know someone who can make dresses ask them if they would be interested in making your wedding dress? There are some great materials in shops out there, especially lace (my favourite); a lot of old dresses have really strong and beautiful fabric that could be used to make your perfect gown. I believe in mixing the old with the new and that concept continued through most of my wedding preparation. Wedding dress shopping can be stressful, making sure you have invited everyone and having to plan different shopping trips with various family and friends so not to disappoint anyone; as well as the conflicting opinions. STOP! Headache already ;-) My advise is it is OK to shop for a wedding dress on your own if you want too. Figuring out in your own head what you want before the excitement of everyone else worked well for me. Everyone has their own opinion and what I loved about my dress others might not think the same but that's OK. So that was my wedding dress shopping experience, everyone has their own but I hope this will help you. Happy Shopping! :-)

 
The first photo of me wearing my wedding dress at https://www.facebook.com/TwoUpVintage