Jewish Weddings

Finding gowns with sleeves / higher necklines?

Hi!

I'm very new here (as in, joined this afternoon) so please forgive me for any faux pas!

We're in the early stages of planning a Conservative ceremony at a Jewish chapel on a military installation. The officiant will be a Jewish chaplain of as-yet unknown denomination, but probably Orthodox.

I'm sure I'll have zillions of questions later on, but right now I'm getting all girly and looking at dresses, and not finding *anything* I'd consider appropriate for the venue / officiant / our beliefs. I don't wear short sleeves or low-cut necklines in "real life," and I don't want to start on my wedding day.

Any suggestions?

Chava


Re: Finding gowns with sleeves / higher necklines?

  • LBRM_NJLBRM_NJ member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Don't restrict your searching!  Most bridal stores or seamstresses can add sleeves to most dresses!  Raising the neckline is a little harder, but, there are definitely some options and there are lots of dresses that do not show any cleavage as designed.

    Good luck!  We're here for any questions you have!
    Lisa
    The Knot lost my info, but, I've been married since 6/19/05!
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  • edited December 2011
    I had the same issue (I'm also not a fan of low-cut necklines), and my dress shopping experience turned out to be surprisingly easy.  I googled "modest wedding dresses", and it turned out there was a small shop in my area that specializes in more modest dresses - all of their dresses have sleeves and higher necklines.  These dresses DO exist, you just have to figure out where to look!  I would suggest searching online to see what you can find, and then going to the stores that carry dresses you like with an idea in mind.  GL! :)
    Anniversary
  • shortee426shortee426 member
    Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Chava,  Are there a lot of other Jewish women that live in your area?  Perhaps they can recommend where to look for a modest dress.  Otherwise, as PPs said you can do a google search for "modest wedding gowns" or just try on whatever gown you think looks pretty and see if sleeves/higher neckline can be added.


    LBRM...I LOVE you siggy! J and I are both huge Mets fans and I can't wait to buy our future children their first mets attire.
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    Anniversary
  • Chava4Chava4 member
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks so much for the suggestions! I'll definitely try including "modest" in my search terms (and trying to filter out all the short sleeve LDS dresses!)

    Unfortunately, the Jewish community where I live is tiny, and there isn't actually a Conservative synagogue at all. We belong to the Reform synagogue (one of only 4 synagogues in the entire state!)
  • edited December 2011
    I had a difficult time finding a dress that suited my style. I discovered that the brand Casablanca will do alterations to a dress before it arrives, but only if you find a good wedding dress store (not every shop offered me this option). Instead of a low cut halter top, my dress came in with shoulder straps and a sweetheart neckline. I bet they'd do sleeves as well. Hope that helps!
  • LBRM_NJLBRM_NJ member
    First Anniversary First Comment
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_jewish-weddings_finding-gowns-sleeves-higher-necklines?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:399Discussion:4a727812-43cc-46d5-919d-ad495956e28ePost:c58b8765-5a01-4b73-bc2f-cf9202fb4d3b">Re: Finding gowns with sleeves / higher necklines?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Chava,  Are there a lot of other Jewish women that live in your area? LBRM...I LOVE you siggy! J and I are both huge Mets fans and I can't wait to buy our future children their first mets attire.
    Posted by shortee426[/QUOTE]

    Aw, thanks!!!  She had quite a few Mets things to wear!  I actually dressed her in this Mets onesie and hat on opening day this past season and took a bunch of pics.  When I looked at them, these jumped out at me as perfect for a storyboard!!
    Lisa
    The Knot lost my info, but, I've been married since 6/19/05!
    image
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker My Blog - "Helping Make Sense"
  • becunning2becunning2 member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Ahh, a fellow member of the frozen chosen!  I was born in Alaska!  In fact, I'm wearing my favorite Alaska hoodie right now! 

    But Alaskan commiserations aside, I think other people have offered some good advice.  Google modest dresses, and see what you come up with.  And you do have a possible advantange to being in Alaska too--those bridal stores might be more used to adding long sleeves and making other such alterations. 

    Don't rule out a store because they're online pictures show dresses that you would consider to be inappropriate.  Call up some of the ones in your area and just ask them if they have more modest dresses or if their dresses are appropriate for that kind of alteration.  You could also add a bolero or some other kind of jacket to the dress to give you the sleeve length your looking for.  Otherwise... there's always ordering a dress online and the lovely shipping fees to Alaska! 

    (I'm very amused by dresses with removable modesty panels for brides with removable modesties!  Heheheh, okay that's totally unrelated...).

  • chavanolachavanola member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I second a lot of the suggestions already provided...the internet is your friend when it comes to modest bridal wear.  Also, depending on what you consider sleeves and lower necklines--boleros, and lace sleeves can generally be added/found relatively easily (I wanted collar bone high and opaque sleeves at least 3/4 length, but if you are comfortable with cap sleeves or even a slightly lower neckline you will probably have a lot more luck than I did). 

    I would also consider getting your dress made (I ended up doing that).  Even though I live in the Northeast and went shopping in the NYC area (where there are plenty of shops geared toward modest Jewish bridal wear) I had a specific idea in mind and it ended up being in my budget.  this place does it I know http://www.tovamarc.com/mobrgo.html --the pics aren't fancy but the dresses come out great in real life.

    If you're on a  budget definitely ask for pricing to build up a dress before you make any trips to bridal stores (it could save you time and energy).  I called a well known bridal boutique that specifically advertises their ability to convert a gown for you and they only dresses they had to build sleevs and a neckline to started at $4k (and that was before the charges for the alterations).

    Good luck with your search!
  • edited December 2011
    you might do a jacket/bolero that buttons up if you dont' find something you like

    plus

    adele wesltcher (sp?) does more conservative gowns...
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