How to manage in a "ball gown"

jrkjpf

I do not plan on buying a dress until this winter/next spring since our wedding is not until  Sept 2012. But a few weeks ago, i fell in love with a dress while mom and I were "looking". I tried it on, everyone cried, etc. I ALMOST purchased it because it was on the discontinued list, but logically talked myself out of it. I fell in love with the entire look of it, tulle ball gown with a cathedral length train. I found one very very similar in the spring updated catalog that I plan on putting on my must try on list.

I like the overall look and feel of the ball gown style, but then it hit me, how do you manage in such a dress so large? How do you sit and eat, how do you make your way up and down such a large staircase, how do you manage to get in and out of a car?

Anyone dress in a large tulle or satin ball gown, and how did you make it work?

jessekca

When I tried on my ball gown, I found a chair and immediately sat down to see how it felt, I loved it!...My future sister-in-law just got married in a large ball gown and she had people help her get up and down the stairs and into the car...Its very managable and I'm sure if you need alittle help people will be willing to assist you.

gymbugmj2k

haha. a similar thing happened to me.  i like the corset top/beaded skirt look of the ballgowns, but i'm 5'2! ...it was GORGEOUS on me, but wayyyy too much dress.  I love to dance, and quickly realized I wouldn't be able to in a dress like that.  I just had to accept that it was a great dress -- just not for me.
I found that A-line dresses gave me a bit more movement.

I suppose what you need to remember is that people should be looking at you in the dress, not the dress on you. if you're uncomfortable, or hindered by it, then perhaps its not what you should buy --- unless you're okay with worrying about the dress/your movements all day.


...also, it may depend on the dress you want, but i'd suggest buying no later than december/january.  i've heard dresses take like 6 months to arrive, and then you'll have to schedule fittings and things.  if the salon is busy, those may take awhile to finish. I doubt you want the stress of an unfinished dress.

jrkjpf

I did think about the dancing part too, we are spending waaaaay too much money to have a top of the line DJ because the dancing part is very important to us.
I guess because this was the only dress i tried on, i feel that I must have something close and have nothing else to compare it to. I could completely change my mind by then, but I was just sort of dwelling on how to get around and all.

mattycam

I am 5'2 and had a ballgown/princess dress. It was tulle, poofy and I loved it! It took 5 people to help me put it on (4 bm + my mom), when sitting down it was a lot of dress but I still danced,was able to get around and had a great time!

caseyandlizzie

You could try on an A-line dress with a more full crinoline to see if that is more manageable if you're concerned about the full ballgown.

mandi921vh

My dress is a modified ball gown so I still get the ball gown feel and look without too much poof and it's easy to do things in.

jrkjpf

It was actually very similar to this... clicky here
Except it was a halter top, and the ends of tulle layers were about 2" wide white silk. It was amazing. I am not too thrilled about alines, mainly because they seem to be kind of, plain in my eyes. We all have different tastes, and for some reason, I just love details, sparkles, etc.
I think the anticipation is what is going to get to me the most

naomikb

A while ago I read this... good advice for manoeuvering/peeing in a big wedding dress:

http://www.projectwedding.com/wedding-ideas/peeing-while-wearing-the-dress

jrkjpf

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_manage-ball-gown?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:15Discussion:d82066c5-46b9-4c44-a2b3-d31a809dc7fbPost:4b05e8cf-2846-4d02-a225-c79b1c6df913">Re: How to manage in a "ball gown"</a>:
[QUOTE]A while ago I read this... good advice for manoeuvering/peeing in a big wedding dress: <a href="http://www.projectwedding.com/wedding-ideas/peeing-while-wearing-the-dress" rel='nofollow'>http://www.projectwedding.com/wedding-ideas/peeing-while-wearing-the-dress</a>
Posted by naomikb[/QUOTE]

Haha that is awesome, thank you. Funniest thing, i forgot the "peeing" part

hz80408

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_manage-ball-gown?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:15Discussion:d82066c5-46b9-4c44-a2b3-d31a809dc7fbPost:58484a9d-18dc-4d58-823f-e568822b94b9">Re: How to manage in a "ball gown"</a>:
[QUOTE]You could try on an A-line dress with a more full crinoline to see if that is more manageable if you're concerned about the full ballgown.
Posted by caseyandlizzie[/QUOTE]

This is what I had.  I really didn't have issues dancing or sitting in it.  The only thing was that I needed at least 2 friends to help hold my dress whenever I went to the bathroom.
 
These kind of show how full it was with the crinoline:

<a href="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/images/store/7/11/e78fc4d8-bec3-4bfc-9bf9-7d157ee522a5.large.jpg" title="Click to view a larger photo" onclick="return gSiteLife.LoadForumPage('ForumImage', 'plckPhotoId', 'e78fc4d8-bec3-4bfc-9bf9-7d157ee522a5', 'plckRedirectUrl', gSiteLife.EscapeValue(window.location.href));" class="PhotoLink"><img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/images/store/7/11/e78fc4d8-bec3-4bfc-9bf9-7d157ee522a5.medium.jpg" alt="" /></a>


<a href="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/images/store/12/14/ec8fcb6d-362f-4e17-bed7-312ff9172143.large.jpg" title="Click to view a larger photo" onclick="return gSiteLife.LoadForumPage('ForumImage', 'plckPhotoId', 'ec8fcb6d-362f-4e17-bed7-312ff9172143', 'plckRedirectUrl', gSiteLife.EscapeValue(window.location.href));" class="PhotoLink"><img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/images/store/12/14/ec8fcb6d-362f-4e17-bed7-312ff9172143.medium.jpg" alt="" /></a>

sklubritt

HZ, I just have to say, you are SO pretty!

hz80408

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_manage-ball-gown?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:15Discussion:d82066c5-46b9-4c44-a2b3-d31a809dc7fbPost:22e8c8dd-a006-4d88-b40b-c23c9f498b5a">Re: How to manage in a "ball gown"</a>:
[QUOTE]HZ, I just have to say, you are SO pretty!
Posted by sklubritt[/QUOTE]

haha, aw, thanks! I wish I had a hair and makeup team to look how I did in my wedding pics everyday. <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-tongue-out.gif" border="0" alt="Tongue out" title="Tongue out" />

SusanK77

The link you posted is my EXACT dress!!!! I loved it. I even got the extra full slip to make sure it is poofy enough. It wasn't hard to move around in and it wasn't heavy either. I am only 5'3 and absolutely love the dress.

jrkjpf

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_attire-accessories_manage-ball-gown?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:15Discussion:d82066c5-46b9-4c44-a2b3-d31a809dc7fbPost:69bcaafa-7d6c-4e28-9ec2-8ad6d251f649">Re: How to manage in a "ball gown"</a>:
[QUOTE]The link you posted is my EXACT dress!!!! I loved it. I even got the extra full slip to make sure it is poofy enough. It wasn't hard to move around in and it wasn't heavy either. I am only 5'3 and absolutely love the dress.
Posted by SusanK77[/QUOTE]

Oh good! I am so excited to go try it on, I just know if i do it now, I will want it lol
I am about 5'3 as well, and plan on wearing flip flops...shhhh ;)
But overall I just love the look of a tulle ball gown and hope that "the one" is that.

hz80408

Good luck! I hope you like it!