4.5 years later, my wedding look is "validated" by Duchess Catherine

Jasmine&Rajah

Ballgown - check
Long sleeves - check
Drop veil - check
Blusher - check
Tiara - check (mine probably cost a bit less . . . )

Although I did have my hair put up.  My aunts and grandmothers would have positively keeled over if I'd worn it down.  The horrors!  :-D

All kidding aside . . . I thought she looked so fabulous.  Elegant, modest, and yes, like a (presumed future) queen should look.

Edited to correct her title.  And because I was thinking "validated," and typed "verifed."  Awesome.

newlyseliski

I love it!  I could not find a lace sleeved dress for a reasonable price anywhere when I was looking last year... Undoubtedly, she'll start a good trend that will hopefully give us girls who can't pull off strapless or don't want strapless dresses some more options   A bit too late for me!  Thankfully, my fabulous seamstress is working some miracles with the top of my dress right now.

bel138

This is EXACTLY what I wanted. But could I find it for less than $5k? NO! I even considered having a gown made from a pattern that was based on Princess Grace's dress, which is similar. But now of course, knock offs will be everywhere. Two years too late...

ring_pop

I loved the wedding! All of it!

Jasmine&Rajah

[QUOTE]This is EXACTLY what I wanted . . . But now of course, knock offs will be everywhere. Two years too late...
Posted by bel138[/QUOTE]

Seriously.  I was thrilled when I learned that Casablanca Bridal customizes gowns, and that was how I ended up with the dress I wanted - but I had to buy it "sight unseen" first!

Calypso1977

i really hope the beauty and modesty of her gown changes the hideous strapless trend, at least enough to offer more choices for those of us who dont want to look like a harlot in church.

Riss91

Jasmine - do you have pics of your dress? Would love to see! Kate's dress looked a lot like my mother's. So beautiful!

linzluvsgzuss

Wow, Calypso, that's a pretty broad generalization and harsh word. I know there are many women who wear straplses dresses that are very revealing - far too much for church, but to say all strapless dresses make one look like a harlot?

I loved Dutchess Catherine's dress - she looked beautiful and elegant. I was super stoked that their one and only reading (Romans 12) is the reading FI and I picked a couple months ago for our Second Reading. And I thought the homily was beautiful.

GulfCoaster

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_45-years-later-wedding-look-verified-princess-catherine?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:19285270-caf1-4870-b33a-9372cfc97fc4Post:d29322d7-a505-4b74-b8d6-393161f8a458">Re: 4.5 years later, my wedding look is "validated" by Duchess Catherine</a>:
[QUOTE]i really hope the beauty and modesty of her gown changes the hideous strapless trend, at least enough to offer more choices for those of us who dont want to look like a harlot in church.
Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

I wore a strapless gown but I don't think I looked like a harlot.  <img src="http://cdn.cl9.vanillaforums.com/downloaded/ver1.0/content/scripts/tinymce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-embarassed.gif" border="0" alt="Embarassed" title="Embarassed" />

Now, if the long-sleeved dresses in my price range had looked like the princess's dress, I just might have opted for a long-sleeved one.  Instead, all the long-sleeved dresses under $5,000 resembled 1980s-era concoctions of lace and poof.  I tried all the long-sleeved dresses on at multiple bridal salons, but all the dresses were hideous, so I opted for a classy strapless Maggie Sottero gown. 

I do hope that the princess's gorgeous dress today will lead to a greater variety of gowns with sleeves being available. 

ootmother2

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_45-years-later-wedding-look-verified-princess-catherine?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:615Discussion:19285270-caf1-4870-b33a-9372cfc97fc4Post:d29322d7-a505-4b74-b8d6-393161f8a458">Re: 4.5 years later, my wedding look is "validated" by Duchess Catherine</a>:
[QUOTE]i really hope the beauty and modesty of her gown changes the hideous strapless trend, at least enough to offer more choices for those of us who dont want to look like a harlot in church.
Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

whoa!

That's a pretty nasty comment, Calypso!

Not everyone thinks strapless gowns are hideous, nor do brides choosing to wear them look like harlots in church.

btw, you stated in a post about your BIL's wedding that you didn't want strapless because you were on the large size.  I certainly don't flame that as we are all different sizes and try to look our best regardless of being too large or too skinny.

I really think an apoliogy is due here.

mica178

I've got to say, Calypso, that not everyone who wears a strapless gown looks like a harlot.  I know that some dresses can be risque, but I think most of the posters here know what's appropriate for a church wedding.  There are a lot of brides on CW (myself included -- okay I'm biased) who wore strapless gowns in their weddings that managed to look demure and un-prostitute-y.


Eta: That's a bishop who seems to think that I'm not a harlot and fit to marry his namesake (read: favorite) nephew. 

ootmother2

add on

We looked at about 10 different bridal salons, including Ramona Keveza who had some lovely lace bodice gowns.  The Ramona Kevaza lace, long sleeved gown made her look like a stick when she is just slim by nature.

Trust me, Saks, Neiman's, Vera Wang, Amsale, even that crazy place up near you, Calypso, Yolanda's (?) had tons of gowns and M chose the one that suited her style best at Carolina Herrera here in NYC.

Yes, it was strapless but NOT low cut as she is a pretty modest young woman.  AND she looked lovely.  I'm sure you saw her picture when I had them in my bio.

Yes, I probably will have to confess how pissed off you made me today.

end rant

Calypso1977

"harlot" was probably harsh wording.  ill apologize for that, and chalk it up to being tired and cranky since i was up at 430 am for the wedding!

but clearly my personal opinion on strapless in a church is not one that is held only by me, as evidenced by the many priests and parishes that dont allow them or request that a cover up be worn with any dress. 

for those of you who did wear strapless, do you regularly wear tube tops or strapless dresses to church on sunday?  and if you dont, because you feel they arent appropriate, why would your wedding day be any different? 

ootmother2

[QUOTE]In Response to Re: 4.5 years later, my wedding look is "validated" by Duchess Catherine : I wore a strapless gown but I don't think I looked like a harlot.  Now, if the long-sleeved dresses in my price range had looked like the princess's dress, I just might have opted for a long-sleeved one.  Instead, all the long-sleeved dresses under $5,000 resembled 1980s-era concoctions of lace and poof.  I tried all the long-sleeved dresses on at multiple bridal salons, but all the dresses were hideous, so I opted for a classy strapless Maggie Sottero gown.  I do hope that the princess's gorgeous dress today will lead to a greater variety of gowns with sleeves being available. 
Posted by GulfCoaster[/QUOTE]

GulfCoaster, I'm sure that your wedding gown was beautiful as well as in style today. 

In the 50s, everyone wore a high collar, Priscilla of Boston style.  That was the fashion at the time so many brides went with it.

In the 60s, wedding gowns became more low cut but still with sleeves, even with the neckline in a V down to the navel.

In the 70s, the Mexican wedding gown, a gauze type hippie dress of sorts was what many brides wore.  Who cared if they were almost see through?

The 80s were the age of excess.  Elaborate head pieces, huge puffed sleeves and trains longer than the church.  Huge drop down bouquets, I'm sure you've seen the pictures.  Princess Dianna is a good example of this. Beatiful but a bit too froo froo. (is that even a word?)

The 90s brought the strapless ballgowns and they still are the favorite child of the  designers.  It's an elegant look if you are slim enough to pull it off without overflow!
Quadraboobs are not at all in fashion or even remotely attractive.

Many brides choose strapless as it does set off their veils and the shorter veil does cover some of the shoulders and most of the back.  It's a pretty timeless look as is the Grace Kelly look I mentioned above.

Some recent "fads" have been the mermaid gowns and the pick up skirts.  I call them a fad as they will never become classics, ever as very few women can wear that look.

As far as strapless tops in ordinary life, yes, I do see them quite often.  I've never seen plunging tops but the basic tanks, yes.  St. Patrick's cathedral here is probably where I see them the most.  Mainly younger women who can carry the look without looking like they are trying too hard.  I see many women in sundresses at mass on Sundays and they don't look slutty at all.  Just dressed for the weather, summer is damn hot!  I've worn a sundress myself.

The only place I have seen dress restrictions is at the Vatican.  No shorts, tank tops or short skirts.  But then, you are in a different culture from the US and should  observe their rules.

If you check The Catholic Bride, you will find that 90% of churches in the US allow strapless gowns but many forbid plunging necklines, which I think is totally reasonable.

Kate was required to cover her arms and shoulders as fitting the cathedral and royal norms.  If you noticed, it was just lace over the bodice that kept it from being strapless.  It was beautiful and fitting for the future Queen of England.

linzluvsgzuss

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_45-years-later-wedding-look-verified-princess-catherine?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:19285270-caf1-4870-b33a-9372cfc97fc4Post:36e008a0-c480-4e43-95a1-f2614b309929">Re: 4.5 years later, my wedding look is "validated" by Duchess Catherine</a>:
[QUOTE]"harlot" was probably harsh wording.  ill apologize for that, and chalk it up to being tired and cranky since i was up at 430 am for the wedding! but clearly my personal opinion on strapless in a church is not one that is held only by me, as evidenced by the many priests and parishes that dont allow them or request that a cover up be worn with any dress.  for those of you who did wear strapless, do you regularly wear tube tops or strapless dresses to church on sunday?  and if you dont, because you feel they arent appropriate, why would your wedding day be any different? 
Posted by Calypso1977[/QUOTE]

I would not wear a tube top to Mass, but I might wear a strapless dress...I don't know, I tend to not wear dresses to Mass nor do I tend to wear strapless dresses in general. Really, though, my nuptial Mass is different from Sunday Mass anyways so it's a close but not perfect comparison. I'm going to dress up more for my nuptial Mass. Of course, I never thought I'd have a strapless wedding dress - in fact I avoided trying them on when I first started looking. I don't think God is going to add to my time in purgatory or something because He can see the shoulders He gave me on my wedding day, though ;)

Jasmine&Rajah

Oh boy, do I have pics of my dress - you may be sorry you asked!  ;-)

PM your email addy to me - do you have Snapfish?

ootmother2

Just send me one photo

ootmother@yahoo.com

PLEASE

ootmother2

Thanks!

Stunning