Nevada-Las Vegas

Any other 60-ish first-time brides?

I've scanned the boards for posts by older brides, but most of the so-called "older" brides are in their late 20s to mid-40s. I'm hoping to meet some first-timers in my own age group.
I will be 59 and a half when I walk down the aisle for the first time next year, and I'm feeling like a bit of a freak. When I was younger I used to imagine my dream wedding, but instead I wound up spending most of my adult life caring for invalid parents and so was not able to have a life of my own until after my mother passed away a few months ago.
My fiance is someone I worked with decades ago and hadn't seen in 17 years. We reconnected last year via Facebook. It turned out we both live in Las Vegas, so we started spending time together. He was kind and supportive during my mother's lingering illness and death, and last month he asked me to marry him.
It will be his second marraiage but he wants to give me a traditional wedding, white dress and all, because he says I deserve it.
I love that he wants to do that for me, but I'm running into some embarrassing obstacles. The vendors I've met with are rather dismissive -- they seem to assume I'm a meddling grandma. The saleswoman at the bridal shop tried to steer me to dowdy MOB dresses. I don't need a strapless cupcake gown, but I do want to feel like a bride.
Are there any other first-time brides my age out there? I'd love to commiserate. Thanks!

Re: Any other 60-ish first-time brides?

  • edited December 2011
    Hi There

    Whilst I am not an older bride by your standards (I will be 36 when we tie the knot next year) I just want to say welcome and not to get disheartened! I was dismissed by a lot of sales people when dress shopping (especially those girls that were half my age and half my size!)

    I swore if I heard "this dress might be too young for you" one more time I would have gone crazy and ended up on the 6 o'clock news!

    I had better luck and service from the small family run bridal stores and found my dream dress at one store that I would never have visited if it wasn't for the attitude of the sales assistants at the other stores! So I guess that they did me a favour!

    Good luck and congratulations and don't forget to post a picture of the dress when you find it!
  • edited December 2011
    I am not an older bride but I wanted to say welcome and congrats on your recent engagement! It sounds like you've found yourself a wonderful man and I'm excited for you that he still wants you to experience being a bride. Good luck finding tour perfect gown and enjoy planning the wedding of your dreams!
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  • edited December 2011
    It's so great to see that you found happiness, congrats to you and your groom!

    I was 42 when we got married earlier this year, so I do understand that you want something understated but still "wedding-ish."  Are you looking to have your ceremony and reception on or off the Strip?  I can recommend a few place we looked at that were very nice.

    I didn't do a lot of dress shopping, I bought at the first store I checked out.  I went to the Alfred Angelo in Henderson and had a pleasant experience.  The dress wasn't everything I wanted, but it was reasonably priced and I was able to have it altered so it was exactly what I had hoped to have.  Debi at Fit for a Bride was probably my favorite vendor that I worked with, she really did stellar work on my dress.

    HTH!
  • edited December 2011
    First off CONGRATS!! and second....I say wear what YOU want and walk out of any dress shop that is not accommodating to YOU. There will be a perfect dress for you and don't worry about your age, I think that it's wonderful that you found someone and if YOU want the big puffy dress then go for it! The dress is one area that I will say "It's YOUR day!" Good luck and welcome to the board Smile
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  • edited December 2011
    Hi, I'm not much help under the age point of view but I wish to welcome you to the board! It's a place for brides and you are certainly one of us, congratulations on your engagement Smile
  • MNVegasMNVegas member
    Fifth Anniversary 1000 Comments 250 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited December 2011

    Congratulations!  I am 53 and was married earlier this year, but 2nd time around for me.  When I was looking for my dress(s), I looked at dress websites, made a list of what I liked, printed out some pictures and went to the store and just told consultant what I wanted. I found my tea length dress at the first appointment. I then decided I wanted long dress for the ceremony, which I found online for $100 and wore tea length for photo strip tour.

    I found my other vendors thru ladies here or through the coordinator at the chapel where we were married.

    Gook luck and happy planning!

  • edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_other-60-ish-first-time-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:91Discussion:0fa95d80-ad38-4823-a95b-f173908eb08fPost:c4409d01-a9b4-409e-805c-dd1b36b21d82">Re: Any other 60-ish first-time brides?</a>:
    [QUOTE]Congratulations!  <strong>I am 53 </strong>and was married earlier this year, but 2nd time around for me.  When I was looking for my dress(s), I looked at dress websites, made a list of what I liked, printed out some pictures and went to the store and just told consultant what I wanted. I found my tea length dress at the first appointment. I then decided I wanted long dress for the ceremony, which I found online for $100 and wore tea length for photo strip tour. I found my other vendors thru ladies here or through the coordinator at the chapel where we were married. Gook luck and happy planning!
    Posted by MNVegas[/QUOTE]

    Damn girl what is your secret! You look younger than me! I am very jealous of your genes!
  • RachNRichRachNRich member
    5000 Comments
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_other-60-ish-first-time-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:91Discussion:0fa95d80-ad38-4823-a95b-f173908eb08fPost:a114c2fc-c419-452b-87e5-de4c2d2d3da4">Re: Any other 60-ish first-time brides?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Any other 60-ish first-time brides? : Damn girl what is your secret! You look younger than me! I am very jealous of your genes!
    Posted by j_jaye[/QUOTE]
    I was thinking the SAME thing!! You look sooooo young; I remember thinking you were in your 20s from some of this pictures you posted!! 
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  • MNVegasMNVegas member
    Fifth Anniversary 1000 Comments 250 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/local-wedding-boards_nevada-las-vegas_other-60-ish-first-time-brides?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Local Wedding BoardsForum:91Discussion:0fa95d80-ad38-4823-a95b-f173908eb08fPost:a114c2fc-c419-452b-87e5-de4c2d2d3da4">Re: Any other 60-ish first-time brides?</a>:
    [QUOTE]In Response to Re: Any other 60-ish first-time brides? : Damn girl what is your secret! You look younger than me! I am very jealous of your genes!
    Posted by j_jaye[/QUOTE]

    Thanks ladies! Good genes from mom's side of the family. I wish I had some secrets to share with you all.
  • gownmakergownmaker member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011

    Thanks, everyone, for the welcoming messages. I'm still getting used to the idea of being engaged after having been single for nearly 60 years.
    We're planning a small outdoor ceremony at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park near Red Rock Canyon just west of town. We love the scenery there, and think our out-of-town guests might enjoy seeing a different side of Vegas.
    We booked the Shenanigans room at McMullan's Irish Pub on West Tropicana for the reception. We're both of Irish descent, so it suits us. It won't be the typical Las Vegas-style wedding, but since we live here year-round, the Strip holds no special appeal for us.
    And I agree, MNVegas, you do look very young. If you could bottle those genes, you'd make a fortune!

  • edited December 2011
    Red Rock Canyon will make a beautiful ceremony location and the Irish Pub will be so much fun! Happy planning and while most of us are a bit younger, we're still here to help if you have any questions!
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  • gownmakergownmaker member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    Thanks, everyone!
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