Wedding: the dress

For me, and for most other gals out there, the dress was one of the most important details of my wedding day (apart from the actual getting married bit of course!). I never really went into things with a dream dress in mind, but I knew I wasn't too keen to go and spend a fortune on a run of the mill dress from a wedding shop, or get one custom made and wait ages for it to be created. After lots of searching online I came across a San Patrick Calais dress hugely discounted as it was a sample, and bought it thinking it was the one for me.

The dress arrived and it looked good, but I couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't the dress for me. It was an absolutely stunning design and looked amazing on lots of other brides, but I couldn't get over the fact that it was strapless (strapless wedding gowns are not my favourite) and it felt a bit modern for my tastes. So even though I already had a dress, I kept looking. They say when deciding on your wedding day look you should stick to what you know, and something told me that I needed to go vintage to feel most myself. After spending a few hours trawling Etsy one day and saving lots of dresses to my favourites, I almost had a heart attack when I discovered this gem.

I know brides don't really like revealing what they spent on their dress but I am going to be honest here. This dress of my dreams was only about $250. I couldn't believe my eyes. My mother said she thought it could arrive and be a bit tattered, but I decided to take the chance and buy it. It was after all a perfect fit for me and the perfect shape.

And so soon after the dress arrived. My pulse was racing as I unpacked it, hoping that it would be as lovely as it was in the photos. It was even better. The most delicate rose-patterned lace, with a sweetheart neckline and intricate beading around the edges. The bodice finished in an almost peplum skirt, with the lace's natural pattern forming a scalloped hem. And then the most stunning pleated tulle falling from under the lace to the floor, with multiple layers underneath.

The only issue was that due to the dress' age, there were a handful of small tears in the lace. Also an earlier owner had attempted to shorten the sleeves by cutting at the lace, resulting in a jagged and frayed edge that really let down the dress. I contacted Kate from On a Whim Design to see what she could do to help salvage the sleeves. Though she is a designer first and foremost, she agreed to help redo the sleeves and the end result of her hard work was fabulous. She managed to find a very close lace match and completely reconstructed the sleeves.

After finding this dress, I really do feel that it's worth waiting to find your dream gown. I felt so 'me' when wearing it and I never wanted to take it off. And that's how it's meant to be.

p.s. I followed suit with just about every other bride right now and bought a customised 'Mrs Papain' coat hanger to hang my dress for the big day. You need to have a bit of cheesiness sometimes!!

photographer: Christine Lim / dress: Bohemian Bisoux Vintage / coat hanger: Exclusively You