Koru Kate Finds: Giselle

Giselle Wedding Gown

Image by Elizabeth Dye at englishdept

Way back when I was on the hunt for the perfect wedding gown . . .

The Giselle wedding gown was my very first love.  Simple & sweet, just my style.   That Alencon lace detail?  I die!  Oh, I fell in love, so hard.  I printed out a photo of the Giselle wedding gown, tucked it in my wedding folder & considered the dress search over.  I'd picked out matching wedding invitations with an Alencon lace detail.  I was sold!

I booked my first trip to Lovely Bridal Shop during an Elizabeth Dye trunk show & although I was open-minded & tried on a bit of everything, Giselle still had my heart.  But I worried about a tea-length dress for a formal church ceremony, not to mention during winter.  During my second trip to Lovely, I tried on the full-length version of Giselle.  It wasn't right for me.  The fit was awful for my body & the lace detail was lost.  Giselle was soon forgotten when I fell in love, true love, with the last dress I tried on: my wedding dress!

Alas, Elizabeth Dye remains a favorite wedding gown designer of mine & as I happily perused her new, beautiful collection, I was pleased as punch to discover a redesigned, full-length Giselle to present as the latest Koru Kate Finds:

Giselle Wedding Gown, full-length

Image via Elizabeth Dye at englishdept

Love, love, LOVE!  The new, full-length Giselle is the perfect replica of the tea length version.  Same flattering A-line silouhette & same sweet lace detail.  It's absolutely divine in my humble opinion.  I don't wish I could go back & have this dress but I am really, really excited for the Brides-to-be that have this lovely dress as an option!  

Be sure to check out the other fabulous Elizabeth Dye options at The English Department too!

Magical Alterations

Ally Bridal & Tuxedo Logo

Yesterday, I mentioned my wedding dress is perfect.

It just doesn't fit me perfectly. When I ordered my wedding dress, my measurements fell between two sizes. Lovely wisely recommended ordering the larger size as it's easier to alter a big dress than starve for a small dress & I happily followed their advice. And wow, it is big in every way, shape & form! The top is so large that it falls down if I don't hold it up. The bottom is inches & inches too long for short me. Clearly, alterations are needed.

Ally of Ally Bridal & Tuxedo to the rescue! Ally & I had never met but we have tons in common. We're both in the wedding business in Hoboken; we share the same web designer, the wonderful Kate of Bella Mi; & she altered my sister-in-law-to-be's wedding gown. I'm thrilled to support another local business, especially since it makes future fittings so convenient. Plus I know I can trust Ally to do a fabulous job.

I met Ally in her charming bridal shop on First Street in Hoboken, just three blocks away from Koru Wedding Shoppe. I put on my wedding dress & shoes &, within minutes, Ally pinned the dress to perfection. It felt amazing, just right. I could dance & the dress stayed in place! I could take a step without tripping over extra fabric! Miraculous!! I wanted to shower Ally with hugs & kisses!!!

My wedding dress in now in Ally's care so she can make it absolultely perfect for me. I'm beyond excited for my first dress fitting in early December. Although, as Ally warned me, I have to be careful not to gorge myself too much on Thanksgiving!

You're So Lovely

"You're So Lovely"
says Lovely Bridal Shop

I finally, finally had the chance to retrieve my wedding dress from Lovely Bridal Shop. It arrived one month early & I was unprepared. I hadn't found my wedding shoes yet! Not to mention, I didn't have a spare moment for a trip to Manhattan. Lovely assured me that my dress was in good hands & good company so I let time fly by. Finally, the time came to claim my wedding dress.

My Sister of Honor & I made our way to Lovely Bridal Shop on a beautiful Fall evening. Very, very unlike us, we arrived early. We ducked into Cafe Cluny, the adorable cafe across the street, to enjoy a glass of wine & share a cheese platter. An hour of good conversation later, we crossed the tree-lined street for my pick-up appointment at Lovely.

At long last, I was in the dressing room with my wedding gown. The dress was better than I remembered, much more beautiful than the sample dress I'd fallen in love with months ago. It was surreal! My wedding dress was here, really here! Right. In. Front. Of. Me.

Next thing I knew, I was staring at a Bride in the mirror. She was wearing a perfect, pretty wedding dress. I could hardly believe that Bride was me!

Floral Hint

Carnation photo via Hey Gorgeous!

To be honest, it's very, very difficult for me not to share every last detail of our winter wedding with you. I'd love to post a photo of my wedding dress, our wedding invitations, our cake, etc. It's so tempting! Then I remember it's most important for our treasured wedding guests to be surprised & delighted at our wedding. After our quickly-approaching wedding, I will have plenty of time to share with you. Reason wins.

Mostly.

Except for the flowers. Planning & creating our modern, winter white wedding look with my fabulous florist Liz has been one of the most enjoyable parts of wedding planning. Then to not be able to share any of the details . . . so unfair! I have been bursting to show you our perfect, sample centerpiece ever since I laid my eyes on it. But I resist.

Then I stumbled upon the above photo of a simple, white carnation bouquet on Hey Gorgeous! yesterday. I couldn't resist the golden opportunity. After all, I have written about my love for underrated carnations & my plan to use carnations for our wedding so I can say a little more. Right? This isn't an outright sneak peek, it's more like a sneak hint. Our wedding will feature flowers similar to the photo above from the bouquets to the ceremony to the reception. Sweet & romantic.

That's all I can write & show you for now!

Oh So Lovely

Someday soon, I shall be headed to this quaint spot in the West Village of New York City . . .

The Great & The Lovely-
Lovely Bridal Shop

I got the unexpected, happy news that my wedding gown is HERE! One month early!! Thank you, thank you, Lovely Bridal Shop for the great surprise!!! Be still my racing heart, the good news just keeps coming.

Lovely's line-up of pretty, pretty dresses

Now I really wish I had my perfect shoes to try on with my wedding gown!

Bella Bridesmaid

Gabrielle by Thread

Elijah by Thread

Sarah by Thread
Thread dresses available at Bella Bridesmaid in Madison

While I'm busy whining & complaining about shopping for bridesmaid dresses, my poor Bridesmaids are probably wondering if I'm planning to send them down the aisle naked. My Maid of Honor took one for the team & reached out to ask me if we could start shopping. Sigh.

I decided to start with the one bridesmaid dress I like that doesn't cost a small fortune: a Cynthia Rowley dress available at Lovely Bridal Shop. I saw it when I bought my gown & I loved its clean, simple lines. Plus the dress came in a beautiful shade of purple! However, Lovely Bridal Shop is mostly for Brides; they simply carry two bridesmaid lines. Not exactly the best place to go if we're interested in seeing & comparing different dresses.

If any of my Brides ask me where to shop for bridesmaid dresses, I tell them Bella Bridesmaid who have convenient locations in Madison, New Jersey & New York City for my local maids & a La Jolla, California location for my Cali maids. I know the owners, I adore the sweet shops & I love the selection of stylish dresses. Bonus: they carry the Cynthia Rowley line. It seemed quite obvious that Bella Bridesmaid was the place for me to look for a bridesmaid dress. If anyplace could make the dreaded experience of bridesmaid dress shopping more pleasant, it's Bella Bridesmaid.

The appointment is made. I will keep you posted as we hunt for the perfect bridesmaid dress at Bella Bridesmaid. Let the bridesmaid dress games begin!

Dress Envy

Beautiful wedding gown by Lea Ann Belter

Sassy wedding gown by Sarah Seven

Romantic wedding gown by Elizabeth Dye
All above dresses available at Lovely Bridal Shop

When a wedding planning client buys their wedding gown, I tell them to stop looking. Don't visit one more bridal salon. Skip over the wedding dress ads in wedding magazines. Forget looking at wedding gown designers' web sites. Stop, stop, stop the madness now!

I have been trying to take my own advice in the wedding planning process but this wedding gown business has proved difficult. I bought my wedding gown earlier this month & I thought, "Thank God, I can stop looking at wedding gowns!" While there may be more beautiful, romantic wedding gowns, I knew with 100% certainty that I found the perfect dress for me. I have been in the wedding industry for ten years & it would be easy to revert to looking at wedding gowns with an eye for others' weddings, not my own. Sure enough, no problem. Now my addiction to the popular tv show, "Say Yes To The Dress", is another story.

Unlike most wedding magazines & blogs, "Say Yes To The Dress" is all about wedding gowns. There is no way to avoid the issue. There is no way I could stop watching the show either. So I watched the first show with a wary eye, hoping that a fantabulous wedding gown wouldn't tempt me or make me question my wedding gown choice. Nothing. Then I watched another show, feeling a bit more confident. Nothing. And you know what? Instead of the nightmare scenario that I might fall in love with another wedding gown, I fell more & more in love with my wedding gown.

No dress envy here. Just 100% satisfaction that I made the right choice!

Yes to the Lovely Dress!!

I'm at Lovely Bridal Shop to get my wedding gown!

There are sweet touches everywhere you look,
including this Lovely banner on the second floor landing

The lovely first floor at Lovely Bridal Shop

Every Bride has a unique story when it comes to finding their wedding gown. Many told me they tried on the first gown & purchased it. Some mentioned long & hard searches including several bridal salons & hundreds of dresses before they found their wedding gown. Others fall somewhere in between those two extremes.

Here is my story.

I was (somewhat) patiently waiting for my Mom to visit from California before I started looking for my wedding gown when I came across a new bridal shop opening in the West Village of New York City called Lovely Bridal Shop. Lovely is striving to do something different: offer romantic dresses, reasonable prices, sweet atmosphere & a lovely experience. I started following Lovely's blog & researching their designers, becoming more & more excited to shop for my wedding gown.

I lost any & all patience to wait for my Mom when Lovely hosted an Elizabeth Dye trunk show, a designer I liked. On the beautiful spring day of my appointment, RZ & I headed into the city together & he dropped me off at the doorstep of the renovated brownstone that is Lovely Bridal Shop. I was semi-nervous that the hype may be greater than the reality but as soon as I walked through the door, all my fears fell away. I breathed in the calm atmosphere & took in the gorgeous decor which is beyond beautiful. And those racks of gorgeous weddings gowns- incredible!

For the next 45 minutes, I had a ball playing dress up as a Bride. In some ways, after so many years as a wedding planner, I could hardly believe I was the Bride in the mirror! I told the owner Lanie about my wedding, my style & my budget & she pulled several dresses for me. She was great about styling the dresses with ribbon sashes, brooches & flower pins when appropriate. All of the gowns were stunning; a few were definite contenders. I was drawn to two gowns the most & I decided my Mom could help me decide when she came with me.

Fast forward to a beautiful summer day one month later. My Mom & I returned to Lovely for the final selection. The plan was to show her my favorite dresses & maybe try on a few more gowns to give her the Lovely shopping experience that I had adored so much the first time. This time, we were helped by the kind Victoria who pulled the two dresses I liked & my Mom found three dresses for me to try on. My Mom sat back & relaxed downstairs while I came down to model each dress for her. We had fun playing with accessories like veils & headpieces to complete each look. I nixed Dress #1 because I didn't like the long version & I pretty much thought Dress #2 was the winner. Dress #3 & Dress #4 were fabulous, just not winners for me. Then I tried on Dress #5 & I fell in love instantly. Romantic. Simple. Me. This wedding gown was everything I had wanted & more- it blew me away.

I bought the last dress I tried on at Lovely Bridal Shop. That is my story of finding my wedding gown.