I am facing a fashion conundrum. As part of this year’s anniversary celebration, my husband and I are renewing our vows at the end of August. And I, planner--aka control-freak—extraordinaire, have yet to find a gown for our outdoor garden ceremony and somewhat formal reception.
The problem is two-fold: what can I wear that doesn’t denote the B word (bride), but at the same time speaks to the occasion that it is? According to
I Do Take Two.com, vow renewal etiquette dictates the dress should not have the appearance of a wedding dress, although can be white.
With a vision of a cream or almost gold-tinged gown in mind, I shopped and shopped until I dropped. Nearly $700 that is, on a spectacular white empire-waisted
Marc Bouwer silk chiffon dress at
Lililime. While I questioned its bridal vibe in the boutique, the tasteful (yet impressive) cleavage I was sporting was enough to hand over the plastic.
However, after a much-needed visit to a girlfriend’s, her voice of reason indeed confirmed what I had suspected—here comes the bride, in full bridal regalia. All that was needed was a veil and I’d be good for a second trip down wedding bell lane.
Chagrined and defeated, I returned the dress, and headed to Evalina
Couture to try as many ‘non-bridal’ bridal gowns in champagne hues as Evalina could find. While I almost bought a silk
Nicole Miller destination wedding dress, the nagging (and deafening) bridal march continued to wreak a raucous in my head as I tried to convince myself this was the dress.
So here I sit, dressless, with just over a month to go to find the perfect gown. My only shimmer of hope (golden shimmer please!), is that fall collections are hitting the shops, and in a week or two, a whole new slew of options will be available for me to try and talk myself into.
And talk myself into I will. After all, I’m pretty sure it’s considered bad form to wear your original over- the-top wedding ball gown. That’s of course under the laughable assumption it would still fit...