Liesel's Dress

Have you seen the movie, The Sound of Music, starring Julie Andrews? If so, you know the scene I'm about to describe...

Liesel, the oldest of the von Trapp family children, manages to sneak away from the dinner table to meet her beau, Rolf, in the gazebo. Upon meeting, their dialogue turns to song. "I am sixteen going on seventeen....lalalalalalala...." They dance around the gazebo, sashaying on benches and twirling about...

Well, that's the dress I want. Yes, it's true.

Since I was a young girl, I loved that movie...and that has always been my favorite scene...due in no small part to that amazing, twirling, ethereal dress!

I've been saying for years that I want a wedding dress with sleeves, but not your typical lace sleeves, though some kind of bell shape might be nice...but that I don't necessarily want long sleeves because I don't want to be too warm...lol. Well, these sleeves fit the bill.

There are only three changes I'd make to the dress:

1. I want it in gold (not the pale pink). I will not wear white or ivory at my wedding, so gold it is.

2. I want to extend the length of the dress so it just skims the floor. Ahhh...how pretty...

3. If possible, I want to add just a bit more space between each ribbon on the bodice. The first right under my bust, but the last closer to my hips, rather than my natural waist, thus creating more space between the first and middle, and middle and third.

Now, I won't be able to find this dress on a rack or in a bridal store, obviously...but I do have some options.

I can always find a seamstress to make it, which, I know, can get expensive. I do have two courses of action I can take before that, though.

My MoH's mother can sew. She may not agree to do it. It depends on whether or not she thinks she has the ability. If so, I will buy the fabric and pay her whatever she deems reasonable for the job.

If that option doesn't work out for me, I have one more...longshot. My sister-in-law could sew sew sew...she really had talent. Unfortunately, she passed away a long time ago. However, her mother is still alive...and that's where she learned how to sew. If I can get in touch with her, I know she can create this dress. If she's willing, I would, again, buy all the materials and pay her for it.

If those options fail, then I start seeing about a seamstress.

I was told that the material I need isn't too expensive, but that the dress requires A LOT of fabric.

I'm trying not to get my hopes up about this. I am aware that I may encounter a lot of obstacles in having this dress made for me. At the same time, I am feeling a bit relieved. I was getting so overwhelmed with the idea of a wedding dress. There are too many options, but at the same time, they all look alike to me. Maybe it's because I viewed too many.

Part of me wants to wait to look into this because of my weight. I'm still dropping pounds, and I'd like to be my goal weight for my wedding. I can't wait too long, though, because it is going to take time to A) find someone to make it and B) actually make it.

I think I'll give it until October. That still gives me an entire year. If I drop all the weight I want to lose before then, great! If not, oh well. I'll maintain where I'm at at that point in time.