Quest for the Dress - Part I: Inspiration

Time for the nitty-gritty, wedding bridal posts!  What would a bride be without her dress?  I have to confess, I'm no good at decisions when faced with unlimited choices.  Even now, though I'm very happy with my dress, I keep thinking, "We-e-ll, maybe this dress would be better..."

Again, I've never given much thoughts to weddings so initially I had no idea what I wanted.  Scratch that: I knew what I DIDN'T want.  I didn't want:

• Strapless: I know there are a lot of corsets and zippers and girdles in place to ensure that it wouldn't fall, but I didn't feel like checking every few minutes and hoisting it up all the time
• Bright white: Maybe an ivory or blush or light gray, but not a blindingly white shade, please
• Cupcake: I wanted an easy, flowy shape - no giant ball gown, sexy mermaid, big poofy number with an enormous train.  I'm 5 feet tall on a good day, so I don't want to be engulfed in dress

{source: Zara Bridal} Very pretty, but not for me

At the time I was seriously looking for a dress, I thought we would have an outside ceremony in Sacramento, so I wanted a dress that didn't look too ostentatious and out of place.  Something that was light, casual, and floated in the wind.  Oh, did I mention I wanted it under $1,000 dollars?

Keep reading to see more of my thought process (and pretty dresses!)

I bow down once again to the dream-machine, Pinterest (sadly, they don't pay me to advertise) - I mean, check out my Wedding Dress board!  97 dresses pinned and counting.  This is a sickness, folks.

This was the first dress to really catch my eye and got the ball rolling:

{source: Whatever is Lovely Blog; Dress: J.Crew}

Lovely, right?  Wispy layers, thin straps, a lovely beige-y, bone shade - it had all the makings of my dream wedding dress.  Cons?  It was $2,000 (I don't think it's available anymore) and I couldn't get a good idea of what it looked like without any kind of posing.

As my search continued, I realized there was one important aspect I wanted in my dress: a unique detail.  I figured if I were to have a low-key dress, I could at least get a little wow-factor in with a subtle accent.  Some ideas included:

{source: Weheartit; Photo: Instyle}

Love how soft it is and billows in the wind

{source: Peonies & Pearls; Dress: Vivienne Westwood}

I love all things V. Westwood!!

{source: Martha Stewart Weddings; Dress: Prima, by Monique Lhuillier)

Unf, those beautiful jeweled sleeves!

It soon became clear a couple of patterns were forming: beautifully draped dress, maybe a chiffon fabric, that flowed down to the floor, and something draping my shoulders.  But could such a dress be found?  Would I be able to keep it under budget?  Are rhetorical questions really annoying*?

My plan of action was to visit Hong Kong to see if I could find my wedding dress.  I figured I wanted to go anyway since I hadn't been back in a few years and I might be able to find something cheaper than here in the States.

Next time: Hong Kong and my impossible search!

* Note, this is a legitimate question.