Friday, May 2, 2008

Aurora = Extraordinary

If you are just joining me at That Bride, or you missed the post detailing the fabulousness and generosity of bridal fashions by MILLIE, please see my earlier post here.

Anticipation has been building for a few weeks now, and it is finally here, the dress I will be wearing for the bridal shoot in Italy! Swayzie loves having it take up half of his closet.

Of course it came in the mail right as I got back from the gym, so I was completely covered in sweat and unable to try it on as soon as I ripped the box open. I hung it over the door of the closet and couldn't stop looking at it. The second I got out of the shower I was attempting to put it on myself, which really doesn't work when the dress is a corset back! I hauled it over to the house of the girl I am staying with and she was kind enough to indulge my craziness and lace it up for me and take as many pictures as I wanted.

Internet, here I am in all of my makeup free hair slicked back glory. Doesn't the dress do a fantastic job of turning me into a radiant looking bride? I swear that's the dress, not the person in it! I think the tulle at the bottom looks so ethereal and dreamy in this picture.
I have been staying by myself all week, and so whenever I go to the pool I have to put sunscreen on all by myself. Apparently I missed a few spots :) This dress is going to look gorgeous with the chapel length veil my Mom has.
The thing I love most about MILLIE is that they read through my blog and found out I was LDS and offered to send me a bolero for no extra charge. I can't tell you how much it means to me to have my standards acknowledged and respected! This dress was already more than we could ask for, but now I will be able to take lot's of photos that we can hang in our house because I will be modestly attired, something that is very important to me.
Now we have to decide between the lace and the satin bolero? I am thinking the lace. What does everyone else vote for?Even though the photo is a little pixelated and weird looking, I like this shot because it shows how happy I feel wearing this dress. MILLIE I can't thank you enough!


There are so many things I have to note with this post. First, I didn't even know this dress was available in Ivory, and so I had expected to receive it in Diamond White, but was thrilled to open the package and find Ivory boleros and dress. Second, the pictures on the MILLIE website do not do the dresses justice. In my dress shopping adventures so far I have tried on a few Demetrios gowns, and I think the quality of this dress easily rivals those. Last, I want to assure MILLIE publicly that I will take care of this dress and return it safe and sound (if I don't decide to keep it for myself :)

So internet, if you made it through this post, what do you think? Which bolero should I take?

Now that I have the dress I have so many more posts to write about it. I will be shoe shopping for some heels next week (my first opportunity to give this store DSW a try, all the bloggers are raving about it!), I need to figure out how I am going to do my hair, what kind of makeup I should be shooting for... We also ordered another bolero from Bloomingdales before we knew that we were getting these, but I think it is a little too yellow to use. I will definitely be posting some photos of it with the dress though to get some input. I can't believe I am flying out in 11 days!

25 comments:

Amy@Fiancé Meeting You Here said...

This is seriously the coolest story. This dress is going to make SUCH an impact in thoe Eurpoe photos. The $40 dress was fun, but this-this is a dres!! And I love the boleros. While I tend to love lace, I acutally like the way he satin one looks. It has a seamless quality. Either way it looks amazing on you!

Kelli Nicole said...

Gorgeous! I love it! I think I like the satin one by the way!

Shaylene Andersen said...

I vote the lace bolero.
More importantly... I love your sunscreen job, it was really good. I laughed so insanely hard when I saw the big red spots!!

Cate Subrosa said...

I like the lace one best, but can't you take both?

Feel free to ignore if you don't want to go into this here, but I'm really interested in how your religion / culture effects how you dress... hope this doesn't sound rude because it isn't meant to be, but how come it is ok to post un-modest pictures of yourself on the internet but not hang them in your house? Is it because it might offend elders but younger people are more relaxed about it?

Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

Man you look great! Your waist looks SO small in that dress. It's super flattering. I really like the floaty bottom too.

I think both boleros looks nice but I'm leaning towards the lace as well for contrast. I think it'll look good with the veil.

I always keep my eye out for sleeved dresses now..saw this other day...I don't know if it covers enough but it's a beaut - http://www.stephaniejamesblog.com/ 7th post down "Real Bride:Andrea"

Veronica said...

I'm so thrilled for you! You look so happy and amazing! If you're still shopping for a bolero, I would try to find something that is made from the same fabric as the dress. But either way, you look awesome. But I think it's your smile that makes you look so radiant =o)

Anonymous said...

Very nice dress - you look stunning!

I like the satin one better, for lace and tulle/ruching don't always look the best together - it's like mashing styles. How long are the sleeves supposed to be relative to your arms?

Kate said...

LOVE it!! It's fabulous! I'm with Amy on the satin bolero - I think it works the dress and doesn't take away from the texture of the tulle like the lace one does.

Carol said...

You look gorgeous!! Both boleros are super cute but in my opinion the lace works like a dream on you

ally said...

jenna you look AMAZING!!!!! this is so exciting for you and i can't wait for your trip! and to see the pictures! i like the lace better but the satin better with the dress -- just take both! most importantly, have a blast. what a dream come true.

Allison said...

I like the satin bolero but you have to do what you feel best in. Can you take them both and do shots with each one? That would be the best I think! and I L O V E your sunburn with the hand marks! haha

cara said...

wow! you look amazing. It's so fantastic that you and Millie found each other, i love the internet!

Personally I prefer the lace, I find the satin one too heavy.

I'm so so excited to see the photos your mum takes!

Unknown said...

Holy cow! You look amazing! I can't wait to see pictures you in that at Trevi.

I vote on neither bolero - I don't think either one does a thing for you or the dress. The lace is out of place and the satin is too much.

I think you should find a shrug - something with less fabric. Just shoulders and arms. Just my opinion - but with the ruching and lovely lines of the gown, I hate to see it broken up with a bolero.

GORGEOUS gown. I know you are going to look stunning.

122LOVESME said...

oh my goodness, i have so much blogging to catch up on now that mr. 122 is back on base. i vote satin. as per your comments on my blog: dress 1 is my favorite too, but i'm still looking around to make sure it's the one; i suppose technically i started planning my wedding to mr. 122 four years ago, but... he told me a while ago that he was intending to propose in december, i had always wanted a winter wedding so i thought we'd go with january 2010. then we figured out he's probably be on detachment and went with july 2009. then i realized that 7 months (december to july) really wasn't enough time for me, so i started to plan right away. and then he decided that december was too far away and went ahead and proposed. phew, that takes a lot of explaining.

bridal fashion by MILLIE said...

This is a great post!! Thank you!!! I was so nervous and excited about what you would think of the dress! I'm so glad you like it!

You truly do rock this dress!! I think that is so important for brides to remember, it's all in the fit! You look so amazing!

I wasn't sure about the boleros either but I have to say, I think they both can work and you should just take both and maybe a wrap as well, (I know you're trying to pack light so that might be hard) Just have fun with it and don't worry about the dress. I trust you!!!

YEA!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

That dress is amazingly stunning and you look fabulous in it!

I vote no bolero because the dress is so extraordinary, but if you must have one, I like the satin.

Good luck with the shoot - can't wait to see pictures!

Tara Vorhes said...

gorgeous. simply beautiful.

I think that I prefer the satin bolero... over the lace. the lace is maybe too much with the ruching? maybe a bolero of the same material as your dress that hits a little higher on your arm? but wear whatever you love when it is on!

bridal fashion by MILLIE said...

Hi! I just wanted to let you know I did a post on my side of the story!!! HA!

SO MUCH FUN!!!

Unknown said...

LACE!!!!

LACE!!!!

Can you hear the frantic-ness in my voice? i'm definitely all over the lace....man...i had really wanted one for myself. my brother quickly pointed out that it would do nothing to keep me warm and i must admit that my practical side won over.....

but the indecisive me says, "Screw it! get a lace bolero!"

Jenna said...

amy-I think that sums it up very nicely. "this-this is a dress!"

shay-oh no, Swayzie just about peed his pants as well

guilty-I'll be addressing this in a post rather shortly, because I think it's a great questions with more than one answer.

misscapitolhill-You always find the best links for me! I have a love affair with Stephanie James.

a bride-I wish I had time to make something from scratch, because I don' think it would be difficult to fin da seamstress who could make something perfect for us.

bean-good point, the sleeves of EVERYTHING are too long. No time for alterations. boo!

peonies-again using the mum. I wish I called her mum instead of Mom.

botticelli-we found the perfect shrug, but it's sadly the wrong color. I jus wish there was more time.

122-we have so muc hin common. I told him I needed more time to plan as well!

janaemadsen said...

hey this is Janae- Claire's sister. I like the satin bolero- what a beautiful dress!

Cate Subrosa said...

Thank you - I'm looking forward to reading that :)

Muncher Cruncher said...

wow, this is AMAZING. I cannot wait to see this photo shoot jen. It will be "incred" as heath would say ;) miss you babe!

Big Shot said...

So beatiful. I like the lace bolero more than the solid one. Perfect for Italy?

Jenna said...

jane-Thanks for stopping by again! Don't miss your sisters guest posts coming up within the next two weeks.

Megan-Oh how I miss heathy and her funny little slang.

bigshot-I think I agree. Lace is better for romantic and ancient Italy