Here it is: pictures of my dress. I did just about everything for this. I designed it; I dyed all the fabric myself (including the white fabric: it wasn't quite the right shade of white), and I sewed it. I also did the veil. My mom helped some (she also made my GORGEOUS jewelry) with the hem and last finishes. I was working on this literally to the day before the wedding.

Comments: We had a bit of a twenties thirties theme, so I used that in my design. I tried to have a bit of an art deco feel like with my invitations with the strong borders. The pleat down the front was a direct reference to a lot of thirties stuff. The sleeves were a little less authentically inspired. I'm self-conscious about my upper arms, so I wanted sleeves. As for what to do with them...I got the idea from Miria's dress in the dvd only eps (14-16) of Baccano! Which is based in the thirties; so it works, I guess.

The veil was inspired by a lot of veils I saw. The shape across the back of the head was pretty common only a lace bonnet. I did an inverse however, leaving that open to my hair, but still suggesting it. The construction is solid, but not something you expect to hear about a wedding dress. I tore apart a cheap headband, cut out some hard core interfacing to the shape I wanted, and hotglued the interfacing, fabric, and ends of the elastic threaded through the veil to the headband body. You can't tell it's hotglue, which makes me VERY happy.

The fabric is all silk. I bought a bunch of undyed silk from dharma trading company. The body of the dress is this gorgeous sueded silk charmeuse, the shear is a silk gauze. As mentioned, I dyed it all to better match my skin tone.