Amazed by The English Dept.

The English Dept. Is hosting their annual bridal show this weekend. I so wish I could be there!

These dresses are stunning, ethereal and… simply perfect.

Love, love, love.

The English Dept. Is run by owner/designer Elizabeth Dye. Photography by Lisa Warninger.

Oh, and for those of you who aren’t Portland-bound, check out Elizabeth’s Etsy store.

How Does She Know?

Monique Lhuillier back tie dress

Originally uploaded by KikiLaRae

How does Monique Lhuillier know? Seriously, how does she get it right so often?

This dress is another example of something beautiful. While its hard to imagine on someone with breasts or hips, the lace detail and delicate tie back are simply stunning.

If I had a larger wedding budget, this dress would be on my short list.

Since
a. My budget is meager
b. I already have a dress

I cannot have this lovely dress. However, that doesn’t stop me from trying it on at the Monique Lhuiller store at 50th and France.

Photo From Brides.com

The Dress?

So, I *may* have started to look for a wedding dress. And by *may* I mean that I spent over an hour trying dresses on.

I was pretty thrilled that I was able to wear the sample size. That may make some girls sad, but a wedding dress in a 10 — well, I am just fine with that. Of course, I plan to be smaller-sized by the wedding, but a wedding dress 10 works for now

I strolled into Flutter Boutique with a list of “nos” — no strapless dresses, no train of any sort, no stark white, no sweetheart necklines.

Then, I found something that smacked me in the face and broke almost all my rules. A strapless Saeyoung Vu Couture dress with corded lace overlay and a sweetheart neckline made its way into my fitting room. I gave it a shot and it looked spectacular. I added a sash in the wedding color, it looked even better.

Those ginormous hips from last night were hidden, tucked into the dense silk and lace.

Sigh. I was in love, until I got the price. Now, it must be understood that I figured that I could find a fab dress for a certain price. Especially since our wedding is to be a bit more casual. Let me just say that this dress wasn’t even in any sort of ballpark to my initial maximum price. Those numbers are about as far away as Maple Grove and Woodbury.

Now, its a battle, who will win? Fashion sense or pocketbook sense? I’ll let you know.