Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/Maine
Age and Occupation: 26, Eye Doctor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad student
Engagement Date: May 15, 2007
Wedding Date: July, 2008
Blogging Since: March 4, 2008
Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tent
About Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
Without Fanfare: THE Dress
March 27th, 2008 @ 12:15 pm by Mrs. Tiramisu
*** Mr. Tiramisu, this is a no-fly zone for you! ***
I’ve been meaning to write about this for awhile, but the problem is, I don’t have a very interesting story to tell you! No dress search saga or photo-filled part 1- 10 posting about my dress shopping adventures- sorry!
Way back in August, I went dress shopping on a whim with one of my bridesmaids, L. Having been engaged at the time for about three months, I had flipped through my fair share of bridal magazines looking for dresses. I didn’t fall in love with anything, but I had come up with a few rules. What I had decided was that I didn’t want a strapless dress, that I loved the look of a drop-waist but knew my pear-shape self would look better in a traditional A-line, and that I didn’t want any sparkle or lace.
So of course, as these things go, I ended up with a strapless, drop-waist (although still pretty A-line), alencon lace topped wedding dress. It was dress #3 at stop #1 and I never would have tried it on had my friend not insisted. I bought the sample (at a nice discount!) after a week of obsessing over the dupioni silk (and feather-light) concoction. I cannot wait to dance around my wedding day in it! Without further ado…
Miss Tiramisu’s wedding dress!
(Turns out I love lace.)
It’s Paloma Blanca, and looks a little different on a regular person with curves (no offense to you, Miss Sour-Faced wedding dress model) - which I think adds to the fabulousness. 
I know I bought it early, but miraculously I haven’t seen a single thing I like more.
What rules did you have about your wedding dress? Did you break them like me?!
34 Responses to “Without Fanfare: THE Dress”
I too had the no-strapless rule. Sadly, the no-strapless options are still limited.
That is a gorgeous dress! Strapless dresses have taken over. When I was looking and told them I didn’t want something strapless it really narrowed down my options from 60 dress to 2.
I had the no-strapless rule as well. And like Corn, ended up getting a strapless dress since there really wasn’t much available that had straps.
I had the no strapless rule, and i really thought i was going to get an A line dress because i thought that would look best on me. I got a strapless ballgown. It comes in ina few weeks - i’m SUPER EXCITED!
I thought I wanted a flowy, empire waist, greek looking chiffon dress with little to no embellishments.
I ended up with a strapless, slightly poofy princessy a-line with a beaded and lacy kinda sparkly top, gathered/ruched midsection (similar to yours), and a pick up skirt (similar to yours). But I love it!
Beautiful!
I broke my rule! I have a REALLY large chest and I definitely didn’t want strapless but I found an awesome corset dress that rocks on me!!!
I thought I would go around to 100 bridal shops with all my friends and try on a billion dresses before I found “the one”. Turns out I found it in online when some girls were complaining about how JCrew sells out of everything they make. I turned to ebay after a few months and there she was, for 1/2 price, still brandy-new. Throw those rules out the window!
Absolutely stunning!!! Mr. Tiramisu will be speechless. When I was dress shopping, I had a no strapless rule, because I am a curvy girl and V-necks look the best on me. However, when the ladies at the bridal salon suggested a beautiful sweetheart neckline dress I was surprised how amazing it looked on me. When it came down to decision time it was between a V-neck and the sweetheart. Ultimately, I chose the V-neck, but it was a great lesson for me to always keep my mind open to other possibilities!
i used to hate lace, i always said “no lace” then i tried one on w/ a lace boddice.
done.
now i love lace.
gorgeous dress!!!!
i’m not even engaged and yet i want to go out and buy this dress!
SO gorgeous! i love paloma blanca and the way their dresses fit…! i can’t wait to see a photo of you in it!
my rules were that it had to be relatively simple but with some lace or beading on the bodice so that it would be pretty in closeup pics, but generally very simple and either a-line or trumpet. i also really wanted a sash but it was hard to find a dress that had all of those elements. lucky for me, i finally found an amy kuschel sample that fit the criteria!
i have a no strapless [every single wedding i’ve been to has featured a strapless dress and i have this defect about needing to do things differently], fancy bling/sequins decoration, pick ups or princessy dress rule. while i’m still vehemently against the fancy bling/sequins rule i’ve resigned myself to being okay if i ended up with a strapless dress. i like to call that progress.
I had a no- bead, pickup, sequins, ribbon, sparkley rule…and i found a paloma that fit all of my criteria…strapless, silk, no beading. i love it…and all of the paloma’s are so beautiful. Congrats!!!
It is beautiful!!!
I originally had a no strapless rule too, until I tried on a bunch of dresses with straps or sleeves and discovered that they looked awful on me. My shoulders are actually quite narrow but the sleeves/straps made it seem like I had these wide football shoulders!
I was deadset on a lace gown. Then, one day while in NY for business, I stopped by RK Bridal. I grabbed one dress that I almost put back because it was so different than the others. Thankfully, I decided to try it on anyway for the hell of it. It ended up being THE dress!
It does have a lace bolero, and a lace insert/ruffle on the train. But the rest of it was very “plain” compared to what I thought I wanted. And it’s very fitted, which some people warned wouldn’t look good with my curvy/pear body. But I look great in it!
I highly suggest other brides try on things outside of their comfort zone. What you think you want may not be what you actually love.
Here’s my dress:
http://www.jasminebridal.com/html/en/web1_couture_2_a.asp?id=1373
I really love it. I have some dress rules as well. So far I have stuck to them. Mostly. I will avoid pick-ups. I will NOT give in…..But this dress is beautiful. You made me rethink the pickups all over again. Maybe another round of dress shopping with more of an open-mind is in order.
I bought the same exact dress for my wedding!! =)
I, too, had a “no lace, no sparkle whatsoever” rule, and thought for sure that I would wear an A-line gown. After an incident at a gown shop where the consultant only let me try on one gown — one very form-fitting gown with lots of bling and lace — I decided that I would give other dresses a try. I ended up with a gorgeous mermaid-style lace gown and LOVED it. Hurray for breaking our “rules!” And gorgeous gown, by the way.
Love it!! I can’t WAIT to see how it looks on you!! I’m sure 1000 times better than miss sourface
i bought a strapless and ended up buying another of the same dress on ebay to have straps added. its hotttttt.
OMG- We are totally wedding soulmates- I, like you vowed that I did not want a strapless dress. I began shopping last May for my wedding that is taking place this July with no intention of buying anything just yet, but just to see what was out there. Alas, I ended up buying a Paloma Blanca off the rack (at a 50% discount) that was strapless with alencon lace. I am absolutely in love with it, even though it is so not what I pictured myself in.
Your dress is GORGEOUS!!!
your dress is EXQUISITE!
(has anyone said that adjective yet? lol)
for me, i was rigid. i wanted an A-line, not a lot of pouf, spaghetti straps as an option, pick up skirt with embellishments at each pickup, a heavily beaded bodice with a corset back. and it could NOT be white.
When i FINALLY found a dress that fit the criteria except the corset back, i had the shop call the manufacturer to find out if they could make it with a corset back for me…..and they said YES!
so, no, i didnt waver. not an inch.
and since i tried on a other dress styles, i am even more confident that my choice best flatters my figure and reflects my personality!
that dress is lovely on! It was one of my top contenders, though i decided i couldn’t do the pick-ups myself. the PB i *really* wanted was 3853… I can’t believe I still remember the style number! in any case, i didn’t get it due to budget reasons. sigh.
I love your dress! I tried that one on so many times and was seriously considering it. I ended up with another Paloma Blanca (style 3407 with the alencon lace bolero).
I tried not to go in with too many rules..but I really wanted to get away from strapless dresses if possible. I discovered that I look like a quarterback though in v-neck dresses! I loooove the Paloma Blanca line of dresses..not only are they simple and elegant, but they are made in Canada (not in a sweatshop factory overseas) which was important to me.
I, too, got a Paloma Blanca dress for my wedding in August. I love that the silk dress is very light! I knew as soon as I put it on that I would be very comfortable in it all day and night.
Love the dress! It’s stunning.
I also set out with “rules” (including straps) and found a beautiful strapless dress that I almost bought - but then came across my perfect dress a few weeks later - straps and all. I was thrilled!!
I do admit though, it’s hard to give in to a beautiful dress that didn’t meet the rules!
I tried not to have too many rules, other than no long sleeves and nothing so slinky that I couldn’t wear underwear.
I LOVE your choice! The bodice is gorgeous.
My rules: silk or lace sheath. No strapless. No mermaid. No poofy princess confections. Etc etc. Ended up, at the gentle urges of others, to look beyond my dress biases and try on some strapless *gasp*, some mermaid cuts *doublegasp!* and whaddya know, I ended up not getting a lace sheath =). I was very close to it, but ended up purchasing a beautiful silk taffeta and tulle VW confection that ironically made me feel like a princess, but in a good way ;).
OMG Tiramisu! Cross my heart, I got a swirly happy feeling in my tummy when I saw your dress! I love it!
My rules- silk, a LITTLE bit of sparkle (my boy’s like a magpie about sparkling things!), button back.
I wont be shopping for awhile though… already so anxious!
Of course! Rules are made to be broken. The one dress that seemed the ugliest on the hanger was the ONE. Completely not what I was looking for but everyone knew it was it.
