Miss Gingerbread, Vancouver
Age and Occupation: 32, Psychologist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Software Engineer
Engagement Date: Sometime in the fall of 2004
Wedding Date: July, 2008
Blogging Since: March 24, 2008
Venue: Rainforest wedding, beachfront restaurant reception
About Me: I recently moved to Canada from Southern California. Trying to plan a wedding in a new city, not to mention a new country, is tough, but the fact that we can get legally married here more than makes up for it! The wedding will be an opportunity for most of our family and friends to see our new city for the first time so it will be both a wedding and a reunion. Besides my future wife, I am also madly in love with a good bargain, Swedish pastries, Tivo, and my two dogs and calico cat (in no particular order).
Do I Bustle?
May 20th, 2008 @ 11:30 am by Miss Gingerbread
One difficult thing about planning the wedding in a new city is that I don’t have a plethora of people to drag to things like dress fittings. Since I don’t normally wear wedding dresses, I’m just not sure about the whole bustle situation. I asked my tailor and she just sort of looked at me blankly, which I interpreted as “Huh? Why would you do that?” Since I feel pretty clueless about bustles, I left wondering, “Yeah, why would I do that?” But now I am starting to question if this is something I need to do. Help!
Here’s the generic picture of my dress.
I can’t find many other pictures of the dress and especially of this dress bustled. So, dear readers, help a Gingerbread out. Would you bustle this dress? If so, what the heck would that look like? Watters 9040B brides, I especially want to hear from you!
28 Responses to “Do I Bustle?”
Personally I think I would bustle it only because I like to dance and even with a short train, it’ll still get in the way. But if I remember correctly, your reception won’t have dancing, so I think you’ll be okay. Love the dress 
I’m a Watter bride- 8046B which is very similar to your dress- I’m doing a french bustle. I’m going to have my sash in back for the ceremony with the train down and then re-do it and tie it in the front when I do the bustle for the reception. Hope that helps!
That dress is gorgeous!
You can do one of two things:
1) Have the dress shortened in the back and then there is no need to bustle
2) Bustle after the ceremony
Bustling is probably the easiest.
Yes you bustle - i have a lace dress like yours, and my seamstress put in a simple little hook thingy that you can’t really see, and it just picks up the bottom of the sweep train, so you aren’t stepping all over it…
Beautiful! My train is about as long as yours, and I’ll definitely be bustling after the ceremony to avoid stepping on it (and keeping others from stepping on it!)
Love the dress. I would agree with the others. I would bustle the dress after the ceremony.
I have the same dress. My mother, a seamstress, is doing a one-point pick up bustle for my dress. It is simple and won’t require special instructions for whomever will be helping you bustle the dress. I am also wrapping the sash to tie in front after the ceremony so it drag. I will see if we can mock it up this weekend and I’ll post pictures. Hope this helps.
I’d do a one-point overbustle, maybe with a brooch at the point to dress it up a bit.
Yes, definitely bustle. My seamstress acted strangely when I asked about bustling too, so don’t be thrown off by weird looks. I like the suggestions above. Another to consider is three points in a row all down the center seam (it give the back a look of being pulled up by a thread along the back).
First, your dress rocks. Second, I think it’s more of a personal decision. Are you going to be dancing the night away? If this will be happening (and I hope it does!), then maybe you should consider a bustle so that you’re not stepping on it? Hope this helps 
Bustle it, or people are going to be stepping all over it (immobilizing you!).
I would definitely bustle it to avoid people stepping on your gown (whether it be while dancing or by greeting each of your guests at the reception).
@Jodi:
Yikes, I’m over tired, let me try edit my own comment:
How rude to spam Miss Gingerbread’s post! When people do that it has an opposite affect on me, it makes me NOT want to ever consider purchasing through that person, especially if they are that desperate that they are piggy backing on a Bee’s post. In the words of Stephanie Tanner, How rude!
I’m not having a bustle. When I brought it up to my seamstress she said it would be hard to do on my dress but she could make it work. I my dress is sheath and is made from 5 layers of silk chiffon. The fabric is very tender and prone to ripping when it had a lot of weight. eeek… I think I would rather get it a little dirty. I will not have dancing at my reception because of the small number of guests. If I had a more substantial fabric I think I would have one.
Ok, let me fix my comment, b/c it didn’t all go on my last post. I would bustle… If you want to have an easier time at the reception and not have to worry about your train being stepped on.
Sorry the last post did not include that. I am new to this and hit enter before I was finished.
My train is about the length of yours, and initially I thought about having it cut off, to avoid stepping on it, having other people step on it, and generally dragging it around on the floor like a dust mop all evening. But bustling is awesome - not only does it look really fun (just a little ruffly detail on a simple dress like yours) but you get the train for the ceremony and then don’t have to worry about it again. I start alterations Thursday, so don’t know exactly how we’ll bustle, but I loved the look when my bridal salon lady just pulled the skirt up into a one-point bustle in the back.
Hi! My friend’s wedding last month had that exact same dress. No bustle. Just held it up when she wanted to dance. (besides, it’s not like you have to wear it to work the next day. You can always get it cleaned.)
Good luck!
Here is a knottie that wore that dress. Looks like she had a one point over bustle
http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/page.aspx?username=nbjenni
Bustle it up - even if there won’t be dancing, it will make navigation so much easier and avoid complications of people accidentally stepping on the dress. Personally, I am a huge fan of bustles and am incredibly excited to have one. My dress is a bit more voluminous, so a bustle is pretty much required. The dress comes with a one-point under bustle, but the seamstress says that we need reinforcements, so I’ll end up with a three point bustle. The only awkward bit will be training my MOH in how to work it, which involves a journey under the skirts. However, as other mentioned above, an over bustle is probably the best bet with your dress and should be much easier to wrangle. Btw, such a fabulous dress!!
My dress is lace and sleek like yours. I didn’t want to bustle either because it ruins the dress, but in the end, you have to or else the long train looks kinda funny at a reception. I tried hooking it up first - awful. We then changed it to a French bustle, tucking it underneath. Soo much better because it keeps your sleek shape.
My dress had similar lines to yours and I did an “american” bustle. which was just one point. It came undone several times (whenever I sat down) But it was easy to have someone fix for me- and when I realized the sitting was what was undoing it—I just didn’t sit anymore-
I was a 9040B bride. Here’s the best photo of my bustle I could dredge up
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gummycandy/2297894349/in/set-72157602136987540/
cj — that is just beautiful! I really like the idea of having a bustle that you have to get help with. My favorite drink to bring to a party is Corona, because you need help form the host with knives and a cutting board and navigating their kitchen and it really gets you connected. Remember that youngester you were talking about, GB, the pre-teen who needed a job? Maybe she could be the bustle girl
I’m also wearing your dress. I’m doing a one point french bustle. Hope that helps!
http://www.leanna.com/Bridal/Bustles.htm
I’m probably late on helping you, but I found this site while looking for what type of bustles I wanted on my gown. The site is complete with pictures and was extremely helpful to me. If you look at the pickup bustle near the bottom of the page, there is a dress with an overlay. I think you can probably do that for your lace one. Hope that helps!
I own a bridal shop and have sold and bustled that Watters gown. That gown works nicely with a French bustle. My seamstress did 5 hooks and eyes up underneath the dress. One hook and eye up the middle seam, and two to the right and left of the center seam of the back of the gown
