Wedding Blog
My coworker M, who sits across from me and will be attending our wedding, is an absolute RIOT. I adore her so much and I can go on and on about all the crazy times we’ve had during happy hours and even during office hours. She seriously keeps me sane during the dreadful workweek with her contagious laugh. She could be laughing about anything and even if I don’t think it’s funny, I can’t help but laugh along with her. I make fun of her for this all the time because she laughs at just about anything!
After I bought my dress, M couldn’t wait to see me in it in person and insisted that I send her a picture. When I did send her a picture, she said she loveeedd it. She went as far as to called it “classic”. I told her that although I did love my dress, I was worried because I had heard that that particular type of dress was going out of style, and I didn’t want to look back on my pictures 20 years from now and regret my decision. Although it might be nice now, I have no idea what the style of wedding dresses will be in the future.
Then she started telling me about her wedding almost 20 years ago. She was only a baby when she got married—22 years of age—and she had a lavish wedding with all the bells and whistles. She said to me, “you should see pictures of my wedding. It was nuts! My bouquet was the size of a house and my dress—oh man, you just have to see it!”
Surely enough, the next day she brought in one of her wedding albums to show me. I think we laughed for about an hour straight. I LOVED her wedding pictures! It was seriously classic 80’s, straight out of a movie. It was so endearing to me because it completely portrayed a specific time in her life, and it was a true testament to fads and styles that come and go. Then I realized that no matter how “classic” my dress is now, there’s no telling what I’ll think of it in the future, and you know what? That’s the whole point! It made me wonder where the styles of wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses were headed. For the first time, I couldn’t wait to look back on my pictures when I’m older. I couldn’t wait to show someone else my pictures and tell them, “This was what was popular back then!” I saw her face as she flipped through her album for what was probably the thousandth time, and the expression in her eyes made my heart swell. At that moment, I couldn’t wait to get married.
I begged her to let me share her pictures with Weddingbee, and luckily, she agreed! I carefully placed a few select pictures into a folder and scanned them over the weekend so I could post about it today. Are you ready?
M, looking gorgeous. So many years later, she looks exactly the same. Check out the headband!
Here’s a full-length shot of her dress. Tell me she doesn’t look like Lindsay Lohan! Once, we were joking around and we took pictures of her pretending to be Lindsay, hiding behind another coworker who was pretending to be a bodyguard. I wasn’t lying when I said she was a riot!
Holy poof, Batman! The bridesmaids’ dresses cracked me up. You could barely see their faces.
M’s aunt handmade the flower girl’s dress to match the bridesmaids’ dresses. So adorable!
A nice romantic moment—her husband taking off her garter.
Are you concerned with your wedding becoming outdated? Do you try to consider how you’ll feel when you see your pictures 20 years from now?
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Share this post: Times Are A-Changin’
i did really think about that a lot when i was picking out my dress and my bridesmaids’ dresses, so i picked really simple dresses for me and for the girls. even out venue, we picked a reception site that was very clean-looking so it would be brighter on pictures - i’ve seen 80’s wedding pics that are in really dark-looking wood-paneled places. i just tried to keep things really simple so that hopefully there won’t be as many things to be embarrassed about later! even if your dress goes out of style, though, and you might later say, “what was i thinking??”, you will still love your dress because of what it means to you and how it made you feel on your wedding day.
That is fantastic! She’s such a good sport to let you post them! I love the POOF everywhere!
I too, thought about how outdated everything might look 20 years down the road, especially regarding my dress (asymmetrical pickups). However, even a simple, no frills dress may be out of style in the future! Like you said, you can never tell. So I decided, the hell with it because I like my dress and I feel good in it - my daughters can laugh at the pictures years down the road but I’ll still be smiling at them, just as your coworker was.
Great post, and great pictures!
You know, one of my mom’s friend said some of the things you were worried about too. But, my boyfriend’s mom said that a girl always loves her wedding dress!! I would have to agree. As funny as those pics are of her 80’s wedding. It was still her wedding, it was still the dress that she knew was the one, and probably cried over when she saw herself for the first time. 
Okay - I just loved those pics! Thank M for sharing!
I was a little nervous, because I knew that my dress style was definitely a little trendy (it was one of the Oleg dresses at DB) but at the end of the day, there’s no WAY you can guarantee something will still look good in 20 years. You just have to go with what you feel beautiful in and go from there.
Although, this is the exact reason why I will never get a tattoo.
Becky
I have to admit I never though how my dress would look compare to the fashion in the future.
I think what matters is that you find something you feel food in and look good in. If the dress is flattering I think it won’t matter if it’s out of style.
The 80’s were a bit special, but look back at other times, when the dress fits, the bride looks beautiful no matter what.
That is some serious POOF! Thanks for sharing!
I really don’t care if my pictures look dated in 20 years. My thought - it was 20 years ago! Of course it will be dated. What matters is that you have a wonderful day and that you love the way you look and feel in your dress. This will be obvious in the pictures (as with your coworkers) and that will be what makes your pictures so amazing!
I looooove thos pics. I’m glad M was kind enough to share them. It really is classic 80s! But you know what doesn’t date the pictures? The happiness and love on M’s face. I mean, look at her smile! There isn’t a close shot of her hubby, but I’m sure his face is also reflecting that love. And the love in wedding pictures does not age!
wow, she’s great for sharing this with us! thanks M!
i thought about this briefly bc i am/was in love with pickup style skirts. i chose a dress with a pickup skirt anyway knowing that in 5-10 yrs it will probably look dated.
so what? i will have gotten married in the past! thats the reality of the situation. lol….
You know, I wonder what people thing of lace-up dresses… they were SO hot 2-3 years ago, now I don’t see them anymore..
Have lace-up-back dresses gone the way of poufy sleeves?
OMG, the sleeves. THE SLEEEEEEEVES.
I’m so glad you posted this, and have the same opinion I do. So what if your photos are “dated” 20 years from now….they’re supposed to be! But those photos are a time capsule of that specific time and place. Hell I look back at my middle school photos where I did the “wave” with my bangs…trying to get them as high as humanly possible. Is it embarrasing? Sure, but peeps from that decade now that I was stylish back then. LoL.
Okay, those pics are hilarious!! Those SLEEVES! omg. I was absolutely dead set on having a gown I could look back on and it would still look fantastic. I chose a simple, silk satin bateau a-line gown. Fast forward six months after I ordered it and I’m completely changing it! I’m keeping the neckline but pulling down the front to make it more of a trumpet and I’m adding a bubble hem…not so classic, but still relatively simple. But I agree - the style says OH so much about what was going on in your life at that point! Hooray for the 80s and its godawful fashion!!
My parents got married in 1979 and although my mother’s dress is not that much different than the styles today my dad’s tux is a completely different story! He wore a white tux with tails AND a yellow RUFFLED shirt. A white bowtie and white shoe accompanied his outfit with a yellow silk rose pinned on his lapel. The groomsmen wore white tuxs with baby blue ruffled shirts. My mom said he was strutting around like a rooster the whole day!
Haha, I love this post. I’m right there with you on fashion of the times though…I LOVE seeing weddings of the 80’s and I don’t look back and say “oh, how horrid!!!” I don’t think your wardrobe should be dictated by what MIGHT look good in the future…We picked BM dresses with bubble skirts that were so trendy last year, and a few people mentioned that it was gonna go out of style really quickly (like, possibly before the wedding even came) and I said…so what? They’re so cute, right now. So what if 20 years from now, you can tell we got married in 2008? Maybe thats a good thing, right?
This is an awesome post! I had the same thought, and even though you can’t predict wedding fashion twenty years from now, I tried my best, but I’m sure even my wedding will scream 2005. And you know….that’s okay, because that was a fantastic day in my personal history.
And yes, I’m totally prepared to laugh at myself.
These are delightful, thank your co-worker for sharing them with us! Ah, the 80’s. Decade of the poufy hair and poufy shoulder pads.
I really think fashion has cycles, and even the sleeves-bigger-than-your-head will reappear one day. Man, if I could’ve shoehorned myself into my mom’s 1960 gown, you know I would have. Smell of moth balls be damned!
Yeah, this post is just about perfect. (I’m crying). I was married in 1982, and still very happy. Thanks, little girl, for sharing this special moment, and recognizing the look in her eyes that made your heart swell. I do the same thing when I’m looking back. Thank you again.
HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Love your post! I read this while I was supposed to be participating in a webinar, and I laughed so loud looking at these photos. Note to self: do not read WeddingBee while in a meeting. (yeah right)
First, thank you M for sharing your pictures with us. They are fantastic, and they remind me of a lot of fabulous family weddings I attended when I was younger. *smile*
Second, we had this same debate, but about our tuxes. Mr. Y and I have chosen to go the controversial/trendy brown tuxedo route (sans ruffly yellow or blue shirts). In the end we decided that a lot of other things will mor than likely “date” our wedding, and we went with it. Contact me in 20 years, and I’ll let you know how I feel, but for now I’m really excited about them!
hahaha love it! you can’t pick a dress based on what you think trends will be in 20 years or else you will look ridiculous now.
As far as your dress going out of style… We have similar gowns and I have had some of the same thoughts recently, mostly from people hatin’ on that style. Honestly though, I think our gowns rock and if I am lucky my grand kids will love looking at photos of their granny in her crazy gown from way back on 2008.
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Mrs. Martini, New Jersey
Age and Occupation: 30, Telecom by day, Superhero by night
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Investments & Finance by day, Hip hop dancer by night
Engagement Date: May 24, 2008
Wedding Date: March, 2009
Blogging Since: August 18, 2008
Venue: The Venetian
About Me: Things that make me happy: Haribo Happy Cola gummies, TV shows on DVD, buying books although I never read them, 80’s rock ballads, ramen, and of course Mr. Martini! He is the calm, logical and number crunching finance guy. I can’t even multiply double digit numbers in my head and I am so indecisive that trying to choose between light green or slightly lighter green paper stresses me out (Wedding planning is going to be soooo much fun). We both find great joy in nabbing great seats at the movie theater for a blockbuster movie on opening weekend, and we are both absolutely crazy about snowboarding. And he loves to cook, I love to eat!
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