Newer blog post
more in Blog
Older blog post
Newer blog post by Mrs. Hot Cocoa
more by Mrs. Hot Cocoa (oldest)
Older blog post by Mrs. Hot Cocoa
Mrs. Hot Cocoa's Picture
Mrs. Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical Student Engagement Date: May 30, 2008 Wedding Date: March, 2009 Blogging Since: April, 2008 Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey About Me: I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
About Mrs. Hot Cocoa

First Look

September 17th, 2008 @ 5:01 pm by Mrs. Hot Cocoa

This Sunday I subjected Mr. HC to yet another “Bridezillas” marathon. (That show is like a bad car accident that I just can’t turn away from.) In the middle of an episode with a particularly awful behaving bride in a particularly awful looking periwinkle dress, Mr. HC turned to me and said, with some trepidation in his voice: “I hear your dress isn’t strapless.” “Um, who told you that?” I asked him. “My mom—but she didn’t mean to tell me; she just told me that it was beautiful.” “Hmm,” I replied. “Yep, not strapless.” “Oh,” said Mr. HC, with a trace of concern.

It occurred to me then that we’ve gone to something like ten weddings in the last two years, and that every bride, except for one, wore a strapless dress. After I assured Mr. HC that I wasn’t going to be rockin’ some 80s pouf sleeves or some wackadoodle, high-necked homage to the nuns in the Sound of Music, he seemed a little bit less worried.

But, of course, now I’m worried.

As I’ve said before, Mr. HC and I have very different aesthetics: he’s Brooks Brothers (classic, straight-laced), and I’m Anthropologie (flirty, quirky). He likes to blend in, while I like to stand out. There have definitely been times when my outfits have puzzled him. And while I usually don’t dress to please him, I do want him to be floored by how I look that day. In fact, I want the reaction Ellen had to seeing Portia for the first time on their wedding day (the whole video is so touching, but forward to 1:30 to see their first look moment):

I know this doesn’t make any sense mathematically, but I’m both 110% sure Mr. HC will love my wedding day look, and yet 5% worried that he’ll be disappointed. 

Do you and your groom have different styles and tastes? Do you worry whether your SO will love or hate your wedding attire?

Tags: los-angeles |
advertisement below
Newer blog post
more in Blog
Older blog post
Newer blog post by Mrs. Hot Cocoa
more by Mrs. Hot Cocoa (oldest)
Older blog post by Mrs. Hot Cocoa

41 Responses to “First Look”

1 2 3 

1.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Dumpling (message)  722 posts, Busy bee

OMG YES. He loved that Vera Wang dress I blogged about and he said he had never seen someone look so beautiful…this was after I lost the dress and showed it to him. Then, I was watching Say Yes to the Dress on TLC and I go “hey, do you like that dress?” (because it was similar to my Priscilla) and he goes “no, I never understood those tight dresses that flare at the bottom. They arent flattering.” So, yeah- just a bit worried. But Im sure the boy will love what im wearing…even if I wore a little black dress to walk down the aisle. =)

 
2.
Guest Icon
Guest
Andria

I think your FI is marrying the woman he fell in love with, quirks and different tastes and all. He’s going to be blown away by you regardless of what you wear. Pick something that you love and feel comfortable with and he’ll love it.

And no, I don’t worry about it because it’s not about that at all. It’s about the day before and the next day and every day after. :-)

It’ll be perfect. Don’t worry.

 
3.
Member Icon
Member
Miss OceanBeach SF (message)  181 posts, Blushing bee

I’m a bit worried as well, as he has said repeatedly that he doesn’t like dresses that are beaded and sparkly…and mine is beaded and sparkly. I’ve slyly shown him a picture of it (without him knowing it was my dress) and he said it wasn’t bad, but a picture doesn’t really convey the sparkle. I try to reassure myself that he will hopefully be focusing on me in the dress and not the dress itself.

 
4.
pancy
Member
pancy (message)  287 posts, Helper bee

yes. my fiance’s style is very clean and modern and I am more romantic and frilly. I had him look at 4-5 dresses on the runway models, one being my own, and asked his opinion on each. He said he was sure I would make any of those dresses look a million times better than those models on our wedding day :) that’s why i keep him around! but ellen’s wedding video seriously made me tear up!! so beautiful. does anyone know what song that is playing at the end? those voices sound sooo familiar!

 
5.
Member Icon
Member
carly7215 (message)  128 posts, Blushing bee

My fiance prides himself off having better fashion sense than me. He’s my little fashionista. So naturally, I’ve worried about whether he will love my dress. My dress isn’t strapless…in fact, it’s off the shoulder with some actual sleeve-age. I know, quite bold of me. But I’m not worried. Like Miss Dumpling said, I know he will be smitten with it. You will be gorgeous and he will think you look fabulous!!

 
6.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Pineapple (message)  682 posts, Busy bee

yes! there was a bride wearing a dress almost exactly like mine on who’s wedding is it anyway and he hated it. eeeek

 
7.
Member Icon
Member
mrshudson (message)  143 posts, Blushing bee

You used the word wackadoodle! That just made my whole day.

 
8.
Guest Icon
Guest
Allison

I am super worried! My dress is so beaded and sparkly, I’m just not sure that is his thing. He really doesn’t care about clothes at all or show his emotion much, so while I want a big reaction I know I probably won’t get it.

PS: Love love love Ellen and Portia’s wedding video. I kept meaning to TiVo that episode because I wanted to see these clips. Thanks for sharing it here!

 
9.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Hot Cocoa (message)  2,077 posts, Buzzing bee

@Miss Dumpling: You did look beautiful in that Vera, but you look radiant in the one you chose!!
@Andria: Thanks for the reassurance. I kind of know that, but not — you know what I mean? :-)
@Miss Fondue and @Allison: I’m not convinced that men really know what “bead and sparkly” means. I think they’re picturing a disco ball or a drag queen outfit; definitely not the beautiful gowns I’m sure you two will be wearing.
@pancy: Awww!
@carly7215: Ooh, your dress sounds gorgeous!
@Miss Pineapple: Hahahaha. Of course what will happen is that he’ll see you in the dress, be floored, and will have no idea that it was the same dress he’d seen on that show!
@mrshudson: :-P

 
10.
Guest Icon
Guest
AbbieOinCO

Don’t worry! Many more brides are bucking the strapless trend… including me! Which is kind of funny because I usually wear strapless dresses to weddings. Yeah for non-strapless!!

 
11.
Guest Icon
Guest
Emily

Super worried. My fiance’s style is pretty simple and traditional (he’s a cop, so he wears a uniform most days and couldn’t care less about fashion when he’s off), while mine is a little edgier. My dress is a combination of vintagey and modern, but is definitely pretty different (I designed it with a friend of mine and it’s being made), so I’m worried that he won’t “get” it or think it’s bridal enough. At the end of the day I know he’ll love whatever I wear and just be glad to be marrying me, but I’m still a little concerned! Thanks for this post, it’s good to know other brides are in the same boat.

 
12.
Member Icon
Member
manhattanlawyer (message)  18 posts, Newbee

Oh what a relief to read other perspectives. My fiance thinks that unless a dress is skin-tight, it isn’t pretty. Um, sorry, but that isn’t really the look I’m trying to convey on my wedding day. I’ve shown him dresses in mags that I’ve liked and he’s hated every single one of them! Haha. I’m not too concerned, though, because it’s hard for him to tell any dresses apart, plus whenever I show him a dress on the hanger and he hates it, he tends to like it once it’s actually on me. So I’m just hoping that he’ll like whatever I’m wearing. Truthfully, I doubt he’ll even notice. Men tend not to notice details the way we think they do :-)

 
13.
Member Icon
Member
slim (message)  7 posts, Newbee

I really wanted a non-strapless dress but halter didn’t look right, spaghetti straps didn’t look right and I never got as far as cap-sleeves. I did buy a strapless dress in the end but I’ve been thinking of throwing some cap sleeves on there just to rally against the strapless dress. It’s fine strapless too.

I think my FI (as well as your FI) will love whatever dress you will be in!

 
14.
suzanno
Hostess
suzanno (message)  2,683 posts, Sugar bee

My dress wasn’t strapless. It also had no lace, no beads, and no sequins. It was gorgeous, and it was absolutely my style. Everybody, including DH loved it - even my mom, who I know really had something much more ornate in mind.

I don’t know why you would marry someone who seriously did not like your taste or style! For me, it would get old pretty fast to be worrying all the time about whether what makes me feel pretty is going to make him roll his eyes. DH’s style is really quite different than mine - in fact his wedding ensemble cost much more than mine (we call him The Peacock). But he appreciates and loves my style too, and will often flag a page in a catalog or stop at a store window and say “That looks just like my girl.”

Pancy’s man has the right attitude. And if your man doesn’t think you look gorgeous in the dress that makes you feel gorgeous, the problem is not with your taste - it’s with his attitude.

 
15.
Guest Icon
Guest
megs08

My DH accidentally caught a glimpse of my dress a few months prior to the wedding (guess I didn’t hide the pictures on our computer as well as I thought) and he didn’t give much of a reaction and I was worried. He just kept saying “I didn’t really see it for long enough to pay attention.” After 10 years of dating, I suspected he was full of it. My dress was tiered w/ lace panels divided by ribbon. I had set out to find a very plain dress. It wasn’t over the top but it had a lot more going on than I had first planned.

After the wedding he admitted to being concerned about the dress at first but once he saw me on our wedding day he was floored at how beautiful I looked. Throughout the shopping process I kept thinking how much easier it would be if he had been with me.

 
16.
Guest Icon
Guest
Melissa

@pancy: The singer is Josh Radin. He’s friends w/ Zach Braff, so his music was in a lot of Scrubs episodes, and in The Last Kiss. His music has also been on a lot of other shows (check out his wiki article). He just released a new album and is touring — you should definitely check him out.

 
17.
Mrs. DG
Hostess
Mrs. DG (message)  8,491 posts, Bee Keeper

Oh, I fully cried at Ellen’s beautiful video and photo montage.

Mr. Cocoa will love your dress, I’m sure…

I’ve showed fiance the dresses that I’ve tried on and liked. I guess I don’t go in for that whole superstition thing. We make all of our decisions together. Why not this one?

Sigh, I’ve always got to buck tradition!

 
18.
lilythespitfire
Member
lilythespitfire (message)  114 posts, Blushing bee

Actually we tend to have different tastes. I tried very hard not to cave into the strapless, however I realized it wasn’t making me very happy to make a statement rather than going with what I really loved. So I went with what I truly wanted and got a strapless all Alecon lace dress!

As for fiance? He was there when I bought it! We’ve no secrets and I’m not worried about the big reveal because with all the other stuff done on the day of it’s a completely different effect. Its just nice to know that he love what I have bought!

 
19.
Guest Icon
Guest
Turtle

Ms. Cocoa, I had the same concern– we have different styles too (like you, he’s brooks brothers and I’m more eclectic). Wait til you have to decorate the house– ahhh, that’s another story.

But that day, just a month ago, when I walked down the aisle, he smiled in a way like I”ve never seen. And when we got up on the altar, he said– “You are stunningly beautiful.” And you know what? You will be too– because it is STUNNING to look at the person you’re going to marry, and it has nothing to do with the dress.

 
20.
frenchbulldog
Bee
frenchbulldog (message)  7,730 posts, Bee Keeper

I hear yah! I’m a little worried too :-/ So glad I’m not alone on this one :)

 
1 2 3 

Leave a Reply


You can also just...

Newer blog post
more in Blog
Older blog post
Newer blog post by Mrs. Hot Cocoa
more by Mrs. Hot Cocoa (oldest)
Older blog post by Mrs. Hot Cocoa

Visit our sister sites eHarmony
Online Dating
eHarmony Advice
Dating Advice
Project Wedding
Wedding Songs
JustMommies
Pregnancy Calendar

Copyright 2004-2012, Weddingbee.com
 

Find your vendors on Weddingbee

Real reviews from brides in your area!

Favors by Weddingbee

  • Favors by season

Shop Now »

Mrs. Hot Cocoa
Mrs. Hot Cocoa

Mrs. Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los Angeles Age and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical Student Engagement Date: May 30, 2008 Wedding Date: March, 2009 Blogging Since: April, 2008 Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey About Me: I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.

Boards
Classifieds

Blog Calendar
February 2012
SunMonTueWedThuFriSat
2930311234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
26272829

Weddingbee Bios
Wiki
More