The forgotten post about tuxedos

Michael and I picked out tuxedos for the wedding a couple of weeks ago, but I realized that I forgot to post about them...until now.

Originally my thought was to keep the wedding fairly informal and let the men in the wedding party wear suits. Yeah, right -- in this day and age, none of the men in the wedding party owned a black suit. Since money would have to be spent regardless, I decided we might as well rent tuxes.

Actually, it was partly the suggestion of one of the groomsmen that changed my mind. He pointed out to Michael that suits might look too modern, but that tuxes would be more in keeping with the 1920s theme. So Michael and I quite happily picked out tuxes with coat tails.

Although the tuxes are dressier than I had originally planned, they are going to look quite nice. For the vests, we chose a satiny fabric with an embroidered floral pattern. Michael's vest will be a rich ivory color that comes close to the color of my dress. The rest of the men are wearing black vests, which ought to maintain the 20s look very nicely at the reception, where I expect everyone will want to take off the jackets.

Of course, tux rentals at the Men's Warehouse include everything, right down to the cufflinks and shoes, so everyone ought to look pretty snazzy. I'm really looking forward to it!

The alterations on my wedding gown are finished!

About a month and a half ago, I wrote that I was getting my wedding gown altered. I really had not wanted to do that, but there was no choice: My boobs were simply too big for the gown. (Now that was a first...)

I finally got the altered gown back yesterday. Several weeks ago, after the first round of alterations, I discovered that the dress wasn't quite right -- it was still too tight in the bust, and some of the seams were in danger of ripping. The seamstress fixed all of that at no additional charge, and I picked the gown up yesterday evening.

Of course, as soon as I got home I just had to try it on all over again, this time with the strapless bra-slip-combo I'd gotten to go under it. (The satin material is so pale and thin that you can even see the lines of nude-colored underclothes through it, so I found a nude-colored slip. I don't need all my my guests knowing that I wear a thong.) The dress is so beautiful, and I absolutely cannot wait until the wedding!

While I was at it, I also tried on my pink flapper gown over the slip, and that looks fantastic, too (albeit a little creased from being stored in a box). I also made a quick alteration on my own by undoing a loop of the velvet bow and making the belt a few inches longer, so that it would sit at my hips instead of hiking up to my natural waist. One of the underarms was separating at the seam a little, so I put in a few stitches to tack it up -- not as successful as I would have liked, but unfortunately the satin is very fragile on that dress.

I can't believe how quickly the wedding is coming up!

The 1920s wedding shoe hunt is finally over!

Back in November, I posted about a pair of modern T-strap shoes I'd found that I was considering wearing for the wedding. After I posted, however, the woman I bought my wedding dress from suggested that I look for a pair of vintage T-strap shoes, and sent me a picture. Predictably, I fell in love, and my hunt began.

I quickly discovered that it is darned difficult to find 80-year-old shoes in my size (a size 8, albeit narrow). I looked and looked, and finally found two different vintage possibilities, as well as a modern reproduction as backup. I'm sure many of you will understand when I say that I bought all three.

When I got the first pair, an ivory pair of Marshall Fields shoes dating from the late 20s or 30s, I discovered they had never been worn. The down side of that is that they had also never even been broken in -- so they were stiff and narrow. I couldn't even get my foot into them.

The second pair is absolutely adorable, a Grecian-looking pair of high-heeled, T-strap sandals from the 1930s. Unfortunately, they came in a lovely shade of mint green, which means they can't be dyed the same color as my dress -- they can only be dyed darker.

The third pair is just a Kenneth Cole 20s-inspired shoe in white satin, with rounded toes and thick high heels.

Having lost hope in wearing my first choice, the ivory Marshall Fields shoes, I decided to have the Grecian ones stretched a bit (they're stiff and shrunken from being stored improperly) and dyed. I picked out a color the best I could -- a dark ecru, which might go well since my dress is a light ecru... But then again, it might be too dark, as it is after all a wedding, and the style of my dress means that my feet will be on display. I'll be getting those shoes back on Monday.

In the meantime, I was finally able to pick my dress up from the seamstress's today (and the alterations are perfect!). After seeing the gown again, I began worrying all over again that the color on the Grecian shoes will be too dark. As I was worrying about it, I decided to try on the ivory shoes again.

Over the past few months, I have been trying to cram my feet into the Marshall Fields shoes periodically. Apparently, that's done the trick, because tonight I was finally able to get them on. They were a little snug at first, but I wore them around the house for about an hour, and they quickly started to break in. I am going to continue wearing them off and on over the next few days, and if that doesn't help I'll have them stretched slightly (just a little around the ball of the foot) next week.

Below are a couple of pictures of the ivory Marshall Fields shoes. Sorry I can't show you pictures of the Grecian shoes, but they are still at the cobbler's. I'll post pictures next week after I get them back.

The Charleston

For those of who think (like I did) that you'll try to get your guests to dance the Charleston, think again -- unless your guests are fairly athletic, I wouldn't count on it. To illustrate my point, here are a few videos I've found:



This one isn't totally Charleston, but has Charleston steps in it. Check out her cute 20s outfit -- I want that hat!!!



This one is just some kid doing the Charletson at home, but still, you get the idea.



Moral of the story: The Charleston looks like fun, but you don't want any of your guests breaking a leg at your wedding.