Weddingbee boards

I am totally and completely in love with my dress.  This one:

http://www.watters.com/product.php?coll=brides&showid=935#

The pics on the website don't even do it justice.  This dress is modern but romantic, the individual flowers have swarovski rhinestones centers and give off a great sparkle! :)  And I'm tall so the break in the dress of lace top, satin mid, and lace skirt was perfect... it really broke up the line.

However, after today's fitting I am super scared I chose the wrong type of dress for my "support" needs.  Here's the background_

I am six feet tall so ordered the dress Hollow to Hem (they measured me from top to bottom and had the dress proportionally lengthened to fit me. Yay!) and I also added an extra two inches to bring the top of the dress up to where it fits on the model in the pic.  I am large busted so it was showing waaaaaay to much boobage.  That was all great and I am so happy I paid the extra $$$$ to have it made to measure.  So what's the problem?  The corset I have to wear to hold up the "girls" shows under the satin!  

I tried strapless bras and they don't give enough "lift".  I went to Nordstrom and was there for hours trying everything out there.  The shop where I purchased my dress had a Flattering Me corset that was AMAZING for lift.  The foundation of the corset with an interesting cup that is just an engineering masterpiece really did the trick and my dress fit like a dream!  But I don't know what to do about the satin midsection.  I tried pulling a Spanx over the corset.  I asked the seamstress (who is awesome) if she could cover the corset and she says it would just make the problem worse.  

Anyone encountered this type of problem?  Any advice is welcome!  I am thinking I should have gone with a dress with ruching. :(  

you guys are awesome. :)

miss movie: you are a mind reader!  I actually ordered the le mystere bustier from herroom.com.  Problem was it was really really short on me so I had to send it back. :( It was really lovely, though.

nybride09: thanks for the dress compliment. :)  we don't have a lord and taylor here but do have wacoal and maidenform in all the dept stores so I will go hunting this weekend!

texaslawgirl: In my research for a good bustier, Kohl's keeps coming up on the boards.  For this item, I am ready to spend whatever it takes.  I would have never thought to look there for this time of item but after your suggestion, I am going to check them out this weekend, also.  Thanks!

cheerful: You also read my mind!  I ordered a variety of bustiers and brought them all to the seamstress - Le Mystere, Flattering Me (3 kinds!) and Felina.  The Felina and Le Mystere were beautifully made and I can see why they are so popular.  But sadly, they were short and hit me at the belly button and gave me a reverse muffin top if that makes sense.  LOL!  This has been quite an experience.... :)

futuredrbraun: thanks for your super kind words!  The grass is always greener and I'm really wishing I could just relax and get ready for my trip.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we are leaving in two weeks.  We are getting married halfway across the world on 9/19/09.

mambinki: really great idea you have there!  I never thought to talk to Watter's directly.  I will call them on Monday! :)

ladyinc3: how great that you like the Rhianna Royale!  My friend got married in that dress and it was amazing.  I love flower applique and how it adds texture and romanticism to the look.  It's a beautiful gown but, like you said, it has to match your personality.  Once you have a few more dresses that interest you, try starting a topic with pics of you and the dresses and we'd all be happy to vote!  Enjoy the search... it can be so much fun!

THANKS to you all for your advice... I will be hunting this weekend!  Also, I found the brand Va Bien online and called them today to ask about the length of their bustiers, they have 4 bridal styles:

http://vabienusa.com/default.php?cPath=21_24

They told me that the length from the underwire under each bust to the bottom is a whopping 13 inches!  That's a whole 3 inches longer than my Flattering Me!  Which might work because the bottom seam (which is what is causing the problem right now) will hit me lower and won't be so obvious.  Going to order several different styles and sizes and see what works.  By the way, this bustier sizing thing is so wierd:

I wear a 32G(DDDD) but the Flattering Me corset that works for me is a 36D.  It's super tight (I can still breathe, though!) and the smaller cup doesn't let my chest fall into the cups it kind of pushes them up and flattens them a bit so the dress fits like it's supposed to.  When the cups actually "fit", meaning they can hold the entire breast (sorry if this is too graphic :p), the breast will fall into the cup so you won't get a lift.  Oh my gosh, I feel like I'm discussing engineering theory or something.  

It's great to vent on this... very therapeutic! :)  If anyone has any other ideas, I am all ears! :)

Oh, and here are better pics from brides.com:

http://www.brides.com/fashion/dresses/gallery/wedding_dresses/runway/designer/wattersbrides/detail/180228?f=217%3a3004&offset=1

The satin midsection was taken in on my dress to fit more snug.  IMO, this one seems a bit loose, what do you guys think?  

Also, I ordered extra fabric from the dress (lace and satin) and had the seamstress make a custom long sleeved jacket for the Catholic church ceremony (covering of shoulders was recommended).  It turned out really beautifully... reminds me of the Pronovias jackets.  Aaaaand, I also have added detachable off the shoulder sleeves that match the top of the dress - sleeves are lace on top with flowers on the bottom.  I will post pics when I take them next week.  Again, being tall the strapless look just seemed so bare on me.  I love the sleeves, I can move them up over my shoulders for dancing.  

I had thought about being a two dress bride but it wasn't really possible with traveling to the middle east for our wedding (taking one dress on the plane is hard enough!) so I thought that changing the look of the dress from ceremony to reception would be more fun!  I really enjoyed the "creative process", too!  I will probably change my hairstyle somehow, or maybe not! :)

Oh, Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills carries the Va Bien line.  I called them and they are holding the items for me.  I guess I will be doing a lot of bustier hunting this weekend and making the one hour drive up to BH!  This bridal stuff is getting crazier and crazier by the day.... ~scream~

@mskalinin:  girl, our stars must be aligned because the "corset" issue is what made me freak out even more after yesterday's fitting.  You are so on the right track.  Read on...

After I had finished my fitting, I was perusing the accessory section in the store when a bride walked out of a fitting room with the Maggie Sottero Vogue Royale.  I had tried the dress on when I was looking and it wasn't for me (the top part made my boobs look like coconuts or clam shells, lol) even though it is a beautiful dress... i digress.  

Okay, so she walked out and her boobs were waaaaaay bigger than mine but hers were defying gravity in a way I had never seen!  Not implant style, they were real cause she was jiggling but they were pushed way, way, I mean WAY up.  I said, "Excuse me, but what bra are you wearing."  She said, "I'm not.".  Gasp.  Sniff, sniff... Knowing it was a Maggie dress, I knew what was coming next.

She said, "It's the boning in the dress and the corset... It's amazing."  Um yeah, I know.  I thought I was going to be a Maggie bride.  I studied her website.  I looked at all the pics of Maggie Brides.  I tried on Maggie dresses.  But for some reason, I just never felt like a bride in any of them.  I felt like I was someone else.  They just weren't me, ya know?  But we can't deny the sheer functionality of her corsets, or any dresses with corsets for that matter, can we?  They are like little angels that can adjust our dresses if we so need... like if we pig out the week before the wedding or if we can't eat the week before.  Who knows how I will be that week?  I will be in another country.  Yikes.

I had considered adding a corset to the back of my dress, this was before my dress even came in and a Maggie bride friend of mine told me how great it was to have a corset - it's easier to size on the day and looks great from the back in pics.  Although, I heard a different story from her Mom... a story that revealed why they were 35 minutes late to the church ceremony (we were all told it was because the photographer was insisting on pics... hmmmmm) AND that she had internal stomach pain for three days after the wedding because she couldn't breathe.  Not sounding so appealing but I wouldn't inflict that kind of torture on myself.  No, I want a corset to be able to tighten just under the bust to give the girls the support they need.  

But everyone I consulted with on the corset said that it would make my dress look too busy, too much going on, more vintage than modern, ugh.  And I'm running out of time.  I am leaving in two weeks.  I checked with the seamstress and she says cost is about $300.

So what do you guys think, would a corset look right with the dress?  Would it solve my longline bra problems?  Should I start a new topic "Adding corset to my dress vote"?

Thanks for the great suggestions, Poseystone!  I am going to try different options like the slip shapewear, etc.  If all else fails I will go for the emergency corset.  Desperate times call for desperate measures. LOL

You might try having an inside belt put in the lining of your dress at the waist.  A lot of high end dresses have this feature to help support the dress at the waist, so it is not just hanging and supported from the bust.  Your seamstress can put 2" wide ribbon belt loops at the princeline seams at waist level at each seam, and run a piece of non roll elastic as a belt through it with a velcro closure.  This should fit quite snuggly too your body, as it will help support the weight of the dress to your body.

This will help hold the dress lining to your body, and allow the outer dress to float over top.  Perhaps if the outer dress is let out a bit more than the inner lining, this will help too, and not let the bustier show through. 

I really don't know if chaning your dress to a lace up will solve the problem.  If you need the support of a bustier, you need it.

(I used to be in the salon business as a manager, buyer, fitter, seamstress jack of all trades)

Good luck!

Elizabeth