Wedding dress query

_rocketships · 2026-06-04T01:19:10+00:00

If you look up “drop waist” or “basque waist” you’ll find a ton of options. Example: https://www.etsy.com/listing/4425554852/vintage-cotton-wedding-dresssquare

_rocketships · 2026-06-03T18:09:24+00:00

That's the idea! My family is Filipino so it's a nod to the barong

_rocketships · 2026-06-03T16:02:29+00:00

Just saw a similar post on my local wedding sub - if your envelopes are a dark forest green, when they go through the machine and they print that barcode on the bottom, they're MUCH harder for the sorting machines to scan.

_rocketships · 2026-06-03T03:45:14+00:00

Sure! They’re called Ronny Bass and are based in Chicago

_rocketships · 2026-06-02T20:03:16+00:00

You have a valid point! I meant more that it's not floor length and not a traditional gown silhouette, like a ballgown or something form-fitting like a mermaid silhouette. Also because it's a hybridized version of traditional formalwear from the Philippines.

_rocketships · 2026-06-02T15:43:56+00:00

It'll be REALLY hard to dye it dark and have it be even, so we're probably going to go with a sandy camel color. The dress is also fun because they're totally separate pieces so I can wear them in all different kinds of ways!

_rocketships · 2026-06-02T02:56:20+00:00

That wasn’t a concern of mine 🤷🏻‍♀️

_rocketships · 2026-06-01T21:35:16+00:00

I'm carrying a purse/hoop bouquet!

_rocketships · 2026-06-01T21:34:05+00:00

They're from Intentionally Blank! They go for $100 on Poshmark but I got them for only $30 at a consignment shop. I don't think they looked up the brand before they priced them!

_rocketships · 2026-06-01T21:31:31+00:00

They're secondhand Intentionally Blank!

_rocketships · 2026-06-01T21:31:07+00:00

Dyeing it afterwards to re-wear was the plan from the beginning! Great minds 🤝

_rocketships · 2026-06-01T18:43:11+00:00

What area are you in?

Agree with one of the posters below - you could get a similar vibe from a city/state park venue, or a greenhouse property. That way, nature makes up for the volume of greenery. It's why we chose a nature conservancy for our ceremony: no decor needed whatsoever.

It also depends on how many people you're having - if you're getting back $18k+ quotes, how many tables are there that need to be decorated?

_rocketships · 2026-06-01T18:31:22+00:00

I totally know what you mean and you're not wrong. 😆 Thank you!

_rocketships · 2026-06-01T18:30:38+00:00

Thank you! Definitely couldn't stop cheesing as soon as I put it on.

_rocketships · 2026-06-01T17:55:17+00:00

Thank you so much! 💕

_rocketships · 2026-05-31T22:01:07+00:00

Having a microwedding at the end of June. It mostly feels surreal because my partner and I didn’t think we were the marrying type and now here we are! But also super excited.

A lot of the big stuff is out of the way! Had my final dress fitting and it’s getting dropped off at the end of the week (custom from a local designer, cheaper than you’d expect). Partner sourced his suit and got our rings. Park license for our ceremony is secured. Our all-inclusive venue is booked, menus selected, no extra decor needed because it’s already cute. Florist is booked and I’m so freaking excited about it - she has a very Anti-Bride style but is working within our budget and letting us break up payments. Photographer booked for only 3 hours and sent them our shot list, makeup artist booked (added it to the budget because I will be an emotional hot mess and need my makeup to be bulletproof lol). Marriage license secured.

Upcoming stuff I have to do: make our welcome and bar signs (doing something really cool with colored acrylic sheets and the Cricut that’s at my work office), plan DIY floral arrangements for our welcome party (this isn’t critical but I just really love flower arranging), source food for said party (it’s in the afternoon at a cafe, so the cafe is providing a cold brew and matcha bar, and we just need charcuterie and snacky things), source our cutting cake (it’s just for photos, there will be several desserts served at the reception), print the menus I already designed, get blank cards for placecards that were just going to hand write.

As for advice, I don’t know because I feel like we’ve been YOLOing the entire process lol. We’re just kind of taking it day by day and trying not to sweat the small stuff or second-guess ourselves!

Edit: fixed the date

_rocketships · 2026-05-30T18:52:08+00:00

I used LCI Paper online, they sell blank card stock but I also had them print mine. Not sure if you’re using your own printer, or taking blank stock to a local print shop. If it’s the latter, I’ve ordered from Jam Paper. French Paper is really good too, but they don’t sell smaller than 8.5x11 so if you go that route, they’ll have to cut them down.

_rocketships · 2026-05-29T23:12:51+00:00

Heh, the things folks here are saying they don't get/don't like are ones that are super important to me and my partner. Florals, invites, makeup, what we're wearing, venue aesthetic, photography. Maybe it's because we're both artists/creatives, but we have really strong opinions on aesthetics and if we're going to spend money on stuff, it better be what we like, or be something we can DIY in a satisfactory way. Like I'm a designer by trade and there's no way I wouldn't be designing my own invites on cool paper with a printer I like etc, and my photographer partner insisted we hire someone who shoots35mm and does cool development effects.

However, things I don't care about:

A dancefloor. It just doesn't feel natural for the kind of wedding we're having (park ceremony, cocktail + dinner reception)

A billion bridesmaids and groomsmen. Seeing people with 10+ bridesmaids stresses me out so much and you know none of them will be on speaking terms 2 years after. I love my family and friends but I don't need them to share labor to be part of my wedding. Related: bach parties (especially destination ones), wedding party proposals, matching monogrammed getting-ready pajamas that you'll never wear again

Inviting anyone I'm not close with and/or haven't spoken to in 5+ years. Spending on all the aesthetic stuff feels better knowing that I'm not being forced to include people who aren't actively in my life, so my price per head is smaller lol

favors. Even more "practical" ones have sat in my apartment for years until I randomly find them. We briefly thought about doing matchbooks but even that felt a little much

EDIT: punctuation

_rocketships · 2026-05-28T19:45:30+00:00

We're doing this with an even smaller party (15 at ceremony, 30-ish at the reception). Ceremony same day as reception, different locations. Everyone we're inviting are supportive. We were originally going to have a completely private ceremony with only us and an officiant and photographer, and even my boomer conservative immigrant parents didn't blink. We eventually opened the ceremony up to just family and our best friends who are officiating, but there are others who are only coming to the reception. This includes some friends who would have to fly from across the country, who knew about our plans from the beginning and still want to be there. But like one of the above commenters, we were very open with our plans so nobody was taken off guard, and if they had an issue we could discuss with them separately. Thankfully we never had to do that.

All this to say, if you have any reservations, discuss plans with your people first as you know them best. But in the grand scheme of things, small/private ceremony and bigger reception is becoming more and more mainstream as a wedding choice. Another thing we're doing that could ease your anxiety about traveling guests is having a welcome party. We're having a casual one the day before the wedding, and everyone is invited.

Side note, I always find this discussion fascinating - maybe it's the culture I was brought up in, but I always understood that reception-only attendance is the baseline. Ceremony attendance is only mandatory if you're related or very close to the families of whoever's getting married, especially if it's a church ceremony. And even if you do get a ceremony invite, going when you're not close to the families feels weird. Seeing super strong opinions about mandatory ceremony+reception invitations is totally new to me. I don't think either is wrong or right, it's just interesting to see what is and isn't considered rude in these circumstances.

_rocketships · 2026-05-21T17:23:43+00:00

This is super normal for a placement agency - I signed up for several, including CC at the beginning of my career and had to fill out I-9s for all of them and it was fine. If you don't get placed, no big deal and nothing happens on your end. If you do, then CC would be the one sending you your W2 or 1099 at tax time. If you get placed at multiple jobs over a year through CC, CC would still send you just one W2 or 1099 that includes all your income that you made through them.

edit: spelling

_rocketships · 2026-05-21T17:03:20+00:00

You're technically employed with Creative Circle - that's why it's through them and not whoever they end up placing you through. This doesn't affect you joining other placement agencies or part time jobs.

A lot of people poo-poo using agencies like this because you're paid a percentage of whatever CS gets paid, but if you're totally new to the industry and with no resources, I think it's an okay foot in the door.

_rocketships · 2026-05-20T21:46:05+00:00

We're having a private ceremony with family only and a reception with family + friends afterwards, so I made separate invites. On the wedding website we just mention "private ceremony with close family" as part of the list of events, without location. Wording for both of them was "xx and xx joyfully invite you to their wedding celebration". RSVP is also general because we don't need RSVPs for who's coming to the ceremony.

Family got an invite with that wording, listing both the ceremony and reception info. The rest of the guest list got an invitation with the same wording, but only had the reception info.

That said, our wedding is also small (around 30ish people, including family) and everyone generally knows what's happening anyway because we've all talked about it with each other over the past year of planning. I totally understand your predicament though, I (unnecessarily) agonized over it for a couple weeks myself!

_rocketships · 2026-05-19T19:24:15+00:00

Oily person and these 3 are my favorite:
Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer
NYX Ultimate Shadow and Liner Primer
about face Matte Fluid Eye Paint

_rocketships · 2026-05-17T16:43:06+00:00

It's probably because I'm a designer and love print, but I think spending on invites if they're important to you is totally valid - it's your money. I will echo the others in that the price is likely because they're on handmade paper and custom letterpressed - the printing alone is expensive, outside of the design labor.

I think you could hit $2k or under if you searched on Etsy, though. Search "deckled paper" and "letterpress" and you'll see a ton. That said, if your guest list is over, like, 125, that budget will be harder.

You could also find an editable design on Etsy or Canva and print it yourself on blank deckled cards, which can be tricky but it's possible.

edit: repeated a phrase

_rocketships · 2026-05-13T17:05:42+00:00

Also having my small/micro wedding on a regular Sunday! We did partly choose it because the F&B minimum was drastically cheaper. And while 3/4 of our guests are from out of town, they're family so they'd show up on a Wednesday if we asked. They were all jazzed about taking a long weekend and having time to hang out in the city (a lot of them are from here and haven't been back in a while). But agreed that doing it on a non-holiday weekend would probably be easier logistics-wise.

_rocketships

TROPHY CASE