WHEN THE DRESS DEFINES THE MOOD..

Photo Daniel Sack

Ask not what you can do for the dress, ask what your dress can do for you..

Yes, darlings, this is the story of my wedding dress, the second one, and how it managed to heighten the glamour factor of the party. Which is important, because glamour.

Hubby proposed to me three days after we met. Well, he said something to the effect that, geez, now he had to marry AGAIN, to which I might have rolled my eyes. Our romantic streak is highly developed.

So, yes, we always knew that we would marry. There was no question to that. 

And then, three months into our relationship, his former girlfriend, the mother of his two kids, died. Suddenly, we went from happy couple to family of six, and our relationship, everyday life and mood became fraught with anxiety, emotional drain and pain. We put in a hell lot of effort to make this family work. And all at once, our wedding talk was all about the security of the kids, should something happen to one of us. Did I just hear the word paranoid?

We wanted to keep the wedding small, it was not about having fun, right? I found a dress on ebay, a vintage Yves Saint Laurent, dark grey, with a pleated skirt, very prim and severe, which totally conveyed my mood. (Yes, darlings, there is a reason why I write about the proper dressing for drama, you know?) It didn´t fit, either, so I sent it back and started to look for something else. 

When I stumbled over a photo of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg on their wedding day, it kind of hit me.. They looked glamorous, happy and carefree, and I wanted all of that, too. (Well, I wanted to have Jane´s looks, really, but I take what I can get..) 

It took me three days roaming around every single vintage store in Vienna until I found it. A 60s dress, beautifully made out of white satin and cotton lace. It cost about 40 bucks. It was - romantic. (It was also quite tight, because I am a, ahem, grown-up woman, not a waif, so I chose an ankle-length black 70s dress with crochet details - hello, fashion blog? - for the party, which looked a lot like a dress my mother would have worn back then.. Which made it quite perfect.. My romantic streak, remember?)

The reception took place at a retirement home near our place (yep.. Hubby already has set his eyes on a certain room..), and we had goulash, champagne and Croquembouche. The wedding cake being even more important than the dress, we asked Alexandra Marischka to do it. She even made a tiny one for Hubby, filled with paté. I am drooling all over the keyboard just thinking of it.

Photo Daniel Sack

For our party, Markus made me a fabulous flower crown. I would highly recommend you do the same, should you get married. Flower crowns just add drama. I´m quite sure even my everyday life could totally benefit from wearing one in lieu of a hat. See? Even my language turns a lot more distingué. Qu. e. d., as we fashion bloggers say.

Photos by Daniel Sack

So, to sum it up.. You need glamour and allure in your life, so go and find a dress that pursues that. Flower crowns are mandatory and not confined to festive occasions only, as are champagne pyramides. For a really fabulous cake, call Alexandra. And celebrate every day of your life as it it would be the last. Because it could be..