Pretty Dresses

It cracks me up how much I've been tied to the wedding industry, despite my Eternally Single status. I'm a wedding photographer after all (since 2001!), and I worked for a year and a half registering couples at BB&B. An when I wasn't registering couples, I was helping people find registry gifts. I got some skillz- I can decipher those cryptic registries. I can giftwrap the oddest items. I can advise on registry etiquette (Do not register for a toilet brush! Ew!). I also worked for a good long while at Craft Outlet, often helping pick out paper for DIY invites or helping with some other kind of wedding project. I do wedding albums for my friends. I often find myself helping with receptions and pre-ceptions and whatnot. If I had an etsy store, I'd probably be selling some cake toppers and other wedding items cause they're fun to make.

I keep tabs on trends in the wedding industry because it's good for business to know what's going on out there. I buy Martha Stewart Weddings cause they're very classy. I love the photos and the color palates and ideas. I've used some of the colors/ideas when I've thrown parties.

I try not to look like I'm some desperate girl with all this wedding stuff, cause I'm not, I just have fun with it. I've always been a sucker for pretty dresses.

I've thought about being a wedding planner because it would be a good combo of my crafty/planning skillz but I don't want to be a real life J-Lo from The Wedding Planner, helping everyone else marry except her.

When I was a teenager, I had a big interest in fashion- I drew sketches of clothes all the time. I was interested in fashion school for awhile. I still think that would be fun. I have designed and sewn a lot of formal dresses and costumes over the years. I think it would be so much fun to design costumes in movies (especially over the top productions) because you're trying to tell about the character through their clothes. I order catalogs like Anthropologie because it's fun to look at the clothes. I like learning about all the different types of fabric and lace, etc.

I admit that every now and then I peek at the modest bridal wedding sites- places like Eternity Gowns and Latter Day Bride. I like to critique dresses and imagine how I'd improve them. I'm glad there are companies that cater to LDS gals like us but I do have some criticisms- the vast majority of gowns I see would be ridiculous on anyone over the age of 22. What about girls my age that get married? Who's looking out for us?

Some look like they just hacked together three different dresses into one, there is no "flow". And others would be great if you were trying to look like you were wearing curtains or if Little Bo Peep is your idol. Some of the dresses I see lately are becoming too huge and very embellished- I'd be embarrassed to wear something "worldly" like that in the temple.

I highly doubt that I'd ever find a gown that I liked in it's entirety when my day comes- I imagine I'll have to hire someone to make me a gown. There's an old wives tale that it's bad luck to sew your own dress. Sometimes I have fun and design dresses in my spare time. If I lived in Utah, I'd seriously think about trying to work for one of these companies and improve their product lines.

Here's the latest sketch I've done:

I'm not a fan of huge "marshmallow" dresses. A dress should complement you, not outshine you. I like a simple elegance. I'm totally into vintage, too. I imagine this one in a fabric that's not too shiny (like peau de soie, which is luminous instead of shiny) or perhaps with a sheerish dotted swiss overlay. I'm a fan of pretty ruffles, and those are fabric flowers on the waistline. I'm also picky about sleeves- they have to be just right or your arms look terrible.

My idea of heaven would be a place where I got to wear pretty dresses all the time. How about you?

Irene Bedard

This week I had the opportunity to observe actress Irene Bedard on campus, she's best known for being the voice and inspiration for Disney's Pocahontas. There are a lot of animation students here, and they arranged for her to come. I really enjoyed listening to her speak. Physically she is tiny (five feet tall on a good day!) but she has an immense sense of dignity and inner strength. She talked about her life and her family and her journey. She is a spokesperson for Native American issues and has a non-profit organization that benefits Native American Youth.

She has been married to musician Deni Wilson since the early 1990's. They have a son as well. Their wedding story is funny- they were living in NYC and decided to get married on the summer solstice. She then had gotten a role in the movie Squanto: A Warrior's Tale and was only supposed to be in Canada for a few weeks, but that turned into much longer. Their wedding had to keep getting pushed back and pushed back and finally they came to a solution: they would marry on the set. There was a large beautiful ship with sails for the movie that they wed on. The cast and crew attended. The costumers made her a beautiful native looking dress with shells on it. She had white eagle feathers woven in her hair. Deni was put in a swashbuckling outfit and they were finally wed. It was a funny story.

They have a strong commitment to each other and to their son, which was nice to see. They have a policy that they cannot go more than two weeks without seeing one another, and once their son came along, she has transitioned her work to be more focused on her son. She and her husband do music together, they did a concert as well, though I had to miss that.

She talked about how she did a lot of research on Pocahontas for the role, and that she tried to give her as much strength and dignity as possible. I think that shows, and Pocahontas' strength is a big reason why I like her as a heroine better than other Disney films, despite the historical inaccuracies.

Anyhow, it was refreshing to see a kind, respectful, dignified and noble woman and I'm glad she's a role model. We need more women like her in society.