Eek! Getting married (quietly) in 2013...

[Curtsey]

..and could really use some S&B input for:

• a very tiny & quiet Spring registry office marriage (possibly something structured;NON BRIDAL;a colour; lace gloves & a jacket?)

• a casual Summer wedding party (something floaty and bohemian; non bridal but pretty?)

Am a small size 8, 5'2, Clear Winter-ish colouring. Budget is low: could spend up to £200 on each outift but would prefer to find something for much less.
Any sales bargains spotted? I'm hopeless at finding important outfits for myself! Thank you for any ideas!

I love the shape and look of this but the colour is all wrong :(

Silk dress

Do you mean you don't like the colour or you have been told by someone that orange doesn't suit you? I think people can get a bit obsessed by colour advice, it often depends what you match it with etc.

How about this Reiss one or the Bella body con dress from Whistles (sorry, can't link it)? I love this from Cos (it's all about the back).

I'm suggesting this because of the draping in your link

Give us some ideas of colours you like

Great links all - love the colour of the Reiss and the Cos is lovely. Would never have looked at the Westwood myself but it's a great dress.
You might be right lala about the colour thing; I do love the look of the orange dress and maybe I could style it to work. Have ordered it to try, the first of many tries no doubt :) thank you x

Generally cool reds and pinks and blues and greens work on me Julia, any and all suggestions welcome :)

Where do you live? I think it would be worth a trip to somewhere with a lot of shops to try everything on (bring a ruthless friend).

Right, an update, prefaced with an apology about wittering on - I am really just thinking out loud :)

So, I ordered the Maurie and Eve silk dress out of curiosity. I actually really like it and I think it looks great on, even though I never would have considered the colour in normal circumstances. It's a very Kristen Stewart type of dress. (I also have very pale skin and medium-to-darkish brown hair though sadly am nowhere near as gorgeous as KStew and my legs are about half her size.) If anyone is interested, it strikes me that it would be a wonderful. slightly 'edgy' bridesmaid dress. Only if your bridesmaids are cool edgy types, though, and I have to say the sizing seems quite tiny. (I'm normally a size 6-8, 5'2, and the 8 fits perfectly and with heels I wouldn't want it any shorter.)

I am actually still thinking of wearing it for the registry office, perhaps with a discreet flower garland - stay with me, I know it sounds a bit mental, but I think it could work. A toned-down version of some of the lovely bohemian stuff here?

So that's the Maurie and Eve. The next thing I came across is a very old dress of my mother's. I think she bought it in the 1980s but it is a simple 1920s-style red silk dress, no detailing, drop waist. It looks REALLY lovely on and might just work for the summer party (and now to my I am also thinking 'flower crown! flower crown!).

lala I do have a good friend who gets my style and whom I will be soon consulting. I picked her wedding dress so she owes me one!

final bump (sorry)

To those of you who haven't worn a traditional bridal dress/colour on your wedding day.

Did you ever end up regretting it? Or were you happy with your choice but found that there was a bit of judginess around it that you could have done without?

I think that this is a very pretty boho option and is the sort of thing that I could, at a push, be persuaded to wear.
But I'm just not sure that a white gown is very 'me'.

I wore a purple knee-length shift dress from Coast. No regrets at all. I have no idea if anyone 'judged' or not, personally I tend to be oblivious to that kind of thing, and I doubt I'd care anyway.

My mum said she was just glad I was wearing a dress and not jeans :)

That's great Ephiny, glad you enjoyed your day :)

For me, because I do actually like dressing up normally, I think people are expecting me to go all out on the gown front. BUT it's hard to explain that I'm just not that pushed about that particular aspect of the day.

I just had time for a quick look and love the white maxi dress! I wanted to wear vintage and preferably a coloured dress on my day but couldn't find anything (wasn't on mumsnet then)! I ended up getting an evening dress from a department store which cost around £200. It was a silvery/white, considering I didn't want to look bridal my friends were surprised. My colourings winter too, that pure white looks good on us.
Hope you get something great and try not to feel pressure to conform!

Thanks willybreeder (love your name!) I might just order the white maxi and see what it's like on...

Love the maxi dress. Very pretty and not terribly wedding-y. Hope you like it.

Thanks pleasestop. Must admit it's growing on me!