Let's Wear our Gown's Again!!!!!

That would be fantastic if you could find the article. Maybe it will help us plan our GTG

I found it!!!


FIELD NOTES; Wedding Day Nostalgia For That Same Old Dress
By KATIE HAFNER
Published: February 23, 2003, Sunday


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SAN FRANCISCO -- GIVEN the startling amount of hand-wringing and expense that goes into wedding gowns, some marvel that the relevant life span of those silk and tulle confections seems only slightly longer than that of the foam atop a cappuccino.
Social convention dictates that the gowns are never to be seen again on the original wearer, a notion that grated against the romantic and practical sensibilities of a group of married San Francisco women. They put on their old wedding dresses and wore them to the Ritz-Carlton hotel on Nob Hill on Feb. 8 for what they billed as their first annual ''Wear It Again'' party.


The 12 women, ranging in age from 26 to 58, arrived in the opulent, marble-lined lobby clutching cellphones instead of bouquets, hoping to share stories and advice about love and marriage. And as they tugged at their bustles and gingerly touched their hair, they had also come to share the thrill inherent in just fitting into their old gowns.

As the brides filed in, petticoats swishing, the hotel's famous tea lounge, with its stern Victorian furnishings and live harp music, was transformed into something reminiscent of the mass marriage ceremonies of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

''I thought it was a group wedding,'' an onlooker taking tea said at a nearby table. Another, wearing a look of confusion, uttered: ''Congratulations. You girls look beautiful.''

All the ''wear it again'' brides said they were striving for a slightly different look this time.

''I just want to be saucier,'' said Jennifer Serr, an organizer of the event and a wedding gown designer (in Oakland, Calif.), who arrived in her wedding dress, an Empire-waist of her own creation, which successfully hid evidence of her pregnancy.

Weight -- both gained and lost -- was a topic of no small importance.

Debby Reed, a slender, gamine 26-year-old, was in the classic ivory silk satin gown with a tight-fitting bodice and princess-style skirt she had worn at her wedding six years earlier. Mrs. Reed soon allowed that she had added a bustier to her undergarments this time around, ''just to help a little bit,'' she said.

Married two years, and toting her 5-month-old son, Marvel, Barbara Liu McDowell, 37, decided against her wedding gown in favor of a one-piece blue stretch jersey dress. She made the switch in favor of her ''honeymoon dress,'' she said, because it allowed her to breast-feed Marvel, who drank his lunch contentedly, then napped.

Between bites of smoked salmon sandwiches and miniature muffins, talk drifted to the topic of everyday life with a husband and the necessary ''communications adjustments,'' as one bride said.

Mrs. Reed had been married the longest, and she spoke sagely, with a twinkle in her eye, about the challenge of ''staying in love.''

''Setting aside time to make it special,'' Mrs. Reed said. ''Not taking each other for granted. It's easy if you make the effort.''

It's also easy, all agreed, to get caught up in, even bicker over, the daily thrum of dishes and laundry and trash removal.

Reality intruded when Marvel awoke and grew so cranky his wails were difficult to ignore. The brides took turns trying to console him.

Reliving a bit of wedding day magic was also one of the goals of the ''wear it again'' tea, said Christina Shook, also an organizer of the event.

Cheryl Olinger, 35, a merchandising manager at the Gap who has been married four years and has a 3-year-old son, happily recounted the departure from her ceremony on the back of her husband's motorcycle, wedding gown trailing behind.

Several brides said that as they were putting on their dresses that morning (this time with the aid of husbands), they felt the frisson of their wedding day all over again.

Nicole Wintermeyer, 26, who has been married for seven months, said her husband, Sam, went out to the couple's garden that morning and gathered daisies. As he arranged them in her hair he grew sentimental. ''He told me he was feeling sad,'' Ms. Wintermeyer said. ''I said, 'Why?' and he said, 'Just seeing you in the dress again.' ''

As the gathering drew to a close, Ms. Shook, a photographer, spoke of tripling the size of next year's gathering and suggested that the participants bring in photos of their wedding days.

''But we might change a few things,'' she added, as Marvel, still inconsolable, cried out. ''No babies!''



Published: 02 - 23 - 2003 , Late Edition - Final , Section 9 , Column 3 , Page 14

OMG this sounds like the best idea for a GTG yet!!

I was married in July and still haven't gotten my dress cleaned so if noone were to get offended I would come with my dirty hem

I'm halfway there , though.. I still sometimes put on my tiara and even my veil for no reason other than to sit around the living room, eating ice cream and watching TV .. I wait until DH notices and gives me one of these

And i've definitely gained weight since the wedding but I think I could probably squeeze into my dress .. only because of the fact that my Maggie corest back is sooo forgiving for those extra lbs

wow - that sounds like a dream! :)

I'm SO ready to wear my dress again now!!!

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Posted by FeliciaDA

And i've definitely gained weight since the wedding but I think I could probably squeeze into my dress .. only because of the fact that my Maggie corest back is sooo forgiving for those extra lbs

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It's the only reason I was able to fit back in mine ...

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Posted by dandj

I don't know if DH would be into something like this...but I would definitely be into wearing it again!

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Oh, the men too?

He would divorce me before he'd go for this ... (I'm lucky he still married me after forcing him to go to Ron & Liz's *wedding* )

okay, I am WAY too self-absorbed with this whole wedding obsession thing, bc it didn't even cross my mind that DH might be invited to this too!! Oh yeah, my husband!

We should discuss this, should we have the DH's or just the girls I'm fine either way. My husband will be there anyway's taking pictures of us

There is NO WAY I'd be able to zip up my gown now - I barely got it zipped the day of the wedding! but I think its a great idea!!

sorry no pictures...i think because the article is so old...

i do think it should just be the girls!!

I'm totally in - but DH is a big NO - One wedding day was enough for him, and besides - we'd have to go to NJ again for his kilt rental!

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Posted by PrincessRose

I am ALL for that. And my dress isn't clean either. But can you imagine a room full of Brides?!

It's just like that episode of Friends!

I DO!!!!!!!!

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Love this episode!!!!!!!

I had to lose weight to fit in it the first time, and now I have to again?

It's already boxed and everything, and kinda fragile, but hey, what the hey, right? Let me know if you're doing it.

Here are pics of the march from 2002:

http://www.nylatinasagainstdv.org/pix.html

It looks like fun, but it already passed this year!

Jola: Sounds like fun, but I DEFINATELY won't fit in mine anymore.

Raise your hand if you think you're going to have a problem getting into your dress - look - I'm raising both!!