I got married! Yaaay! (Warning: Picture Heavy)

Hello everyone!
Keiko here~

Sorry about the long pause in posts. I just finished a suuuuuuuuper hectic marathon starting with college finals, graduation, moving, getting married, and traveling with my family!

It all began in May with my (luckily) few final papers, including my senior thesis. Then I walked across the stage in normie clothes because I found out last minute that our college had guidelines on what to wear to graduation under the gown orz. I was so excited to wear Melty Cream Doughnuts, too...

After that, my then-fiance and I moved in together and traveled to Baltimore, where we would later get married. It was super stressful, and I really wish I could have visited the local comm, but at least I got to wear a lolita dress AND get married on International Lolita day!

This dress is way more complex than I'm used to

Funnily enough, the dress I chose is Baby, The Stars Shine Bright's Papillonnage en éclats Dance JSK in Ivory x Sax. I say 'funnily' because I avoid sax blue in lolita and Baby's style is usually not compatible with my taste-- I'm more of an AP girl. But the moment I saw this dress in Baby NYC's storefront, I knew I wanted it for my wedding. I love its layered skirt. The bottom fabric looks airy, fluffy, and soft, and the transparent ivory overlay gives it a dreamy feel.

This dress has lots of exquisite details, from the soft boning and embroidered blue flowers and leaves on the front, to the subdued pattern on the bodice and waist ties. I would probably say that my favorite part is the delicate lace at the bottom of the skirt.

Still, Papillonnage has more details than I am used to, and there were few coordinate pictures at the time for inspiration, so I had to seek advice on how to coordinate it. The contrasting fabrics in the bodice and skirt were different from what I was used to from my AP dresses. Even my switching JSKs had similar fabrics, so I figured I'd work with the chiffon-y overlay as a base and try to match my top-wear so the dress would not look too bottom-heavy. 

I had to introduce this dress to a lot of people who have no idea what lolita is, so I figured I'd play it safe and not go too OTT. A simple princess-sleeve sheer or chiffon blouse would do the trick --if I could only find it. I ended up wearing the flower-patterned, ivory bolero with three-quarter sleeves pictured above, but it took a looooot of searching and freaking out. I wouldn't necessarily say that it's my best coordinate, but that's what happens when you leave important things for the last minute

Initially, people expressed doubts about the dress. My husband's family and my mom are more traditional, so they were surprised I picked such an 'out there' thing to wear. It made me second guess my decision many times, but my husband was super supportive and always jumped up to say that it was our wedding and we should do what made us happy -- he was super sweet about the whole thing!

Ultimately, though the weeks leading up to the wedding were really stressful, everyone had fun and I was relieved that, though my first wedding was my own, people liked how it turned out.

Have you ever been to wedding? Were you able to wear lolita,  or was it a normal wedding? Let me know in the comments below~!