Dresses and Colors

My Bridesmaids are going to be Bob's daughters, Lyzz and Zealia and my Maid of Honor is going to be my daughter, Jessica. Bob's oldest son, Pete will be his best man and the groomsmen will be his younger son, Nate and my son, Chris, who will also give me away. We will give special jobs to Chris's wife, Kimberly and Pete's wife, Nikki, like passing out the bulletins and sparklers - well it is going to be the 4th of July, so we have to have sparklers!

I had originally thought that my dress would be dusty rose and the bridesmaids would be white with rose sashes. My reasoning for this was that it is a second wedding for both of us so I probably shouldn't wear white, you know, the whole purity thing works better for the young girls. When I told the girls about this, Jessica was appalled that I wasn't going to wear a white wedding dress. She said it would be ok because it was a new beginning for me. Maybe she is right and I may reconsider. But if I wear white, what color should the bridesmaids wear? Should I go with the dusty rose for them? Jess thinks I should go with purple or lavender because that is my favorite color. I do like purple, but I like rose too. And then there is the red, white and blue theme for the reception decorations. Should the dresses go along with that theme or is that too tacky?

I went into David's Bridal to look at what dress styles look like these days. Everything is sleeveless, strapless and very plain. I was not impressed. I know I can make something better for much less. I did see a lace dress that was sort of nice, but they wanted $799 for it and I couldn't see spending that much money- must be the Scot in me. Then I went over to Joann's Fabrics and looked at the patterns. They were just as bad as the dresses at David's. And the fabric wasn't very impressive either. They have a lot to make quilts, but not much bridal stuff. I guess no one has time to sew anymore. I found some nice lace online, but they wanted $85/yd. for it and who knows if it will look as good as in the picture.

Bob likes wearing black, so the guys are pretty easy to decide on. It's just a matter of the color of the tie and vest. And for styles that I like, well I'm kind of partial to victorian. I really like the high collars and long sleeves. That was really popular in the '70's, but it's like non-existant now. Oh well, I don't care to be like everyone else. But they sure make it difficult to get what you want when it's not in style, thanks to the fashion czars. So, if you have any ideas on colors, styles, patterns, fabric or places to get such things, please let me know.