(Auf Deutsch hier / German version here)

Today is the day! After months of waiting, I am finally sharing all the information and stories about my wedding dress with you. I waited so long because I wanted some time to have everything “only” for us and process it without revealing all the details publicly. I simply needed that time and am therefore all the more pleased to finally write about this chapter of my life on the blog!

At the bottom I have inserted a lot of pictures from the professional couple shoot and from the wedding. These photos are from Jelena Hinic – a wonderful photographer and I’m so glad we hired her! Before that, I wanted to share the story of how I found the dress and the ups and downs that I went through. By the way, all the items I mention are self-purchased! Nothing was sponsored and I have marked affiliate links (you can read about what affiliate links are at the bottom of the page).

If you want information and the story about the my dress, hairstyle (curls!) And makeup for the civil service, then leave a comment 🙂 Now but to the wedding dress:

The wedding dress search

My goal was to find a dress that I can afford, which fits to my style and is also fair and sustainable! This was no easy task, and I think especially difficult in Germany.

I actually had a definite model in my head fairly quickly. You’re going to laugh, but my inspiration was actually Chiara Ferragni – not a person that I ever get style inspiration from, nor a person whose consumption centered content I’d like to support. But I found her lace wedding dress with a wide tulle skirt so perfect! This cut also appealed to me, because you can hide a small tummy – I did not want to wear a corset at the wedding, but wanted to still look chic and wear something relatively form-fitting, but also not always have to be careful to stand straight and also have enough space to eat all the delicious food at our wedding. I wanted something similar to what she had but a bit simpler and with cut-out at the back. Pretty soon we found the final dress, but I was a bit skeptical to order my dress online so I rejected the idea at first.

First we went to the sustainable store The Reformation in New York in October 2018. The clothes there are beautiful, fairly priced, ethical and sustainable. But the cuts I find a bit too daring, or not 100 percent flattering to my body. I wanted to feel 100% comfortable in my dress!

Since my visit to the store, The Reformation has come out with new models and here are some beautiful one (affiliate links):

 

The next step was then a full day of research on the internet (I summarized my results here!). I really spent ages in front of the laptop, rummaged through online second-hand shops, and through Etsy. This research really cost me a lot of time. I simply think that the range of sustainable and fair wedding dresses in Germany is very limited and therefore wanted to see if I could find something second hand. But even here I did not find anything.

In January 2019 we went to the Second Hand Bridal Shop – Boutique Fräulein Weiß. There I had an appointment with my bridesmaids Elli and Valerie and I could take my time to try on different models. There were some really beautiful options, but the best ones were unfortunately too short for me (second hand dresses have of course already been adjusted). I can certainly recommend trying your luck as Boutique Fräulein Weiß! Great service, extremely friendly staff and a relaxed atmosphere in the small but really nice shop.

Slowly I was getting a bit desperate…my dream dress was still not there, not even in the Vintage section, and I was running out of time. If I have a tip to all budding brides: start the dress search ASAP. I wish I had started my serious search earlier. Then I would not have ended up in such a time crunch and would not have had to pay for Express Shipping – oops 🙂

Finally, I came back to my original model: The Zoey Scoop Dress by Wear Your Love <3 (Affiliate Link). Actually, Jesse was the one who found this dress!! So, thanks to my husband I found my dream dress :)))) By the way, the brand Wear Your Love has more beautiful, sustainable and fair boho-inspired dresses (affiliate links):

 

So in the end, I ordered my wedding dress online from the USA. I had myself professionally measured and sent the information to Wear Your Love. First, I received fabric samples, from which I then selected my favorites. After 6 weeks, my wedding dress was then delivered by express delivery. If you also want to order from abroad: do not forget the customs costs. I was aware of this, as I have ordered something from the USA before, but I wanted to share it with you as they are relatively high.

My first fitting was super nerve wracking, but also so really exciting. It fit like a glove and I was just so overjoyed and relieved that everything finally worked out. After all the research, the back and forth and the stress because of the online order and shipping from the USA, I was really relieved that it fit and looked so perfect!

I then stored the dress in a special box for wedding dresses and in special, acid-free tissue paper.

Fun Fact about our wedding week: We shot the wedding photos two days before the wedding because I did not want the pressure to take beautiful photos on the day of the celebration.I knew in advance that perfect pictures are very, very important to me, and I did not want to stress myself, spend time and energy for the couple shooting while surrounded by family and friends. I also liked the idea that Jesse and I have a private “first look” to ourselves, so an intimate moment where Jesse sees me in the dress. We had civil service appointment a week before, so we thought it was ok that he sees me before the ceremony 🙂 But that’s why I have two different bridal bouquets in the following photo.

The first time Jesse saw me in the hotel:

I found my vegan wedding shoes from Roni Kantor (Affiliate Link – also had to pay customs again!):

My jewelry is vintage or from Rust Jewelry made out of fair silver.

Another fun fact: 2 days before we left Berlin, I decided I wanted a veil and quickly went to Boutique Fräulein Weiß. I could not decide if I wanted one for a long time, but finally decided to get one. As you can see, I wore it for the couples shoot, but forgot it on the wedding day itself because of excitement, haha 🙂

 

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8 comments
    1. Das weiß ich leider noch nicht, eigentlich wollte ich es verkaufen, aber ich liebe es so sehr. Vielleicht erstmal lagern und dann nächstes Jahr entscheiden! Danke dir!

  1. Ich habe schon 1,5 Jahre vor unserer Hochzeit ein wunderschönes Seidenkleid mit Spitze im Secondhand Shop gefunden. Etwa ein halbes Jahr vor der Hochzeit auch die passenden vintage weißen Schuhe von Bally, auch aus einem Secondhand Laden. Für mich war es aber auch eine finanzielle Sache. Ich konnte mich nicht überwinden, für ein Kleid, dass ich nur einen einzigen Tag im Leben anzeiehn werde, mehr als 300€ zu bezahlen. Die Hochzeit fand ich mit allem drum und dran schon teuer genug, immerhin gibt es so viele Menschen, die nichts haben auf der Welt und so habe ich für Kleid und Schuhe nun insgesamt nur 230€ bezahlt, das konnte ich für mich vertreten. Schmuck habe ich von meiner Oma geliehen, das Handtäschen hatte schon meine Mama auf ihrer Hochzeit und die Ringe haben wir aus alten Eheringen der Familie meines Mannes zu neuen einschmelzen lassen. In die Haare kam ein Blumenkranz und fertig war ich.
    Ich kann ebenfalls nur empfehlen, sich sehr früh Gedanken darüber zu machen, was man an dem Tag tragen möchte und hinter welchem Betrag man noch stehen kann. Ich selbst finde ja auch ein schönes, einfaches Sommerkleid in weiß, welches man nachher noch einfärben kann, hat seinen Reiz. Es muss ja auch nicht immer das Superduper Brautkleid sein. Auf jeden Fall empfehle ich, nicht so sehr dem Braut-Hype zu verfallen, sondern ganz losgelöst von anderen Hochzeiten und fremden Erwartungen sich ernstahft mit seinem Partner Gedanken darüber zu machen,was einem bei der Hochzeit wie wichtig ist und auf dieser Grundlage dann zu entscheiden, welches Kleid es sein soll. Allen zukünftigen Bräuten eine wunderschöne Hochzeit, für mich war es ein unbeschreiblich schöner Tag, klar, habe ich mich wunderschön in meinem Kleid gefühlt, aber es wäre auch ein schöner Tag gewesen, den ich mir auf Fotos so gern anschaue, wenn ich ein einfaches Kleid getragen hätte. Nun habe ich das Kleid in einen Second Hand Brautmodenladen gebracht in der Hoffnung, dass es noch viele Bräute glücklich machen wird, so wie mich an diesem einen besonderen Tag im August….

  2. Liebe Mia, ein sehr schönes Hochzeitskleid und ich finde toll, dass du dir so viele Gedanken um nachhaltige und faire Mode und Kosmetik machst. In unserer westlichen Konsumgesellschaft ist es nicht immer einfach nach diesen Maximen zu leben. Umso wichtiger ist es, dass es Leute gibt, die auf dieses Thema aufmerksam machen und Alternativen aufzeigen. Allerdings frage ich mich, wie man denn bitte ein aus den USA geliefertes Kleid als „fair fashion“ bezeichnen kann?!?Manchmal wundere ich mich, was manche Blogger ihren Lesern alles unterjubeln können.

    1. Ich trage auch Kleidung von Armedangels, Jyoti Fair Works, People Tree und mehr, das ist alles Fair Fashion, die nicht in Deutschland hergestellt wurde (oft mit Stoffen und Produktion aus Indien, Nepal & Co, woher kommt denn die Baumwolle, die wir in Fair Fashion tragen???) und die ich dennoch als Fair Fashion bezeichne. Und warum der Begriff “unterjubeln”??? Ich habe es doch deutlich gemacht, woher es genau kommt. Manchmal wundere ich mich, was für bitter formulierte Kommentare auftauchen, obwohl ich als eine der wenigen Blogger SEHR transparent bin. Und Alternativen aus Deutschland wie zB Second Hand Kleider habe ich auch vorgestellt.