BACK TO THE DRESS

So the other day I was talking about one of the most beautiful wedding gowns I had ever seen. One which I would have loved to have worn at my OWN wedding. In the meantime, I had mentioned the neckline etc. etc. on the gown and it got me to thinking: where WAS a picture of me at Claudia's wedding? I only ever remember seeing just one, which was in my Mother's bedroom. She and Dad had a beautiful pink marbled fireplace in their room and upon its mantle is where was where it sat.

So last night I began going through the pictures I had collected from their house and no where could I find this particular photo of me. Thus boom. I got on the phone with Claudia and asked: Where the hell IS that photo, anyway? And, for that matter, where is ANY shot of me at your wedding? Enter: her beloved wedding photo album. Which she brought over today and through which we happily perused.

As it happens Claudia had this very 70's artsy type photographer take her wedding pictures, and therefore all the photos were glued to hard, gold edged stiff pages which were then bound into a leather book type deal. Not the kind where you'd merely slide a photo into a sleeve, like mine was. Which meant... good luck trying to scan pictures from her album. Plus... the colors in her pictures were either very faded from age or the shots were not all that saturated with the original colors in the first place.

So that brought us to scanning our favorite shots and then playing with every imaging program that is on my computer. Yippee. We were able to bring SOME photos back to life, afterall. Well, Kinda. They STILL aren't the correct original coloring but it's the closest we could get. Case in point: I remember the print on my dress being WAY more bold and colorful. Here, it appears way too pastel looking if you ask me. And, I am SURE Claudia's stunning bouquet was my brighter in color depth. Plus, Bob's suit was a very elegant looking navy blue. But whatever.

In the meantime, up above you see two shots of my Matron of Honor dress. Which was kinda funny in the sense that had Claudia basically said to me way back then: GO OUT AND BUY ANY DRESS YOU WANT. Gee. Consider it done. Thanks! And... naturally, I did. When I saw this ready to wear dress somewhere I fell in love with it immediately. Actually, I fell in love with the NECKline immediately. Anyway, after I brought the dress home, boom. Those were the colors around which Claudia and the florist created her beautiful bouquet. 

What kills me btw, is how bland I find my MOTHER'S dress. Huh? She was a stunning woman with stunning clothing and even more stunning major pricey diamond jewelry. Jewelry which Dad had several times even taken her to New York so she'd be able to choose from simply exquisite pieces. Talk about a lucky woman, right?. But... I digress.

I then said to Claudia when we were going through the album: HEY. WHAT'S WITH MOM!! TALK ABOUT A BLAND DRESS! PLUS... WHY SUCH PUNY LOOKING JEWELRY??? WHAT THE F WAS SHE THINKING?? I just couldn't believe it! Mom was like me, actually... loved flash. Of course HER flash was understated and elegant. Mine is much more the in your face, glitzy as shit kind... but who's counting? In fact, Claudia and I both were astounded that she and Mom had on such measly looking jewels! Uh... apparently so did I, as well.  

Also... what gets Claudia is how she TOTALLY can't get over how very little makeup she's wearing! Her face looks almost like that of nun! WAY too down played in the makeup department. Afterall... her blue eyes ARE her claim to fame and she loves accentuating that with eye makeup. WHAT?? BARELY DETECTABLE MASCARA?? Not to mention some hint of blue shadow? What gives, anyway?? SO not like my sister. I'm thinking however, maybe the photos just are too old and have, as I said, faded too much over the years. But regardless... in the end... Claudia was a beaming bride and looked gorgeous that day. As of course, so did my neckline.

In the meantime, check me out in the picture below if you REALLY want to see what my dress and/or neckline looked like. Yeah... I know. Enough about Claudia already. Me? I was busy dancing my little heart out with my husband, having a fantastic evening in her honor. Oh yeah... in case anyone's interested... in these pictures, Claudia was 26, so I am 16 months older. And Bob was five years older than I. Man we were young way back then. Where HAVE the years gone?? I can't wait to one day upload a shot of Claudia and myself side by side while in an old folks home. A totally scary thought, actually.

In closing... Bob: Claudia and I miss you more than you can even imagine.