This is a little bit of a strange mishmash of a blog post. What do wedding dresses and Swan Lake have in common, other than being elegant, white, and classy, anyway?
For this post I'm combining my virtual watching of Boston Ballet's Swan Lake with wedding dresses because while I was watching the ballet on my computer screen, I was also looking at wedding dresses on my phone (a definite downside to not being in an actual theater is that it's easier to get distracted and not stay focused) because I'd seen an ad for an LDS wedding dress website and I was thinking about weddings because...wait, this sentence is getting way too long and I need to end it. {Sorry, this is definitely not my best writing! It's Friday and I just spent hours editing for work so I'm feeling pretty "edited out" at the moment! 🤷}
I'll back up a bit. A few days before watching Swan Lake, I'd gone through all of my wedding mementos and keepsakes, saving some and getting rid of the rest, and in the process I tried on my wedding dress for the first time in nearly two decades. I didn't even bother taking a selfie because even though it fit, it brought me no special joy. Usually I'm a lot more sentimental and nostalgic than that, so I was kind of surprised that I felt so little emotion about this dress. As a 21-year-old I liked the dress a lot and it was beautiful, but it was never very comfortable, it was heavy, and many alterations had needed to be made in order to make it modest, and even then it still didn't fit quite right over my garment top in the back. Trying it on made me think about how if I get married again, I'll get a much more comfortable dress that doesn't need alterations to be modest, which is what led me to click on the ad about LDS wedding dresses when I saw it while watching the ballet. (Is it all coming together now? I thought not. 😆)
I didn't take pictures of myself in the dress, but I did snap a few of just the dress itself (along with the veil at the top). Here's what I liked about my wedding dress: the white satin, the princess ball gown, the fitted bodice, and the pretty appliques scattered on the skirt and train.
I never liked how short the sleeves were. Originally it was a sleeveless dress and these cap sleeves were added. If I'm ever a bride again, the sleeves will definitely be longer than this.
I didn't want to keep the gown anymore. If my marriage hadn't ended I would have kept it forever but what's the point when it's over and you don't care as much about the dress like you once did and you don't have a daughter who might want it? I looked into selling it, but in the end it was easiest to donate it to the charity that comes and picks things up from my house on a regular basis. I bade it a fond farewell and sent it on its way. Maybe now it will have a happy future in someone else's life. (Hopefully it doesn't bring them bad luck! 😬)
As for Swan Lake, I would have very much preferred to go into Boston to see Boston Ballet perform it live, but I didn't want to go on my own and I didn't feel up for trying to coordinate with friends to go see it with, so to save money, time, and hassle, I paid to see the virtual performance from the comfort and convenience of home, which was pretty cool actually. You get to see the whole ballet up close. I would do it again for other productions they put on that I'm interested in seeing if they offer the virtual option again (although I'd still prefer to see it in person).
I snapped pictures intermittently of the ballet on the computer and wedding dresses on my phone. I realize I was taking pictures of the computer screen. 😂 But it's more than you get to do in the theater--and I got some good shots! I'm posting the pictures in the order they were taken.
If I'm ever a bride again, I'll get a simpler dress like this. I like the sleeves too.
This is one of my favorites. I like the lace and the fitted body throughout and the sleeves and the higher neckline. I could definitely pull this off.
I like the top of this one but I don't like the plain chiffon bottom so much.
Meanwhile, at the ballet...
I think these next ones are particularly good shots, if I do say so myself. 😁 Ballet is so beautiful! It really is living art. I did it for about ten years, including pointe, and part of me wishes I'd stayed with it through high school and college.
I really like this one. But that price though. 😮
I don't like the fuller skirts as much anymore. It's probably my age. But I do like this dress.
I don't like the short sleeves but I love the rest of it.
It was a good show! I almost felt like I was there, kind of.
I hope no one gets the wrong idea from this post. I'm not desperate or even particularly eager to get married again. I'm not even divorced yet. Over the last few years I've learned how to be happy on my own, and it's so nice not to have relationship drama (and trauma) in my life anymore. I'd rather be married to a truly good man, but I'm fine being single too. If I do end up getting together with the right man (which I do believe will happen at some point), then I think I'm going to have a lot of fun being a bride again, and I'll be sure to pick just the right dress for me at this stage of my life, one that's lovely and elegant and more sophisticated, simple, and comfortable. And with longer sleeves!
Oh, and he'll take me to the ballet every once in awhile too. 😉
