THE dress

photo by : George Pahountis Photography ( www.pahountis.gr )

Yes, the one and only GALIA LAHAV couture dress,

Like most brides, I had an idea of what dress I dreamed of walking down the aisle in but quickly realised that what I had in mind may not suit my body or my destination wedding, and finding that DREAM dream wasn’t so easy to find. There was sooo many aspects, lacey? princess? poofy? body hugging? simple? backless? straps ?

I thought I was going to marry in a beautiful Vera Wang number (as you do) but I fell in love with GALIA LAHAV when I saw the beautiful backless dresses in the magazine. Once our wedding was locked in as a destination wedding in beautiful Santorini, my entourage and I went searching for the dress 2 years in advance… just to see what was available in Perth. I was excited that Dion for Brides stocked Galia Lahav so I made an appointment to try on my first gown. The first dress that I tried was the gorgeous and simple Galia Lahav AMY and the full tulle GISELLE. Boy these dresses were amazing but the sample didn’t quite fit me. My bridemaids had to try them on for me. I fell in love with the design and the amazing lace details, although the price did made me reconsider… so we went to try on the Vera Wang dresses (which didn’t suit my figure), tried all the smaller boutique stores but found nothing that screamed I MUST MARRY IN THIS.

Failing to fit into the wedding samples, was my motivation to work out and get the body I always wanted but never could achieve. Thanks to Amy from Will Power for getting me motivated and made me reach my goals.

Once I was more comfortable with by body, we started our search again. I managed to cut it down to 3 labels that I absolutely fell in love with. Pallas couture, Berta and of course Galia Lahav. I had a clearer vision of the ideal dress… Backless and body hugging (to show off the hard work I had achieved).

Pallas Couture: I loved their designs and amazing details, but each dress I tried I liked bits and pieces of each. It could of been custom made with all those parts I liked but I just couldn’t vision it and was stressing that what if the parts I liked from each dress would not work together. So I decided to give it a miss.

Berta: Tried on a backless mermaid gown with pearl straps and a lace train but I wasn’t totally in LOVE with it.. but the price was too attractive to not consider it. They were offering me 50% off the rack and it was still in amazing condition. But I didn’t want to commit to it until I tried on Galia Lahav for the final time.

Galia Lahav: I was lucky enough to try on the gowns during a Truck show, so most of the dresses was in store – including the newest range. I had two in mind – the Loretta and the Alora.

Once I tried on these gowns, all other gowns I tried on was instantly out of the picture. At that moment I knew that my dream dress was one of these two. It was a tough decision !!

Loretta has an amazing low back with sheer illusion tulle that shapes your back, with an extravagant tulle skirt and train. The bodice made from crochet lace and decorated with antique lace and embellished with pearls and crystals.

loretta-back-1

image credit: http://www.galialahav.com/wedding/tales-of-the-jazz-age/loretta/

The Alora, although not the backless look I initially wanted, had an heart shaped open back with beautiful antique lace on the sides. It was a sexy body silhouette with a multi textured detactachble train.

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image credit: http://www.galialahav.com/wedding/la-dolce-vita/alora/

Both was beautiful in their own ways but the Alora won my heart… It was perfect for a destination wedding (imagine trying to carry the Loretta with all that tulle around the world along with us on our 6 week holiday). The simplicity yet detailed lace was perfect and didn’t outshine Santorini itself. Plus having the detachable train was a bonus! one gown two looks – ceremony and reception. win win. Plus my bridesmaids voted the Alora over the Loretta. Here are the pictures !!….

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Special thanks to my two gorgeous twin cousins (Melinda & Melissa) who put up with my constant stress to find THE dream gown. Thank you for your honest and brutal opinions. =)

Now, the veil. When my dress arrived 9 months later, I was certain that I would not wear a veil. Like why would I want to cover up all those lace detailing…. but the girly side of me took over (you will only get to wear a veil once in your life right..?? ) and I decided to try some. I tried a few variations of veils from different designers but nothing felt right… until I saw the Galia Lahav veil… it was game over for me… of course it was – it was the veil from the same collection so it was the extravagant long veil look with full lace trimming but somehow it didn’t drown my gown but compliments it.

Yes, wedding gowns are expensive and will only be worn once. But, it was all worth it..