The Dress

Full length ivory Melissa Sweet lace dress. Extremely romantic, detailed, feminine and even a little modest.

Multi-layered skirt with a sheer embroidered lace overlay and a more intricate lace underneath that just peeks through. The top has a structured bodice (I did not wear a bra because it was structured enough but my seamstress said she could have sewn in cups if I wanted) and a gorgeous lace pattern up through the mock-neck. The back is sheer with an intricate embroidery pattern. There is a sheer band at the waist that highlights the smallest part of the torso and is very flattering. There are tiny clear sequins sewn strategically throughout the dress that just catch the light in a magical but not blingy way. In truth you only notice them when in movement and they will look beautiful sparkling while you are dancing.

FIT AND CONDITION:
I accidentally lost weight before my ceremony and the dress will easily fit someone larger than I am in the bust and torso. The waist measurement is correct, so if it will not fit your waist do not purchase it. I’m not sure it can be let out at the sheer ribbon waist. I am a 40 C cup and the bodice can fit a large D cup or you can have your seamstress put in padded cups. I did not fill out the bodice but it wasn’t too noticeable because of the boning.
I did not have the dress hemmed, so since I am 5’5” and wore flats I had to lift the front of the dress quite a bit to walk. This means that someone who is taller or wants to wear stilettos or doesn’t mind getting the dress hemmed will still be able to buy it, along with women who are much taller than I am. I only wore the dress for the ceremony and pictures and changed into a second dress for the reception which means that I did not eat or dance in it. Still, I had it cleaned and preserved through a professional wedding dress cleaner.

Damage: the lace under-layer is textured and as I walked over pavers in our outdoor ceremony it caught a little but didn’t tear. The top layer of the dress did not catch, so you would have to lift the top layer of the dress to inspect the layer underneath to even know it happened, but I still want to mention it. The only staining that happened was makeup around the collar and the professional wedding dress cleaners got it perfectly clean again.

You can see the retail listing by searching the model number on David’s Bridal. I purchased the dress in May 2021 and it is still for sale in stores.

Alterations

The waist was raised to the natural waist and the sides were taken in one inch.