Search the internet and you don't find a lot, so I seem to be more or less starting from scratch. Things have changed since the first time 35 years ago and I don't just mean trends - 36-26-36 is now 44-33-44! Coming from a background where a second marriage was a quiet beige registry office affair, when the man I love got down on one knee at Christmas and asked, that is what I expected. My nice dove grey Jaques Vert suit, maybe a hat, local registry and home for ham sandwiches and sausage rolls with the immediate family, and the biggest worry would be getting the garden looking nice for it. But we have been persuaded that it is just as special this time and it has moved to a full blown country house hotel affair. So what to wear?
I wanted something like a coloured long skirted suit and hat, but "Mother of the Bride" offerings all seem to be way too short and my legs aren't that good any more. Long dresses, generally for prom or evening, all seemd to be sleeveless, not good for the slight bingo wings. The two or three dreafully scary shops my right hand woman (she's older than me, and while technically still a bridesmaid having never married herself...) and I visited, a long skirt top and jacket, after much altering to fit, or the two examples of a long dress and 3/4 sleeved bolero I found, would set me back anywhere between £700 and £2,500.
So having read as many reviews of differnt organisations as I can, and they are very mixed, I'm opting for China. I have some serious qualms about working condions of the people making the outfit, and some worries about its quality, but I'm getting exactly what I want (I hope) for a fraction of the price. It's due to arrive next week, and if it is a total failure, I have't lost a huge amount and still have time to go back to square one befoe the beginning of May (and there is alwasy the dove grey Jaques Vert).
Anyone else had any experince in this area?
