The Wedding Dress Saga Ends!

Here it is - finally, definitely my wedding dress! By pure serendipity I stumbled upon it in Chamonix, a small off-the-rack bridal shop in Rhinebeck, NY, while Dan was getting a haircut. Not only was the dress lovely, but I could afford it (!), it was the right color (ivory), and IT FIT ME PERFECTLY. It's light and comfortable and absolutely perfect for a July wedding. I'm in a happy state of shock; I cannot believe I've actually found The Dress. I simply cannot believe it.

Networking

One of my favorite parts of being an Etsy seller is the opportunity it provides to get in touch with other craftspeople and sellers. I'm not much of a joiner, Internet-wise; I finally broke down and set up a Facebook account last fall, but it's in my hamster's name, not mine, so it's basically an excuse to post cute pictures of him, "friend" other Facebook rodents, and provide a venue for my friends who seem to prefer to contact me via the social networking site instead of the old-fashioned way, aka email. But anyway - something about Etsy is just so comfy and welcoming and nice. It's like having thousands of potential friends who all share a love for the handmade.

I've been thinking about that lately as I've been searching Etsy for ways to make my wedding more handmade and personal. I'm already making my dress; I don't have the fabric yet, but I've already bought the dress pattern from McCall's:
http://www.mccallpattern.com/item/M5319.htm?tab=evening_prom_bridal&page=1
I want to make something like the picture on the left. It's simple and elegant - perfect, I think, for the Quaker meetinghouse where it'll be held. I'm hoping to find an ivory brocade fabric like the one shown in the picture. I've already bought my veil from - guess where? - Etsy; I've convoed the seller to ask permission to link to it here.