Anne of Green Gables April: Wedding Day Wishes

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“For a moment Anne's heart fluttered queerly and for the first time her eyes faltered under Gilbert's gaze and a rosy flush stained the paleness of her face. It was as if a veil that had hung before her inner consciousness had been lifted, giving to her view a revelation of unsuspected feelings and realities. Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one's life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one's side like an old friend through quiet ways; perhaps it revealed itself in seeming prose, until some sudden shaft of illumination 
flung athwart its pages betrayed the rhythm and the music, perhaps. . . 
perhaps. . . love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship,
as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath. ”
― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea 
 

Someday I hope to run across a time machine because I have a long list of things I would like to do differently.  Item number one on the list:  wear a different wedding dress.  I'm not sure what possessed me in the summer of 1996 to lay aside good taste and good fashion sense, but I did, and my wedding dress is proof.  I was so obsessed with finding an affordable dress that I forgot the cardinal rule of dress shopping: a bride should feel beautifully transcendent on her wedding day because she is going to see those pictures (and that dress) for the rest of her life.  My wedding dress was neither beautiful nor transcendent.  In fact, it looked more like something I'd snagged at an Amish garage sale with its long sleeves, frumpy waist, and neckline that left everything to the imagination---including my collarbone.  I should have looked like Grace Kelly on my wedding day, but I showed up looking like Laura Ingalls instead.  Luckily I picked the right guy, and luckily he happened to like "Little House on the Prairie" because he looked at my 80 dollar dress that puckered in the chest and still willed himself to say "I do."

I've gone over it approximately 3764 times in my head, and I'm still not sure exactly what dress I would wear if I could do it over again.  However, the more I think about Anne of Green Gables this month, the more I'm sure my dress would have an Edwardian nod to it.  So in honor of Anne, and of romance, and of spring weddings, and of wistful wishes, I've compiled a gallery of Edwardian wedding dresses from the turn-of-the-century, as well as some more "modern" takes on the era.

And now for some Edwardian Era-inspired wedding dresses 100 years later . . .

I love how the soft lines of these dresses compliment the feminine feel of the lace overlays

The dress on the bottom right is so lovely it makes my heart hurt . . .

Couldn't you just see Mary Crawley from Downton Abbey wearing one of these?

Not only is this woman's dress inspired by fashions from the turn-of-the-century, but her raven hair and porcelain-colored skin remind me of what Diana Barry must have looked like . . .

I hope that all of you are thrilled with the dress you wore (or will wear) on your wedding day.  But for those of you in my regretful boat, don't despair.  If ever I find that time machine, I'll be sure to save you a seat.