Best & Worst Fundie Wedding Dresses

[Clementine]

I don't know who Meredith is. Is there a link we can go to?

She removed her blog shortly after the wedding. There have been speculations here on FJ that her husband may want to go into politics and asked her to scrub the internet.

I googled and found one photo:

2.bp.blogspot.com/_Ozp0JbBSHQU/TRP2lgoeXcI/AAAAAAAAAEo/WvZwT09muBA/s1600/Stephen_Meredith108.jpg

I love her bouquet though!

One more - with the mini bride / little sister:

3.bp.blogspot.com/_Ozp0JbBSHQU/TRP09NNRyqI/AAAAAAAAAEg/fqwkdccCKWs/s1600/IMG_9991.jpg

EDIT: Here's Meredith's parent's blog, the entry about the wedding:

alexanderadventuresfamilyblog.blogspot.se/2011/01/wedding.html

[Rescinded and Mended]

For what it's worth, I actually kind of liked Meredith's dress - it's traditional and poufy, but it has a nice neckline without any silly modesty alterations.

Putting the little flower girl in a mini wedding dress is always baffling, though - especially since I can speak from first-hand experience. I was 8 when my brother got married, and as flower girl, they put me in a huge, white satin confection that was similar to my new sister-in-law's dress. My dress alone weighed about 10 pounds and I couldn't go to the bathroom without my mom helping me. Plus, I had to stay in that thing all through the reception, about 6 hours total. Would have been nice to wear a simple flower girl dress with maybe one petticoat instead of about 5.

[latraviata]

But it's just not showing body shape vs not showing body shape. They have no eye whatsoever for proportions, the seams are often bubbly and not properly pressed and the bodice is often ill-fitting so it wrinkles at the wrong places. I don't call myself a skilled seamstress at all, but I would NEVER let a dress that looked like that leave my house.

Yes that's exactly what I mean. I am not a professional seamstress but a good amateur and it takes some effort and patience to make a decently shaped, fitting and neatly sewed dress.

[nelliebelle1197]

There really are far too many to count.

Christopher Maxwell has quite a few on his photography site. Not fundies who are discussed, but fundies...and horrible none the less.

christophermaxwell.com/weddings/jubilena/index.html

christophermaxwell.com/weddings/josh-lexi/index.html

The Seppi's are prime mining ground for awful fundie wedding dresses - and weddings.

Exhibit A: melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2009/11/james-balyeat-amanda-dagley-wedding.html

Edited to break links.

I was just coming to post the Balyeat-Dagley wedding. It is a horror show of cornpone.

[VenusJS]

I thought Esther Leclerc's was absolutely gorgeous. The link came from someone on the Bates' wedding thread methinks.

estherleclerc.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/welcome-to-my-new-blog.html

edited to break link, and say erunerune said the same thing, sorry.

[erunerune]

I thought Esther Leclerc's was absolutely gorgeous. The link came from someone on the Bates' wedding thread methinks.

estherleclerc.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/welcome-to-my-new-blog.html

edited to break link, and say erunerune said the same thing, sorry.

Yes! Thanks for adding the link: this is the grandmother's dress from 1958ish(?) that Esther and sister Ashley both wore for their weddings. The girls are a year apart but look like twins so if it looked great on one it looks great on both :)

[MissBitters]

Can I just say how WONDERFUL this thread is, I am enjoying the fundie wedding pictures oh so much - the uglier the better. That green eyeshadowed Dovey was a little too painfully ugly though, as were others on the Seppi blog.

So anyone think Erin's dress/bridal look should go in the list of favorites? Compared to the rest it's pretty good - no obvious satin t-shirt underneath, no shoulder pads, good hair and makeup, and a truly happy smile makes for a pretty bride.

Priscilla Waller's wasn't too bad, and also pretty hair. Only ugly thing there was the pecan stealing groom beside her.

I'd say Amanda Munck's goes in my least favorites - it's not as atrocious as others on here, but could have been so much better. The sparkly t-shirt underneath is so obvious considering the dress has straps, and I just hate those stupid shirts so much I wish we could gather all of them together and burn them. I just don't get why so many fundie brides go for them when there are other options - plenty of sleeved dresses in the post-Kate Middleton wedding world, cute boleros and lace/sheer coverups all over the place, well-done turtlenecks and crew cut collars, and so on. No excuse for so much ugliness.

On another note, I really hope Whitney Perkins chooses a cute wintery bolero or wrap for her Christmas-themed wedding as a cover up, something like this: etsy.com/listing/122169251/ivory-shawl-wrap-bridal-shrug-bolero?ref=br_feed_42&br_feed_tlp=weddings

Erin's dress is on my list of favorites. Whoever modified the dress to make it more modest did a good job. It's both pretty & figure friendly. So much better than Michelle's hideous renewal dress!!! I agree about Amanda Munck's dress. I was expecting better from Munck family. Another dress I like is Rebecca Serven's. It was perfect for a fall wedding:

melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2009/11/rebecca-serven-steven-loomis-wedding.html

[karupin]

I agree. To make it worse, Meredith really went for "classy" as her wedding theme (at least that was what she kept repeating on her blog) and researched Jacqueline Kennedy's wedding for inspiration... and the result was messy hair, a hideous 80's polyester and appliqué dress, her little sister in a mini-wedding dress, also 80's style and very Toddler and Tiaras (do you remember?), 27 bell ringers, a reception inside a freezing cold barn in December with wedding guests in parkas and with red noses and home slaughtered cows served for wedding dinner. Yes, very classy and Mrs Kennedy indeed. :roll:

Meredith's wedding was actually featured a while ago on Hell's Bells as an example of a 'classy Christmas Farm wedding'

http://weddinghellsbells.com/?p=6373

[Palimpsest]

I don't know who Meredith is. Is there a link we can go to?

Here is the SOTDRT synopsis that I wrote on Meredith, Stephen and the Alexanders. It includes the link to the Alexander Family blog, but Meredith's blog has been removed.

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=15315

Disclaimer: In retrospect the synopsis was much too kind. I was trying for more balance than snark. Meredith was something of a pet here, originally, because she seemed to have more gumption than most SAHD and wore defrauding tops. She was also such an impatient maiden waiting for Prince Charming! :lol:

She went completely off her head over the wedding, and I find Stephen J, Hammer very scary. No pet of mine.

I barely noticed Meredith's wedding dress because I was so overcome with horror at Sheridan's flower girl dress. I don't think Meredith's dress was that bad when compared to poor green eyeshadow girl's monstrosity!

[Mudball]

Is that vision in seafoam and shoulder pads pregnant? Is she a fundie we know anything about?

That dress should have been buried with Bea Arthur, nobody but she has any business trying to pull off that look.

[uber frau]

I'm pretty sure Dovey & Mark (?) were high school sweet hearts who got busy one summer and found themselves in a bit of trouble. It looks to me like her mother or grandmother stepped up and organised that wedding on a dime and about 3minutes notice and Dovey was just railroaded into complying. I have no idea if she wanted to marry him or not but looking at her FB page, I'm pretty comfortable saying that that's not the kind of wedding she would have organised. I think no one cared about anything much other than getting them all married and respectable as soon as they possibly could.

I had a similar wedding. The whole thing was our of my control and being the brainwashed kid I was, I thought I had to comply. Thank god, my mother has better taste and a slightly bigger bank account so the wedding itself could have worse. (The marriage on the other hand...)

[nelliebelle1197]

The Seppis sure go to a lot of weddings

[artdecades]

Wow, just spent some time at the Seppis blog and some of these dresses are depressing.

I found this on particularly bad because us bigger girls cannot catch a break melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2008/11/david-stacie-lang-johnson-reformation.html

I actually thought this dress was beautiful, but I don't think they are strict fundies since there was a garter toss and dancing at the wedding

melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2012/10/alisa-anthony.html

[gustava]

Wow, just spent some time at the Seppis blog and some of these dresses are depressing.

I found this on particularly bad because us bigger girls cannot catch a break melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2008/11/david-stacie-lang-johnson-reformation.html

That was a truly bizarre wedding.

[nimerha]

Wow, just spent some time at the Seppis blog and some of these dresses are depressing.

I found this on particularly bad because us bigger girls cannot catch a break melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2008/11/david-stacie-lang-johnson-reformation.html

Wow, that is terrible. Poor girl. And to top that, apparently her groom "presented her with his sword" right then and there...

I actually thought this dress was beautiful, but I don't think they are strict fundies since there was a garter toss and dancing at the wedding

melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2012/10/alisa-anthony.html

Seconding that as absolutely gorgeous.

Meanwhile, thanks for the link to Meredith's - I am kinda sad to say that I can't really snark on it, though. Overwrought as it is, it's a pretty silhouette with a lovely neckline and she obviously felt like a princess in it. The mini-me's are kinda disturbing, though. How many tiny minions does a bride need, anyway?

[nokidsmom]

Re: wedding dresses, I actually didn't mind Meredith Hammer's dress, 80's style notwithstanding, in part because it wasn't your standard modest fundie t-shirt style dress or something really weird or unflattering. The dress did flatter her even if it was too short in front and her hair was all over the place. However, really wish she didn't have that awful wedding type dress on her bridesmaid and 27 bell ringers was over the top. I did like the idea of the jam wedding favors though.

Not to get slightly OT, but I found her courtship story really creepy what with her Rhodes scholar husband finding her online after googling for godly brides or whatever it was. Seriously hits my creepdar and I know I am not alone here.

[MissBitters]

Nokidsmom, I don't know if you read the thread on it but it's even creepier when you listen to her husband's sermon on their courtship (among other topics). Click on the 11/11/12 link:

firstpresby.net/2012_sermons.php

[julie paradox]

Meh, Alisa's dress was okay.

I rather liked the balyeat/dagley photos. They all appeared to be enjoying themselves hugely and the bride looks really happy. That one of her at the piano in particular. I also quite liked her dress, flounces and all.

[Sola]

There's some pretty awful ones on Integrity Service Photography. Andrew Glick, whose company it is, married one of the Lilies of the Field girls a few years ago. Andrew and Cristi now have a photography business.

integrityservice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/blog-post_6351.html Brings a whole new meaning to plain. Mennonite maybe?

Same website 3.bp.blogspot.com/_XytlPEWQ3mQ/S5q27vVs4WI/AAAAAAAAAIM/mdnPKip9Lt4/s1600-h/IMG_8253.JPG Another cape dress wedding dress. Very modest.

If you go through the archives there, there are lots of plain, extremely modest, cape dress wedding dresses.

[sparkles]

Wow, just spent some time at the Seppis blog and some of these dresses are depressing.

I found this on particularly bad because us bigger girls cannot catch a break melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2008/11/david-stacie-lang-johnson-reformation.html

Oh dear, how do I say this nicely? Okay, I can't. Aside from the fact that her dress is probably most ill-fitting of all the examples so far, in a few of the photos, especially the one titled "Stacie's vows,"poor Stacie bears a rather unfortunate resemblance to, ummmm... Princess Fiona from Shrek. After the spell wore off. I don't know if it's the dress, the costumes, the angle or all of the above, but the result is... not good.

Yes, I'll be spending eternity in hell...

I have to say that even though some of these dresses are dead plain, I'd much rather look at them than yet another Pnina see-through, bling-encrusted, barely there monstrosity.

[gustava]

Oh dear, how do I say this nicely? Okay, I can't. Aside from the fact that her dress is probably most ill-fitting of all the examples so far, in a few of the photos, especially the one titled "Stacie's vows,"poor Stacie bears a rather unfortunate resemblance to, ummmm... Princess Fiona from Shrek. After the spell wore off. I don't know if it's the dress, the costumes, the angle or all of the above, but the result is... not good.

Yes, I'll be spending eternity in hell...

I have to say that even though some of these dresses are dead plain, I'd much rather look at them than yet another Pnina see-through, bling-encrusted, barely there monstrosity.

:cracking-up:

[Iokaste]

Wow, just spent some time at the Seppis blog and some of these dresses are depressing.

I found this on particularly bad because us bigger girls cannot catch a break melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2008/11/david-stacie-lang-johnson-reformation.html

I actually thought this dress was beautiful, but I don't think they are strict fundies since there was a garter toss and dancing at the wedding

melodys-notes.blogspot.com/2012/10/alisa-anthony.html

That one is actually beautiful, not almost-kind-of-okay-for-fundie.

There seems to me to be different categories forming here:

1. Not what I'd chose, but fit is okay, "modesty"-addtions done well (Erin, Anna, mennonite/plain-type)

2. Bad homemade/altered but effort put in (renaisance and other "era-dresses" fall in this category, Meredith, )

3. Pure what-the-fuck (Most of the Seppi-attended ones)

[lizzielouwho]

I'm pretty sure Dovey & Mark (?) were high school sweet hearts who got busy one summer and found themselves in a bit of trouble. It looks to me like her mother or grandmother stepped up and organised that wedding on a dime and about 3minutes notice and Dovey was just railroaded into complying. I have no idea if she wanted to marry him or not but looking at her FB page, I'm pretty comfortable saying that that's not the kind of wedding she would have organised. I think no one cared about anything much other than getting them all married and respectable as soon as they possibly could.

I had a similar wedding. The whole thing was our of my control and being the brainwashed kid I was, I thought I had to comply. Thank god, my mother has better taste and a slightly bigger bank account so the wedding itself could have worse. (The marriage on the other hand...)

I get that same shot gun wedding vibe from that one as you do. Poor kids probably got caught kissing or holding hands and had to get married.

[nokidsmom]

There's some pretty awful ones on Integrity Service Photography. Andrew Glick, whose company it is, married one of the Lilies of the Field girls a few years ago. Andrew and Cristi now have a photography business.

integrityservice.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/blog-post_6351.html Brings a whole new meaning to plain. Mennonite maybe?

Same website 3.bp.blogspot.com/_XytlPEWQ3mQ/S5q27vVs4WI/AAAAAAAAAIM/mdnPKip9Lt4/s1600-h/IMG_8253.JPG Another cape dress wedding dress. Very modest.

If you go through the archives there, there are lots of plain, extremely modest, cape dress wedding dresses.

@ sola, yes, those are Mennonite styles. Their wedding dresses are styled very much like the approved cape dress for that particular group, just a a bit more elaborate. Such as using dressier fabric and maybe some wedding dress type details such as the pearl buttons and pointed sleeves as shown on one of the linked photos.

[tigerchild]

christophermaxwell.com/weddings/josh-lexi/index.html

I love the "Let's Do It!" quote on the church wall as this couple is at the altar! LOL