After the wedding update! Wedding dress for a busty hourglass figure.

Hello again!

I'm back, and I'm married! Our lives exploded for the few weeks before and... well, pretty much constantly since the wedding. I heard about a "calm before the storm" that would occur before the wedding day, but I didn't have one. I pretty much had emergencies until the last possible minute, which is not to say it wasn't a wonderful, important, magical,and fun day... but I am so glad it's over and I never have to do it again.
We endured several illnesses during the honeymoon and the week after... and then we closed on a short sale, and I imagine anyone who's ever moved or has purchased a short sale knows what my life has been like since then. Honestly, I'm still working at least 60 hour weeks (between the job I'm paid for, and the second [and third!] jobs moving in and getting our old place ready for sale), but a recent comment on the Muscular Hourglass facebook page made me aware that people have noticed my absence... and that gave me the incentive I needed to get back to posting.

Due to the aforementioned 60 hour work-weeks (and before that 80 and 100 hour workweeks), and the horror of wedding planning, I haven't worked out in an organized fashion since the week before the wedding. I've been listening to my body to keep my food intake appropriately scaled for my level of activity, and staying active in the form of moving boxes and gardening, but I haven't done any weight lifting or even high intensity interval training.
I haven't gained any weight, and my clothes still fit (I lost a few pounds after the wedding, in fact-- an extra five pounds of stress bloat showed up that week), but there is definitely a difference in my body. We are 90% finished getting the house we need to sell ready for sale, so with that time burden finished off, I will be returning to organized workouts... and I can't wait. Though I believe in maintaining a positive body image at any weight or fitness level, I miss the aesthetics of my more muscular and athletic physique, in addition to the improved strength and endurance.

Moving on to the title of the post! I have a few pictures from the wedding to share (cropped to protect identities and privacy, and watermarked, but not otherwise edited).

The dress was very, very flattering, in my opinion, and also did not require adjusting during the nine hours I was wearing it, at all-- I danced, I joked, I ate cake, and through it all the dress never shifted or caused a moment of worry. I had my wonderful friends who helped me get dressed lace somewhat loosely at the top (not loose, but not pulled more than just taut), and lace me quite tightly at the waist to maximize my figure and give stability to the dress so it wouldn't move. The only alteration (other than bustling) made to the dress was that the modesty panel that sits behind the lacing in the back was moved over an extra inch (removing literally two stitches and then reattaching), to allow the top to be laced looser to minimize "back fat", as the modesty panel needed to be closed in order for the back to look correctly, and I was just a bit too large across the bust area for it to stay comfortably closed.

For the record, my dress was by Maggie Sottero (style is Carrie, which I believe is discontinued) in a size 6. Based on my experience, I would strongly suggest going and trying on dresses in a store, and not just picking what you think you'll like based on pictures of other people wearing dresses online... but I don't intend to withhold information so you can't make an informed decision if that's what you want to do. :) My measurements probably varied a bit (since I was carrying at least three extra pounds of salt water on my wedding day, and I didn't measure myself), but I was around Bust/Waist/Hip: 37-38/27-28/37-38, and wearing about a 30GG bra (though I didn't need a bra underneath the dress).

Without further ado, on to the pictures!

I love this dress.

There aren't any pictures of the back
without my husband's hand.

I danced, a lot... without worries.

Almost no cleavage from above, a feature I liked.

Apropos for the blog topic, but it was in the context
of the conversation, too! Really!

After all that, I'd still recommend a corset style wedding gown for busty brides, now with the weight of experience behind the recommendation. That said, it felt the most wonderful to get to the hotel, take off the shoes, take off the dress, and take down the helmet hair (38 bobby pins, no exaggeration), and spend the remainder of the night alone with the man I love.