The #Victorian bride in her# wedding finery! Designs from #Paris, ooo la la!

   This white satin bridal gown, circa 1876, is the creation
of the French dressmaker, Madame Fladry whose shop was in rue Richer.

Yes, I am nearly done with my HUGE, HUGE novel #1 in series starring American heiresses who marry European aristocrats during the Victorian period. Title? Undetermined yet.

(In fact, I will run a contest for this title and give prizes for the top 3 I like! Do you get my newsletter? Sign up here to enter that contest:  http://eepurl.com/Jm55L It runs next week!)

I say HUGE and really mean it. It is 90,000 words. Yes. Do fasten your seat-belts. These are much longer than my usual novels and encompass an entire family of buccaneer Americans, including two daughters, one son and a cousin. Even the widower (and very handsome father) has a romance of his own!

Of course, I had to investigate wedding attire, how to get the best (French), how to put it on (think layers, dahlink!), and, because this is a sexy romance, how to take it all OFF! (Carefully!)

And where do all these marvelous leafs come from? WEDDING FASHIONS 1862-1912, Designs from La Mode Illustree, edit. by JoAnne Olian.

   The dressmaker for all of these gowns is Madame DeLaunay in rue Godot-de-Maury. The bride's gown dates from Madame's collection of 1882 and is done in duchesse satin. 

     Here we see the bride with her well-dressed father, her attendant and that lady's escort as they enter the church for the wedding ceremony. In Great Britain, the attendant was known as simply that until approximately the late 1890s, when she becomes a "maid" or "matron of honor". A bride had an attendant to help her address invitations to the ceremony, carry out errands, plan for the ceremony and any reception afterward, plus help her dress the morning of the wedding. 

   The attendants, both male and female, acted as witnesses to the ceremony, a necessity to ensure its legality.

   This leaf shows a fashion design from 1880.