Possible Wedding Theme and Dress (if Etsy doesn't work out)

The other night instead of working on my final project for my anthropology class, I was re-watching series 4 of Dr. Who. I was watching "The Unicorn and the Wasp" and realized what an awesome theme for our wedding! Not the giant alien wasp but the idea of having a 1920s/1930s mystery novel inspired wedding. Our ceremony/reception is taking place in Balboa Park which has a lot influences from that period especially our reception venue which was reconstructed in 1935. We were going to already incorporate elements from that period into our wedding but I think adding some mystery novel elements would be totally appropriate for us as we love to throw murder mystery parties and I am obsessed with several mystery series (currently I just got hooked on No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency after watching the show). If only I could have one massive large scale murder mystery wedding...hehehe. For the STDs I was thinking we could create a mock mystery novel cover and for the guest book create a novel with images of us as detectives. Not sure how this will all pan out if at all but it would be so cool and fun.

Now onto the dress...

As some of you know, I have been having dress issues. After selecting a dress from an Etsy designer to custom order, I came across the coveted Daphne by J. Crew. I discussed this with my designer and she is going to see if she can work something out. However, tonight I came across this convertible dress by Butter which kinda gives almost the same effect as the Daphne. I guess if all else fails I can go for this dress.

Dress Dilemma

Ok, so I am having a bit of a dress dilemma. As you know, I am having dress made by a designer from Etsy. To remind you of what it will look like here is a picture:

Instead of the tuxedo ruffle being brown, it will be aubergine and rather than the superhero cherry lace patch on the cummerbund there will be lace with a fleur de lis and an art deco circle pattern which works well with our art deco/1930s theme (both materials I have posted on).Well about two weeks ago someone posted on the dream dresses thread on Offbeat Bride about the coveted Daphne dress from J. Crew and I fell in love.

I have been searching for this dress on ebay and other sites but have not found it. Just from reading other wedding/J. Crew blogs, it seems like this is the Holy Grail of wedding dresses. Anyway, I was wondering if there is a way to combine the two dresses. My designer has not yet started on it (she has been working feverishly on two other dresses and hasn't started on mine). My wedding isn't until October 10th, so she has plenty of time, so I haven't been pressuring her to get it done right away. However, she informed me earlier this week that she will begin on it next week.Here is a sketch of what this may look like (obviously I am not Project Runway bound):

So what do I do? Do I ask her to incorporate the Daphne into the dress she has already designed? I am willing to pay more and if she needs more time to create a pattern I am fine with that as well. I am so confused now! What am I to do?

Case of the Blues and Dress Help!

I was totally going to make a huge "T-minus One Year" post on Saturday but I was feeling a little blue and lazy. I am a graduate student in a program which forces requires me to spend a year in Santa Barbara. Unfortunately, this means Mr. Nee is down in San Diego. I have done LDRs before and dealt with all the obstacles that come with it but this does not mean I don't get lonely and miss Mr. Nee. Mr. Nee was suppose to come up this past weekend but couldn't because he was sick. On Saturday, I was missing Mr. Nee, lonely (the roommate was gone), and just feeling really unmotivated to do anything. I take that back, I was motivated to spend the whole day watching Law and Order SVU and eating pumpkin pie. I'm also without my car which means I couldn't really go anywhere or do anything without having someone come get me or having to make a very calculated trip via the bus, which is not 100% reliable. In short, I was feeling depressed on Saturday and did not feel like writing about how our wedding is one year away when I'm missing him so much.

I am working with a designer from Etsy to create my wedding dress. I have to decide on what color I want the trim for the tuxedo ruffle, if I want the trim to be on the cummerbund and if I want the bolero lined in a color. I really love autumnal colors but I am not sure if I want a completely "falled" out wedding dress. So I am asking you all for advice of these colors which one do you like the best for these little details. Here are some pictures of the dress, the proposed colors, and pictures of me as a reference. Be honest!







So what do you guys think? Or should I stick with more neutral colors like brown or nude or even a peachy orange?

(Oh and that is a picture of me with Mr. Nee. I think he looks like Jemaine from Flight of the Conchords which means he is hawt like a curry)