Posted by
Our reader Kouhotaru had an unusual and, well, downright nerdy vision of her perfect wedding dress…
Being a gamer ever since I was a wee tot, I pined for every scrap of Nintendo memorbilia I could get my hands on, I even wanted to get married in Princess Peach‘s or Princess Zelda‘s dress. If I was going to go princess, by gorsh, I wanted to be a PRINCESS!
Once I started planning my wedding, Princess Peach was already out, as pink hasn't looked good on my skin ever since I got out of middle school. Yeah, I could have gone for one of her white gowns, but eh, I wasn't feeling that vision anymore. As for Zelda, I would have wanted armor and all of her other newer trappings, adding to the cost significantly.
Now, when I prompted the fiance on his own personal vision on what I should wear for our day, his response was something different: “I would love to see you in something green and flowing.” He had gotten hung up on the concept of seeing me in green, feeling it is the best color on me, and frankly I am inclined to agree.
With my fiance's request in mind, I flashed on to another childhood favorite of mine — Rydia from Final Fantasy IV! She was spunky, had cool powers, and she still is my absolute favorite from the series. While her outfits aren't exactly wedding friendly to more traditional types, I knew it could be worked into something more wedding-y.”
With the help of a cosplay fashion designer, Catherine, the owner of God Save The Queen Fashions, Kouhotaru's dream became an unbelievable reality…
Oh, but the dress is actually amazing on her! Ugh, like flowing magicness!
Kouhotaru and her (now) husband got married at the Arizona Renaissance Festival and I hope we get a wedding profile from them soon. (Hint! Hint!)
About the Author: Megan Finley Horowitz
When Megan's not writing, traveling, and sleeping, she's eating like the fate of the world depends on it. (You're welcome, world!) You can snoop into her personal life over on her website The Dash and Dine!
WOWWWW! I am absolutely speechless! You and your new husband look so amazing! As a Final Fantasy Fan myself, I believe this is the best wedding outfit I’ve seen so far. 🙂
Thank you very much! Cathy busted her hump on it and it shows. I was kinda scared about the corset fit living across the country from her but one mockup later, we were golden.
eBay is FULL of cosplay costumes and accessories that could double as wedding attire. Wigs, boots, swords, belts… you name it and someone will sell it. A lot of cosplay costume sellers take your measurments and make you an outfit just for you.
Oh yeah they have tons but you need to make triple sure you send the correct measurements and hold the seller responsible if they bork them up.
http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=105758 and http://www.cosplay.com/showthread.php?t=74409 are good resources to sort out who folks have had problems with.
Amazing, absolutely amazing. I’ve always loved the character. I never ONCE thought of doing a character inspired dress. You rock, and look absolutely gorgeous while doing so!
Thank you! I figured if I was going to have a costume party like a wedding, I might as well have a costume I can reuse. The husband and I are planning to hit up the Labyrinth of Jareth sometime for example.
AMAZING! LOVE IT SOOO MUCH! did I mention, AMAZING!!!!
Thank you so much! Got to love corsets and their gut-cinching powers.
*Faints* So gorgeous, the whole shindig!
<3
P.S. Thank you, thank you, thank you for linking to GSTQ Fashions – they look like exactly the people I needed for my plans too! AH!
You’re welcome! She’s booked until September right now but she does fit in projects when cancelations open up holes in her schedule.
So beautiful!
This is just freaking amazing! If I were a talented designer/dressmaker or if I had a larger budget, a part of me would love to have a dress inspired by Celes from FF6. Rydia is one of my fiance’s favorite Final Fantasy characters, so he’ll go berserk when he sees this!
This is AMAZING! Especially since I am so obsessed with Final Fantasy games I’m using only their music for my entire ceremony!
OMG I LOVE YOUR DRESS!!!! It is so freakin epic and awesome. I am so happy for you and ur new hsuband, best wishes!!!
That dress looks amazing on you! I love it!
Hi! I saw this on Kotaku, you look lovely! I’ve always wanted to do something like this, I have been seriously contemplating if I could pull off Rosa’s wedding dress from the DS version of the game. We have similar body types but you just look like you are glowing with beauty and happiness. Congrats on your special day.
Oh how beautiful! I love seeing fun weddings like this! And this dress just makes me so happy!
Hey, I just wanted to let you know that this dress inspired me to commission an FF6 Terra wedding dress! So, thanks so much for being the trail-blazer!
That is one gorgeous dress! I want it for my very own. Rydia is my favorite Final Fantasy character ever~ <3
As I read the story of how this dress came to be, I realized that Hey! I am not the only one that is going through this. I thought of Peach, but also declined the pinkness of it all, and just recently thought Zelda’s dress would not be cost efficient (as I am paying for my wedding without help from my family). I LOVE this dress a lot, so you have provided an alternative thought process to me. Of course, out of respect, I won’t use the exact same concept.
I made a Zelda costume a few years ago for Halloween and for anyone who wants the look of armor but without the cost, here’s a cheap solution.
What you need:
White craft foam
Gold spray paint
Safety pins
Elmer’s glue
A disposable bowl (I used an empty Cool Whip container that worked wonderfully)
Craft wire
Masking tape
Paintbrushes
Rubber bands
Pencil and paper
On the paper, draw (or trace) the design of the armor. I used two pieces, one for the plate of armor itself, one for the design on top. Cut out the drawings. Safety pin the cut out to the craft foam, cut out design without damaging the stencil (you need it to make 2 identical pieces).
Once all your armor is cut out, with the masking tape, attach the wire to the pieces of plate that will curve. Then curve the foam to your liking. Glue the design on top of this. Wait for glue to dry.
While the glue is drying, make a mixture of Elmer’s glue and water. I did a 1/1 ratio. Mix it up very good, and either add glue or add water if the mixture seems to goopy or watery. On a scrap piece of foam, “paint” the glue solution and let dry. This may take a few coats, depending on the wateriness of your solution. Again, add glue/water to make sure the solution is good. When it is smooth and dry, spray paint it gold. If it comes out smooth and shiny, you’re good to coat/paint the rest of your armor. When it’s all dry, attach pieces with glue and rubber bands where there will be a lot of movement (shoulders, mostly).
Lightweight, handmade, cheap armor is now yours!
Final Fantasy = epic costumes! I love your gown. HAIL TO THE GEEKS!!!
I adore that dress! I never really got into Final Fantasy(I am playing FFXI), myself, but my boyfriend is IN LOVE with FF. He says if we were to get married the only way he’d spend a lot of money is if the wedding theme is FF. He says he wants me to get a dress like Rydia’s and “wedding it up.” For some reason I remind him of her.