Bridal Garden

March 16th, 2006 @ 11:54 am by Mrs. Butterfly

I went to try on wedding dresses for the first time yesterday!!

I learned two things while trying on dresses. One - I need to lose a LOT of weight. Two - I LOVE very long trains. I found a dress that I absolutely adored, however, the neckline was all wrong - no halters for me. But the dress itself was beautiful… oh I hope I can find one similar to it!

Anyway, I’m a complete newbie at dress shopping and I know nothing about necklines, gown styles, etc. I found this site that explains all the different styles, necklines, sleeves, waistlines, and materials that’s pretty useful. Or you could go to this post by Miss Bee for pictures.

The dress that I fell in love with had beading all the way around the middle, with a ribbon bow passing through it. That was my favorite part of the dress! (Thanks to my friend Sara for picking it out!) Then the train… oh my god… the train was cathedral, very, very long, and had beading too. And it was a french bustle!!

The place I went to was the Bridal Garden. Not the fanciest place in the world, but I had very specific reasons for going there. When I first started planning my wedding, I wanted to rent a dress. I’m still going to go to the rental place to check out what they have, but it’s basically on a first come first serve basis. You go to try on the dress, if it’s in your size, then you can make minor alterations to it. But what about people like me who will lose at least 1 dress size before the wedding?

So I decided to at least consider buying a dress and at the Bridal Garden, all of the dresses are donated - either by designers or by brides. All proceeds go to a charity called Sheltering Arms Childrens Services. How can I say no to a dress that’s reasonably affordable and helps needy children in NY?

My thoughts on the place?

Pros: No pushy sales people who work on commission. The people who work there are there to help you try on dresses, make sure the dresses don’t get damaged, and that’s pretty much it. One woman next to me must have tried on at least 15 different dresses while I was there and the employees were completely OK with that. They are honest with their opinions. I tried on one dress that was awful, and as soon as I walked out, they were making “ewww” faces.
Cons: Not fancy schmancy at all. If you want to be pampered like a princess, then this is not the place for you. Some of the dresses were slightly damaged - like a busted zipper. But they are easy fixes.

Prices are reasonable - I saw dresses ranging from $500 to $2500 dollars. I saw designer labels everywhere too! I am going to shop around more (obviously), but now at least I know what type of dress I’m looking for.

For those of you who know what dress you want and want to buy it cheaper, you can always order them online.

Bridalgown.net
NetBride.com
Lee Philip Bridals

These three sites have gotten some pretty good reviews by real brides - although I would still do a lot of research for each place before placing an order. For most online stores, you basically go try on the designer dresses at your local store. Once you find the dress you like, you send in the model number, color, and size, and they’ll send you a quote. Pretty easy, especially if you have a dress in mind.

This article lists several online stores for wedding gowns that you might want to check out (scroll down to “hers and his apparel”).

I’m going to David’s Bridal on Saturday, so stay tuned for reviews!