Wedding Gown No. 2 - The Rental
August 1st, 2006 @ 7:28 am by Mrs. Spider
Mr. Spider and I are taking our engagement photos in a month. Since I don’t want him to see me in my dress, I decided to rent a wedding gown for our photo session. It will be mostly outdoors so I definitely didn’t want to be dragging my beautiful gown through the city streets and parks.
Mr. Spider and I went to Highlight Studios with my mom this weekend to check out the options. My mom knows the owner Carol who, upon seeing me for 2 seconds proclaimed that she had the perfect dress. She disappeared into some back room and returned with a simple Maggie Sottero gown. I put it on and it fit like a glove. Even the length was perfect.
Here I am in the gown. I cropped my head so you don’t get the full picture of me in a wedding gown.
And here is a picture Mr. Spider secretly took of me while I was fixing the train. He was sitting there kind of shell shocked so I asked him what was wrong. He said it was the first time he’d ever seen me in a wedding gown. OMG, he was totally right~! It didn’t even occur to me that I shouldn’t have brought him with me. Shucks.
Within the next few minutes, I put a deposit down for the dress. Total cost = $400. That’s NOT cheap. I left half thinking that for $400, I could probably buy a new gown somewhere, maybe a sample sale, maybe EBAY.
I went to work today and all day I couldn’t shake the thought that I’d made a mistake. So I called Highlight and told them I was having second thoughts both about the price and about the style of the dress. If I am going to pay $400, I might as well get a fabulous dress that I otherwise would not have been able to get. Since Highlight carries a lot of Maggie Sottero gowns, I went on the website and fell in love with this one:
The girl I spoke to told me to come back next week since they are expecting new gowns to come in this weekend. I don’t know if I can wait that long. I might pop by tomorrow after work just to try on everything they have in the studio. This is totally like shopping for a gown ALL over again.
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15 Responses to “Wedding Gown No. 2 - The Rental”
I just bought my dress last Friday! It was a Maggie Sottero gown also. The sales lady told me to try one on because she stated that Maggie Sottero knows how to make dresses for women and they just fit perfectly. And it turns out, she was absolutely right. My dress had just arrived in the store and I knew the second I saw it that it was perfect for me. And it was amazing just how well it fit. This after being convinced I’d never find a dress.
Good luck! I am sure you will look beautiful no matter what you choose. 
the dress looks great on you! and wow $400 to rent a gown?
Hi Sandi,
I just wanted to say the gown looks great … But also congratulations!! I cant believe what a small world this is, because I was there when you and Albert met at the mixer, lolz …
Best Wishes
Oh wow, the first one looks so great on you! I bet the second one would look really good too. I’ve never looked at Maggie Sottero’s gowns but it looks like she has great stuff.
while the first dress is nice, the 2nd is stunning!
you look so beautiful in it! but $400 to rent a dress (that probably sells for $1000-$1500) is a bit crazy. Shoot, I’m gonna go into the wedding dress rental business.
Great dresses but there’s one thing I don’t understand….why are you wearing a wedding dress for *engagement* photos? …No time day-of-wedding for formal poses maybe?
My gown is a Maggie Sottero as well! A friend works in a bridal shop and suggested to me that given my love for classic, elegant, pretty styles I’d absolutely adore Maggie’s stuff–and boy was she right!
$400 seems REALLY high just to rent a gown–mine was about $650 to BUY (granted I got a great deal, but hey…). I’d check sample sales if I were you.
That’s my dress!!!! I have the exact same one! *mine was more expensive though 
It’s called “Zoe” right?
yeh a bit pricey to rent.. but it’s nice.. the 2nd is really stunning.
i wore that same dress (i think it’s julie, no?), and yes, you can buy it new for $400 on ebay. that’s exactly what i did! the retail is actually not much more (around $600?) b/c it’s more simple than the other gowns. maggie sottero makes a lot of sense for rental gowns b/c of the lace-up back, but $400 is quite steep.
IT IS THE JULIE~!! thanks girl. i did a search on ebay and found a few brand new ones under $400. GGGrrrr, now i’m MAD~!
OH and yes, due to my early start time, we want to take some engagement photos in bridal attire just in case we don’t get enough shots on the day of.
Which one is the Julie? 1st or 2nd? The 2nd dress is the same dress my new SIL wore @ her wedding less than a month ago. It was GORGEOUS! REALLY showed off the curves in every angle (doesn’t matter when she was sitting, standing, etc etc). Maggie Sottero got nice stuffs!
They’re both gorgeous.
Mrs. Spider, New York
Age and Occupation: 27, Paralegal
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Advisor Research
Engagement Date: December 30, 2005
Wedding Date: October 2006
Venue: Jericho Terrace - Long Island, NY
About Me: My favorite parts of wedding planning are DIY projects and figuring out ways to incorporate old traditions into a modern affair.
You look lovely Sandi Im sure no matter what gown you pick Stinky’s eyes will drop to the floor the minute you walk into the room I hope you find the perfect dress though and if it takes the whole store it takes the whole store Its your day =)