Weddingbee Blog

“Father told me that if I ever met a lady in a dress like yours, I must look her straight in the eyes.”
Charles, Prince of Wales

(I thought that quote was cute. )

Mr. Eggplant promised that he wouldn’t look and I trust him, so I can to write a post about “the dress”!

For those of you embarking on your dress search, I only have a few words from my own experience. First, start off at an inexpensive bridal shop before working your way up to any posh salons that you’re planning to visit. By trying on inexpensive dresses first, you might find a dress that you love before tempting yourself with a purchase that will break the bank. Also, you’ll have a nice base for comparison if you decide to visit more expensive shops. What is the difference between a $500 or $5000 dress? Perhaps swarovski crystals and imported satin from France isn’t worth an extra $4500 to you. Secondly, try everything on. Go back to the same store more than once if you have to. Wedding dresses look completely different in a magazine, on a rack and on a real (non-model) body. My dress was not one that I would have picked out for myself. In fact, had my bridal assistant not suggested my gown as a potential, I would’ve brushed right past it on the racks.

So without further ado, I present you my wedding dress:

I apologize for the crappy picture quality. I didn’t get any good shots because my camera flash was off. I promise you, the dress looks so much better in person than it does above. And despite what the picture may suggest, I’m not model height . I’m really about a foot shorter, but I’m standing on a stool to get a better feel of what the dress would look like if it fit correctly.

When I first began the hunt for my wedding dress, I had three requirements: 1) It had to be fit-to-flare, 2) Made of chantilly lace (definitely no satin), and 3) Absolutely could not have any embellishments and especially no rhinestones or crystals. Well, I ended up purchasing a satin fit-to-flare dress with tons of rhinestone and crystals. After I tried on my first satin gown, I was sold. The soft, silky fabric made me feel like royalty! And as great as they looked in magazines, lacey gowns made me feel short and frumpy. My take-away from dress shopping? Don’t brush it off if I haven’t tried it at least once.

The gown I finally picked was designed by Ines di Santo and I purchased it from Alexandra Bridal by Union Square, SF. Leah over at the shop was such fun to work with. In fact, she knew that I was going to buy this dress when I walked through the salon doors. Leah specifically picked it out and saved it for me to try on as the very last gown. Now that’s what I call a woman who is good at her profession! The dress definitely was not one that I would’ve chosen off the rack and it doesn’t look flattering in the pictures above, but it’s truly a beautiful gown. The material is soft satin from Italy with a slight sheen to it that causes the ivory color to look more like a shade of diamond white. Underneath the bustline, sparkling crystals accent the ruching. There is a row of delicate satin buttons down the back of the dress which is hidden in the picture by the tacky dress claws. The skirt is adorned with several trailing brooches which makes the dress a shoo-in for a french bustle. I love the fit-to-flare shape. The bodice hugs my frame tightly until the gown reaches my thighs where it flares out. Once I stepped into this gown, I knew it was a match made in satin.

After I fell in love with the gown, I was terrified to look at the price tag. BUT on the day the day I bought my dress I totally lucked out. There was an Ines di Santo trunk show that weekend! I received 10% off the gown and since Veronica di Santo (daughter of Ines) was visiting the store as a representative, I was able to order a custom-fit gown rather than purchasing a standard size having it tailored down to me. Veronica was able to advise me on all my questions (e.g. possible dress customizations). She even took my measurements personally and reassured me that my gown pattern would be made completely from scratch, proportional to my body. Cool beans! It’s really hard for a short girl like me to find a dress that fits, especially since most standard gowns are designed to fit really tall women.

But there was yet another bonus awaiting me: In addition to 10% off, Leah offered me a $350 credit towards store merchandise. Why? Well, my visit to the store happened to fall on the last day of February and the sales associates were close to making their monthly sales goal. My dress purchase would put them right at their mark. The $350 credit was an incentive for me to make my purchase on the day I tried on the sample rather than waiting until the weekend trunk show. How could I say no? One swipe of plastic and the dress was mine! I used the credit to order a cathedral length veil by Jennifer Leigh. Score!

Here’s a runway shot of the dress:

It’ll be ready mid-August and I can’t wait!