Weddingbee

Part 1, 2, 3 

After all that searching… I finally found “the one.” It was perfect in every way: way below budget, comfortable, simple, and well made.

*** Warning Mr. Canary: Do not continue to read this post!!! ***

The dress is made by Alfred Angelo (thanks to all the readers who commented in Part 1, I had to hold back and not say that I love Alfred Angelo and actually ended up getting one of his dresses!). It was part of a travelling trunk show that was at I Do Bridal for only a week. I had no idea when I visited the store… it just happened to be one of the dresses that Bridget suggested.

It was about the fourth dress I had tried on. I liked it– it fit well and was very flattering, but it was missing that element of embellishment that I craved. When I told Bridget that, she came back with a sash and a brooch. She started the “dress origami” and when I turned back to the mirror, it was the perfect dress!

The dress is ivory which worked really well with my skin tone. It’s strapless with a corseted back. The A-line skirt has simple pickups that gently fold into each other without too much symmetry so it won’t make anyone queasy.

*** Warning Mr. Canary: LAST CHANCE! Do not continue to scroll or read!!! ***

I found some official pictures of the dress on Alfred Angelo’s UK site. It is definitely selling in the US too! Here’s my baby:

Alfred Angelo Dress #1645
{Both images from www.alfredangelounitedkingdom.com}

Since I’m paranoid about Mr. C reading this post, I am only going to show snippets of the dress on me. Sorry to be a tease! But I think all you Weddingbee readers have seen enough wedding dresses to figure out what the whole deal with the sash will look like and it’ll be a fun imaginative exercise.

View 1: The sash was added-on and does not come with the dress. I believe it’s an additional $50 for the sash. I may adjust how it is tied in the front. I have a small collection of brooches I’ve amassed, so you readers will have to help me select one soon!

View 2: The actual color of my sash. I plan on getting Mr. C a tie in the same color.

View 3: The va-vavoom back corseting. I’m not sure how we’re going to adjust the sash in the back, but I won’t have to worry about it until alterations. I’d like it to ruche a bit and to have it narrow more at the point of the “V”

And of course, I want to share how much I spent on the dress - it came out to a whopping $535 with the sash and taxes included. I had received an additional 10% discount as an incentive to purchase during the trunk show week. My mother, usually the most vocal critic, was even impressed when the dress arrived. She used to be a seamstress and upon feeling the fabric said that it was of really great quality and couldn’t believe how little I spent.Again, I really have to highlight the impeccable service and communication from Bridget and the rest of the I Do staff. I had my dress shipped from Seattle to New York. My dear, BM Seattle, picked it up for me from the shop, but I Do had packaged everything. Bridget even included a breathable cloth garment bag knowing that I’d have the dress for over a year before the wedding. She included the sweetest note and a little gift… the brooch she had pinned on the sash when I tried on the dress. I had the greatest experience there and I can’t say enough about it!

Oh, and if there isn’t already enough incentive to go, Trophy Cupcakes is about a 3 minute walk away from the shop. After every visit to I Do, BM Seattle and I would head over for one of these sweet sweet red velvets.

Yum… need I say more?

{image from www.trophycupcakes.com}

What do you think? How did you finally decide on your dress? Did you have a great experience at your bridal shop? And a question for any sash brides out there: How did you end up tying/knotting your sash?

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