This One’s For All The Marbles.
January 28th, 2008 @ 1:56 pm by Mrs. Milkshake
Okay ladies. So everyone with august weddings, I hope you’ve already put your orders in for your dresses, because I certainly haven’t. I feel like perhaps I’m one of the few bees that doesn’t have her act together (although what bride really does) - I’d love to be one of the bees that blogs retroactively, calmly outlining the details of events past, like fiascos that happened several months previous that can be uttered only now because it’s taken this long to get over them emotionally. I’m not quite in panic mode yet, but I could definitely use some direction.
That montage makes me look like a bit of a freak, and there’s a whole lot more than 26 dresses there. Perhaps the scariest thing is not that there were 3 or 4 more stores that didn’t allow me to take any photos, but that most of these were taken in the past 10 days!
So I’ve been waffling between two dresses I’d seen at the first two stores I ever visited, way back in may. Did I just say may? Yep. Okay so there’s been quite the lazy lull in the interim, my own proverbial 400 years of silence, if you will, and I’ve been mixing it up this past week, desperately trying to find what everyone calls “the one,” all the while each salesgirl’s voice is ringing in my head: place your order by this weekend. So that’s why this post is for all the marbles. Help me pick! (side note, I haven’t yet had a chance to visit Cicada, Luly Yang, or Marcella’s in downtown Seattle….should I?).
At every store, the saleslady waits eagerly for that moment, the moment where I “light up” upon gazing upon myself in that perfect dress. But it hasn’t happened, and I never anticipated it would. They all naysayed that attitude, saying it would indeed happen, but perhaps one particularly coiffed salesgirl said it best the other day: “Maybe it won’t be that way for you. Maybe it’ll be one that you’ll think about for a while and come back to.” This was also the girl, who, at the 2 hour mark, articulated, quite frankly, “I’m not trying to sound like a bitch {when does prefacing your rant with that ever make things better?!}, but I really think your needs would be best met by a seamstress custom designing you a dress. You’ve said you’ve tried on a large number of dresses and you haven’t found anything you liked. You know you like silk charmeuse, you know you like the mermaid silhouette, you know you like a sweet-heart neckline…”
She went on for a good 2 minutes, making me feel hot in the face like I was an insecure Bridget Jones and was wasting her time. But I give her credit, because she’s one of the rare types I’ve met who is truly in tune with her brides’ body shapes and tastes and can aptly anticipate what will and what won’t look good, and what they will and will not like without having them get squeeze into layers of crinolin and tulle in dress after dress after dress.
So I have the top two. And I don’t have photos of me in them. which is perhaps a good thing considering I don’t know how widespread my blog has become in terms of wedding guests. As a side note, did you guys know that the Maggie Sottero website showcases photos of real brides in almost all the dresses? I think that’s brilliant. Who cares that it lacks the java script coding to zoom in to 800% - I get to see real brides with real bodies, and in natural light!
This here is the closest dress I could find to my favorite at I Do Bridal in the Wallingford area of Seattle. It’s a Maggie Sottero in the $900 range. It’s very similar to this, except the lace is scalloped and there is no beading. It shares the straight across the top tube top look as this one, and although I generally hate this style, this particular dress makes my shoulders look really great.
Meet Libby:
And here is the other top contender, sitting at around $2800, Birnbaum and Bullock’s Hallie - okay the angle is hideous and does the dress absolutely no justice:
It’s more like “nadine” on the right here, minus the flowers:
But now look I’ve found a Maggie equivalent, “Erin,” and it even laces up the back! Booya, Birnbaum & Bullock!
But then again I would never order a dress like this without being able to try it on, because I’ve tried on the slinky Nicole Miller dresses you’ll all know from magazine ads and they droop terribly on me and kill any silhouette you thought I might have had. My MOH and BM will certainly remember those ones from West Vancouver.
Maggie’s Cassady:
I think I like the cassady better than the Allison Marie I tried on (here in gold with a strange floral shawl):
And don’t forget our $330 winner from before, here in white. I’m tempted to jump on this, except I was hoping it would come in ivory
Perhaps the most suprising dress I viewed on the maggie website was the vernice dress. I was a little put off by how obnoxiously large the bust area was on me (the sample was a size 12 or 14 no doubt), but perhaps in a smaller size the designer adjusts for the neckline/bustline, too?:
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35 Responses to “This One’s For All The Marbles.”
Ha, you sound a lot like me when I was looking for dresses… except I started a lot later because I originally planned to have a custom dress made.
I was also really indecisive but I ended up loving the dress I got and I didn’t order it until mid-March for an August wedding.
I’m sure you’ll look beautiful in whichever one you end up with. You have a great figure and those are all gorgeous dresses.
Good luck 
I’m wearing a Maggie dress - I love her dresses. I like Libby or the last dress best. Though the $330 dress is also beautiful!
Dude, I am getting married five months from today and I am just now starting on dress stuff, so I feel your pain. It is definitely hard to decide.
As for the pictures your posted, I kind of love the first and last ones. They are both very elegant and simple, but have something kind of cool and unusual about them. Plus, you could totally sash the last one up if you wanted a punch of colour like you had with that cute blue sash that time.
Anyway, hang in there and good luck! Can’t wait to see what you pick.
I think a seamstress is the way to go. I liked the french lace accent on one dress, the mermaid silouette of another, and the sweetheart neckline of a third dress. I found a shop that could make a fusion of all three. My dress is perfect and its totally me. Dont settle.
P.S. I loved the Jim Jelm from a previous post
I would just like to say how I am amazed at your self picture taking abilities! Everytime I try to do it, I chop my head off…miss half the dress, can’t see the dress cuz it’s so darn blurry….so you are my hero! =)
Miss Milkshake: I didn’t have that “AH HA LIGHTING STRIKES FIREWORKS GO OFF” moment either, but I DID feel beautiful and elegant in my dress, and I knew that was how I wanted to feel. Going back to try it on a second time (since it was only the second dress I tried on EVER) helped me feel even more solid about my choice.
Personally, I think you should try Cicada downtown. I’ve heard that girls have incredible experiences there…but I think your dress will end up being over $1000 (but not necessarily by much from what I’ve heard). If I hadn’t found my perfect dress, I would have headed there. I think they could definitely help you, and I think that (blunt, but honest) saleslady gave you some good advice.
If you decide to go Maggie, try Cynderellie’s Closet in Edmonds. That’s where I bought my dress (they were WONDERFUL), and their Maggie dresses are a couple hundred less than other Maggie carriers in the area. Don’t know why, but they were cheaper there than at “I Do.”
OH, and there was a great radio essay about Cicada on NPR a couple of months ago…go to http://www.kuow.org and in the program archives box type “Cicada Bridal” it should come up. GOOD LUCK! Let us know what you find…and if you go to Cicada, please blog about it, cuz I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like there.
I wore the Maggie Sottero “Libby” for my wedding this past September! You said you’ve actually tried it on, right? Because it looks completely different in person and when there is light hitting it (it sparkles just enough to add something to the simple design). I also altered mine a bit, by taking out the signature Maggie corset. I felt like it interrupted the horizontal design of the dress.
If you’d like, I can share some more “dress in real life pictures” with you.
Also…Maggie dresses take 4 months to come in, you still have some time if you go with a Maggie. I ordered mine 5 1/2 months before the wedding and still had plenty of time for the alterations.
Good luck with your searching!
Luly rocks! You should def pay her a visit before you make a final decision. I almost went with one of her dresses, but I found my favorite dress at Voletta (in Bellevue). Luly is doing FI’s suit and he is really looking forward to his first fitting (so cute)!
side note: the dress from ido isn’t actually libby - i believe the name is margie or something like that, and it’s entirely not on the website 
I’m getting married in August and am just now setting appointments to try on dresses! Wish me luck!
I’m in SF bay area if anyone has places to recommend to go to.
I like the Erin and Cassady!
I tried on a ton of dresses too before I found “the one”…actually, I never really believed in “the one” until I found it…so I totally understand how you feel.
My dress is very similar to the Libby…I also like the Cassidy.
Most importantly tho - I think you look great in all of the dresses you tried on!!
I’m like you, I have settled on two, but still not sure if either of the two are “the one”. Go to Marcella’s! Everyone there is so great and they know their dresses so well. They also carry a lot of the brands that you haven’t tried on yet, like Monique Lhuillier, Vera Wang, Lazaro, Amsale. They are also having a Lazaro trunk show coming up that I’m going to!
I got my dress from Cicada and would highly recommend that you visit it if you have time. They have multiple sizes off the rack so you actually get to try on something that fits. The sales people are extremely nice and low pressure. Plus, they have some wonderful sales (I was able to get my dress for $350) with their off the rack dresses.
Miss Milkshake, I have to say that though I totally enjoy following your exhaustive bridal dress search–I kinda have the feeling that you don’t need to go to any new shops, or really, ask for our opinions any more. At this point, it would seem like you just have to examine your own parameters for what you want in a dress, and pick one.
That said, I totally love the dresses you chose to showcase in this post–several of them are in my own earmarked list of favorites in my never-ending “browsing” phase of dress shopping…
I’m looking forward to seeing what fabulous dress you finally choose! Good luck with the decision making process… (it’s definitely my least favorite part of shopping)
My dress was a Maggie… I LOVED her gowns. Mine was Melena, and I’m thinking of submitting my picture for the website!
Ahaha… now I feel really embarrassed. My wedding is in the first weekend of June, and I just (as in two days ago) ordered my dress. The boutique I bought the dress from had a fit with me being so late/rush ordering (booo) and everything. BUT…
i have my dress. I love it.
I must be a complete spaz. I bought my dress, off the rack, 2 weeks after getting engaged. Yeah, we’re not getting hitched til Nov. of 08. One day of shopping, and about 30 dresses later, I ended up buying the absolute last dress I tried on, and I had refused to try it on because it looked hideous on the rack…turns out its beautiful in person! The bridal shop lady basically insisted I try it on because it met my criteria (Straps/sleves, no halter, not hugely poofy, no huge train, not ridiculously low cut, etc.) I ended up with a Maggie Sottero, the Fiona style. I’m really pumped to wear it. The only thing, and the only advice I can give is after you’re done buying it… STOP LOOKING because you will drive yourself mad with options.
As for the above, The first one, and the Maggie version of the 2800 dress are lovely, and the last one is beautiful too.
I love LIBBY. so so so so cute. will look stunning on you.
Talk about an Aug bride w/ no dress, I am a Aug bride-wanna-be with no venue!! I have yet to make up my mind on the city!
I really like the maggie gowns with the corset backs… so elegant. I was looking at MS gowns myself… and I found that this store carries a lot of them and the prices were reasonable. They are “flexible” with pricing and alterations.
http://www.highlightbridalboutique.com They are in NY, but with the USD going down… it might worth emailing them to see what price they can quote you. Good luck… oh yea one of the dresses that you posted before didn’t make the final cut… i loved the drapy one on you!
Looking at that montage makes me want to go take a nap. You must be exhausted, man. And I’m glad to know someone else had their love of Nicole Miller dresses shot a bit. They looked so sloppy on me, for some reason.
Personally, I like the Libby. I like the texture, the shape, the drape.
Another vote for Libby-esque #1 b/c it’s a little different and will still show off your figure.
I got my dress from an Alfred Angelo bridal store, so, because it came straight from the designer, it was not only RIDICULOUSLY cheap, but it came in (already altered to a petite length) in only 5 weeks! They said it would take 4 months! So, if you are really getting down to the wire…try Alfred Angelo!
P.S. I think you look absolutely adorable and sweet in the shorter length dress in your collage! You are so tiny and that one doesn’t swallow you up…it just really shows off your cute size!
I love the vernice- its the dress I wanted but couldn’t find to try on. but the cassidy is amazing!! If I had your body that’d be my dress no question.
but….
only you can answer this question! I feel you are like me, wanting to visit ALL the shops in town before deciding so you could feel like you’d seen them possiblities.
I hope that asking opinions is helpful for you, rather than making it harder! I tried on a dress that everyone with me loooooved- their faces lit up. and I almost bought it. But in the end, they loved it more than I did. I had to think long and hard about which one I loved most.
I bet the Libby-like dress is beautiful on you! I wore “Nakita” and was very happy–the corset back saves you so much precious dough. Cassady looks lovely as well.
I’m a Cicada bride! If you have any energy left for shopping, you have to go. It’s a totally different kind of store, because everything is made there. (I love buying local!) I ended up getting my dress on sale, too, but their prices are really reasonable no matter what.
I didn’t take the time to read the 29 comments before me, but maybe my 2 cents will overlap. You are petite - so the ones I’ve liked best on you make you look taller (so no ball gowns or poofy skirts - you only tried on one of those I think), and something fun (sweetheart, nice draping) in the bosom/bodice section to give you some elongating curves: vernice dress from Maggie website, Maggie’s Cassady, I think you should go strapless (ruling out a few others). I don’t like you in A line or trumpet - but I do like “fit and flare” and mermaid (and of course, the column dresses).
I’ve been following your posts but haven’t commented: my absolute, hands down favorite of all the ones you’ve tried on is the Judd Waddell. You look amazing in it, and it is really a piece of art what he achieved with the draping. I like it better on you than the ubiquitious staircase ad. If I were the chooser, I’d choose the Judd Waddell. (And now I’m sure this didn’t help because it wasn’t in the finals).
All of this being said - I didn’t hear firecrackers and see rainbows when I found “the one.” A week of thinking about it, then I decided to get it. Since I’ve gotten it, I’ve become enamored with it, but that is partially my attitude - it would be too exhausting to second guess myself, so I fall in love with every decision I make (but not until after I’ve made it!)
Good luck. And you will look beautiful no matter what as you will be a happy bride marrying the man you love.
I’m so sorry - after writing my essay, I realized I forgot something. While I spent a week thinking about this dress, my sister realized why I wasn’t immediately sold - it didn’t have a sweetheart neckline. So we are having a sweetheart neckline put into the dress (for an extra 200). So if there is an *almost* dress - see how much it would cost to tweek it into perfect.
I didn’t have an “a ha!!” moment… in fact, driving away from the store I was a little nervous that we had ordered the wrong dress - I mean, was I really sure I wanted that one??? But, in the end, the more I thought about it, the more I really liked it. And I’m now really glad I chose it. I was like you - I went to several stores (okay, maybe not as many as you, but still) and tried on many dresses. At each store, I would find a “new favorite”…
I think you need to remember that whichever gown you choose, you will look beautiful in. And nobody will know that you could have gotten one with lace/without lace/with ruching/with roses/with tulle/without tulle….. they’ll just think you look gorgeous.
By the way, my fave is the one in the collage that is in the very top left corner - I LOVE that one on you!
The Maggie Sottero lace number is soo beautiful. I would vote for that one but i’m partial to strapless gowns.
I have six months before getting married in Bellevue and still don’t have the the one either. major freaking out here. I am eyeing a vera wang sample but it’s a size 10 and I’m a 0/2 in street size and thus far, I have zero leads on someone who can alter this dress in seattle.
I also didn’t have THE moment when I went dress shopping. Instead, I just stopped looking. A few weeks later, I thought about the dresses I had tried on and looked at the try-on pictures and evaluated them again. Two of them really stood out to me so I went back to the stores to try them on again. When I finally bought a dress, I still didn’t feel like I really loved it (even during fittings), but it really suited my figure and I absolutely loved one part of it (the beading). On my wedding day, it all came together…the hair, the make-up, the shoes, the dress. You’ll be so happy and glowing that the dress will only be an accessory to your day.
I would try to wait it out a little, not too much longer since you don’t have a lot of time, but put aside the dress search for a little bit (aka. de-stress yourself from dress shopping) and see if you don’t start thinking about one or two dresses more than the others.
Good luck!
Oh my goodness, I cannot believe you tried on that many dresses! Haha. Let’s see, my favorite is the first picture you showed, with the horizontal stripes. I love the vintage quality.
Mrs. Milkshake, Seattle/Vancouver, BC
Age and Occupation: 23, Pharmacist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Pharmacist
Engagement Date: May 2007
Wedding Date: August 2008
Blogging Since: December 6, 2007
Venue: Victorian Mansion
About Me: Despite the fact that I’ve invested many long years of my life studying the sciences in college, I’m glad to be out of there and I would never do it again! I’m super artsy at heart - I run an indie craft site, I grew up shooting and developing my own film, doing jazz and ballet, and the whole gamut of art classes. I’ve been called a Jane of all Trades… but I was also told many years ago not to make my passion my career because it’d suck the fun out of it. Hence my choice of day job. We live in Seattle but are having our wedding in Canada to be fair to all our family and friends.
I still think that $330 one is pretty!
I’m not a fan of the ruched (sp?) bodice ones, it hides your great figure!
I bet the Maggie one at I Do! would look great on you too!