Wedding Blog

[ Part 1 ]

After visiting I Do Bridal and La Belle Elaine’s, my next stop was Cicada Bridal in downtown Seattle.

Cicada is an independent bridal salon that makes custom gowns. The gowns are either based on one of the styles in the Cicada collection or on the bride’s own ideas. After having a hard time finding a dress that was “me” at the other boutiques, I was psyched about the possibility of having one custom made!

Cicada is set up in a way that makes it fun and relaxing to browse the racks. The dresses in their collection are beautiful and some come in two pieces (corset top and skirt), which means that there are a wealth of style combinations to try on. They also offer a large variety of simply gorgeous accessories. The attendants were very helpful and a pleasure to work with. My only regret was that some of the dresses were only available in small sizes (I’m 5’10″) and I wasn’t able to try them on. I really have to be able to see what a dress looks like on me (even if it’s ill-fitting) if I’m going to consider buying it!

They also had a bunch of dresses with corset-back lacing, my current obsession thanks to Maggie Sottero. I was a big fan of this dress:

( Kate in the Cicada “couture” collection )

Unfortunately, it didn’t look right on me, even though it is a beautiful design. Since Cicada’s custom dresses start at $2,000 which was out of my price range. I shelved the idea of having one made for the time being.

After visiting Cicada, I made the obligatory trip to David’s Bridal to see if I could fall in love with a gown that was actually affordable. I brought a list of dresses that looked pretty on the website but ultimately, I couldn’t stand 90% of them in person. Most of the dresses were super heavy on the BLING and those that weren’t seemed to have something lacking in craftsmanship.

The front-runner from the David’s Bridal trip was this dress:

( Style V8592 by David’s Bridal )
It was less of a serious contender and more of an “oh, that’s kind of pretty” dress. On the plus side, I did have a great time trying on some absolutely hilarious poufy dresses while we were there. But since that was the best David’s could do for me, I crossed it off my list.I had now made a serious “first round” of visits to bridal boutiques. It was time to stop playing around and get down to business. I was committed to finding a dress that I LOVED!

I went back to I Do Bridal to try on “Vernice” by Maggie Sottero again, convinced that I would have to have it… Like many bridal boutiques, they don’t allow pictures- so I didn’t even have a photo of myself wearing it to be sure I still liked it. I figured that one more modeling session in the dress would convince me.

(Vernice by Maggie Sottero) 

But it was gone! They had sold it off the rack!

At this point, I had exhausted all the dresses in the store that fit my “requirements” and I started to try on things I didn’t think I’d like. Surprisingly, I became enamored with a lacy, ivory Watters Brides dress:

( Watters Brides style 1079B )

The shop’s version was ivory, not white, and I tried it with both a chocolate brown ribbon and a burgundy ribbon to match our bridesmaids’ dresses. It looked fabulous!

I was almost sold on this dress when they showed me one that had just come in from Mikaella Bridal (the less expensive sister company to Paloma Blanca):

( Mikaella Bridal style 1262 )

I think the dress also looked great on me. The lace is subtle, the gathers are pretty, and the brooch is a nice touch- and replaceable, to boot.

It’s a simple and elegant dress, much like the Watters gown. I just wasn’t sure about the overall effect, and if it was what I imagine wearing at our wedding.

And therein lay the issue with all of these dresses… I thought they were pretty and they looked good on me, which is more than I could say for for 99% of the other wedding gowns on the market. But I wasn’t sure if they were fitting. They were somehow not the “classic” look I was seeking and not quite right for Montana.

I was starting to think that I would never find the ‘perfect’ dress and that I would have to settle for something that was just “all right.” This thought was particularly disheartening considering that I was about to buy the most expensive dress I’d EVER buy to wear for just ONE NIGHT.

I was getting fed up and stressed out. Worst of all, the clock was ticking. I had two months left within the “ideal” time frame to buy my dress and I felt like I had already looked everywhere.

Did anyone else search fervently for a wedding dress without “the one” jumping out at you?