Weddingbee Blog

Before I get into the “style” of our wedding, I should probably tell you my dress story. It might be a bit controversial, and will probably bring about some shakes of the head but just trust me on this one!

Like I’ve said before, I never thought about how our wedding would “look” like until I got engaged. I seriously considered eloping, but eventually that idea became ridiculous to me, and thus the birth of the Coconut wedding and the quest for a wedding dress ensued. I love me some J.Crew. I wear their suits to work, their bathing suits to the beach and their tank tops on a daily basis. So, when I first started thinking about my dress, I kept to my roots. They were beautiful and classic, definitely the look I was going for, but still just a bit too plain for Miss Coconut.

(Image from J.Crew)

I forgot about wedding dresses for a little while, until I visited a good friend who was getting married in April. When I got there she asked, “So you wanna go dress shopping?” Ummm, yeah!!! Here’s where it starts to get controversial. My dear friend took me to an amazing bridal salon in Winter Park called The Collection. What kind of dresses do they sell? Oh, Vera Wang, Reem Acra, Monique Lhuillier to name a few. Yes, these dresses were WAY out of my price range, but my friend had faith that I wouldn’t get too caught up in the designer names. Her advice: try a well-made dress on so that you know what shape you should be going for. It made sense, and I felt I had the will-power to stay away.

The first dress I tried on was a $10,000 Reem Acra. I wasn’t serious about this dress it all - it had about 25 lbs. worth of beading, but still it was fun.

(Image from Brides; Reem Acra)

The second dress was much more my style and it was a Vera Wang. Oh, and you know how most gowns don’t fit properly? Not this one. I could have worn it to my wedding that same day; it was perfect and it was GORGEOUS. I mean I guess it goes without saying, but wow that woman knows how to make a wedding dress. This model doesn’t really do the dress any justice, she has no butt!!!!

(Image from Brides; Vera Wang)

Okay, needless to say I fell in love with it, but I couldn’t afford it. D$%n it! So, I thought to myself, at least I know the style I’m going for, and there are a ton more affordable dresses out there, so I didn’t get too discouraged. Fast forward a few weeks, I still hadn’t looked for any other dresses because we weren’t into full-fledged planning mode yet. Then it happened. I’m not lying when I say that on the night we set our official date, I went on Ebay and searched “Vera Wang.” About five wedding dresses popped up. Guess what? My dress was there! Your-Dream-Dress was selling a sample size 8 for about 2/3 of the retail price. It was still out of my price range, but I brought in the big guns at this point. Yes, Mr. Coconut entered the picture and called the store directly to start the negotiations. They wouldn’t negotiate until the bidding ended of course, but once it ended without any bids, Mr. Coconut called them and bought the dress!

So, here are the controversial parts. First, I was really nervous about whether the dress was an authentic one. The great thing about Your-Dream-Dress is they give you 24 hours to decide whether you want to keep the dress and all you’d lose is shipping costs. When I received the dress, I looked at it every single inch of it. It was perfect, and exactly the way I remember the dress except for one part. The size. I had tried on a size 10 in the salon, and this was a size 8. Yes, I know. Never buy a dress that’s too small for you. But here’s the thing. This was THE dress, and we bought it for 1/2 the price. Wouldn’t you take the risk?

The dress is a bit snug on me, but I’ve started to lose a little weight since we’re about 6 months out and I’m hoping (oh man I’m hoping) that it will fit me wonderfully. In fact, I may only need to get it hemmed which might save me a little in alterations!

(Because I love you: a little snug and taken in dark lighting)(Oooooh, suck it in and stop drinking Pina Coladas!)

My favorite part of the dress that you cannot see in the model picture is the eyelet detail on the bottom. Ooooh la la.

So, fess up: Have you ever bought a dress off Ebay or a dress that was 1 size too small???!!!