Miss Coconut, Tallahassee
Age and Occupation: 27, Soon-to-be Lawyer (once I pass the bar!)
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, phD Computer Science
Engagement Date: March 2007
Wedding Date: November 2008
Blogging Since: May 20, 2008
Venue: 1930s Historic Building in Lakeland, FL
About Me: I never thought about weddings until I got engaged. Now, I can't stop thinking about them! Planning the wedding has really opened the floodgates to my DIY side. If there's anything I can do to avoid hiring someone else, I will do it! Mr. Coconut is my financial advisor, he tries to keep me budget-conscious! We've tried to make wedding planning a team effort!
Oh Yes, the Dress!
May 25th, 2008 @ 10:35 am by Miss Coconut
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???!!!
45 Responses to “Oh Yes, the Dress!”
I think this is supposed to be a post by Miss Coconut and not Miss Cookie?? I like your dress!!
not to worry! i went through the same thing with a nicole miller wedding dress that i was in love with. i found it on ebay - albeit 2 sizes too BIG - for 1/3 of the price. like you, i was nervous at first, but it’s new with original tags, and just perfect!
My dress is an Amy Kuschel sample from ebay which I bought without ever having tried on any gowns. It didn’t zip up when I first tried it on, but my alterations person said it had been taken in, so she let it out a little and now it fits beautifully. I ending up paying only about 1/4 of the retail price, and I like the idea of “recycling” dresses for those of us who can’t afford big name designer dresses.
i bought a sample dress from a bridal store that was about 4 sizes too large. it was marked down from $2000 to $200 and i loved the fabric and style of it, i just had no idea how it would look on me once it was actually my size. luckily i found a very experienced, affordable seamstress who’s working on the dress right now. so far, it seems like it will fit and look good, but i was very nervous for several months that once it fit me correctly it would look much different or not be very flattering!
I thought Miss Cookie was doing a second-dress thing here… but it’s Miss Coconut. ???
Beautiful dress, though!
I found my dream dress in a store going out of business, but didn’t buy it because it was two sizes too small. Now, I’m about 10 pounds away from that dress fitting, and I regret not getting it ALL THE TIME! I say you’re not only NOT-crazy for buying it, but you’re brilliant! What better motivation to lose a few pounds than the dress of your dreams actually fitting on your wedding day??
I have bought a dress off ebay (JCrew Vivian) and although I don’t like it on it is a very simple and elegant dress. Also, I plan on buying my wedding dress one size smaller.
I bought my dress from an ebay bridal store. They ordered the dress in my specifications directly from the designer, but didn’t charge me the 200% mark-up because they have no overhead as an online store.
My fiance won my wedding dress for me on e-bay. He knew it was exactly what I wanted. He’s also won me my wedding shoes and a honeymoon dress.
Your dress is gorgeous! I bought a sample as well– a Renella DeFina at more than 2/3 off retail. It’ll need some minor alterations and I’ve already sent it to be cleaned. I figure I would have had to alter most any gown I’d bought (weird figure I guess) so it was in my budget anyhow.
Going down one size is not that big a deal…and even if you don’t manage to do it, I bet a good seamstress could help you out!
gorgeous dress! going down one size really won’t be that hard. plus, what better motivation for a woman to lose a few pounds than the sight of her wedding dress? good luck!
No - but my custom made dress to be is INSPIRED from a dress from that very same eBay shop! Like you, I still couldn’t afford their eBay price, but instead of the genius haggling via fiance - I took the photo to a local dressmaker extraordinare, who will be making the dress for me. I’m stoked, because I will know the dress fits me perfectly AND we can adjust anything to make it more “me” as we go along. We’ve already swapped out some of the fabrics to make it…different. For example, bugle beads for metallic lambskin.
i love the dress on you– stunning! my dress was snug like yours when i first picked it up from the salon about 4 months out– and i freaked, but my consultant told me not to worry because most brides loose about one inch the last few weeks before the wedding. i told her she was crazy…then it happened to me. i think it was water bloat and salt bloat– so just watch what you eat. plus, you can layer spanx– i loved the Slim Cognito Seamless Mid-Thigh Bodysuit because it didn’t have any seams. you can always layer two of them too– they really are not bulky and in my opinion helped my dress to “glide” over my body and not stick to it. anyhow, stunning dress on you!
I did the same thing as smkarl… bought the dress from an Ebay seller who orders from the manufacturer (casablanca in my case). Honestly, not the best experience customer-service wise, and I don’t know if I’d do it again if I had the chance, but I did save a TON of money. Your dress is gorgeous, Miss Coconut, I love the detail on the bottom…and you love it, so no worries!
My engagement photo dress was $300 cheaper on ebay than if I bought it in the store. It still had the tags attached. It will cost me $75 in alterations but I’ll still have saved almost $200 and it will fit me like a glove.
Beautiful dress Miss Coconut! I love it and I can see exactly why you’d jump at the opportunity to own it- in any size!
My dress was a Vera Wang as well! I got it on eBay from a girl who’s wedding fell thru and got it for way more than half off. It fits perfectly and because I’m so tall, I don’t even need the length altered. Wonderful in every way.
I bought my dress by Nicole Miller on ebay. Originally it was 1100 dollars, which was a price I could afford. The day I was getting on the train with my mom to ride down to Chicago I checked on ebay. There it was… in MY size for 200 dollars. Needless to say, we didn’t have to go to chicago. The fabric was slightly loose at the bust, but it was an easy fix for the seamstress. Its perfect.
smkarl and Squishy622 what eBay seller did you use to buy your gowns?
Coconut that dress is GORGEOUS!
Miss Coconut I think you look beautiful 
My gown came from E-bay! Actually, it was a seamstress in Beijing who made me a knock-off of an Alfred Angelo, but the auction for it was on E-bay. It came to me absolutely perfect!!
You look AMAZING in that gown! *Sigh* If only I had the body to pull a mermaid gown off….
I bought my dress off ebay from another bride. I love it!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your dress!!! The dress looks so good on you and I can’t wait to see more pictures of you in it to see all the gorgeous detail.
I wish my dress experience was that easy. =) I, too, have bought dresses off ebay that weren’t the right size because I couldn’t beat the price. I have one sitting in my closet right now that is actually too big.
Lovely dress. I’m also kind of laughing about The Collection. I went to school in Winter Park, and I seriously could not understand how people would just go in and buy an $8K dress.
Controversial indeed! I also got my dress off ebay since it was a such steal (80 percent off the original price!) and supposedly my size, I figured why the hell not. Unfortunately, it turned out to be 2 inches too small in the waist - the seller didn’t post the right measurement - and I can’t even zip it up. However, I love the dress so much that I kept it, and I’m working on losing the 2 inches (or maybe at least an inch so that the seamstress has an easier time letting it out). I have 7 months until the wedding, so I think I can do it without crazy crash diet.
I found the perfect dress @ a bridal boutique and it was $600. I searched online over several months and found it from a boutique that was selling their wedding inventory so that they would only be selling prom/pageant wear. I gave $100 including shipping for this lovely gem-arrived in 100% perfect condition but only for it to be a size 6 and I wear a size 12 normally. I don’t know if I can lose all the weight that I need to and I don’t know if it can be altered enough to fit me.
I actually was one of those girls who bought a jcrew wedding dress… and I got it off of ebay for only 50 bucks! unfortunately, it is waay to casual for my ballroom reception and have decided to go with something fuller.
I think ebay is a great place to do it…. except for this measurement issue…. I feel for you.
Miss Coconut, you look fabulous! I think this is going to work out perfectly for you — and way to go to get your #1 dream dress for half price. (Scarily, given Vera Wang’s talent and usual price range, does that mean the dress at 50% off was still $6000? Eeep. But it looks amazing!!!)
@Amy H.: Actually, Vera Wang has 3 levels of dresses and mine is from the Vera Wang Collection. This dress retails for about $3,700, so you can do the math
Your dress is really very beautiful,I also found a ebay store “Jessica’s fashion dress”,the dresses in this store are really beautiful,especially this style(Item number: 370054123322)
I’m wondering whether to buy it or not.
I bought my Reem Acra for 20% of the original retail price. It is really big on me up top but it isn’t anything that can’t be fixed by a good seamstress! I also got an Amsale for about 33% of retail. Fits well. Need to hem both and adjust bust area due to my little A cups.
Amazing stories ladies. I’ve been really skeptical about those online stores that sell authentic couture wedding gowns but now I think I might take a gamble. Thank you ladies for sharing!
Oooooh! What a gorgeous gown! I love it!
I bought a dress that was too small. The shop said it was about 1-1/2 inches, but my seamstress said it was closer to 3″. She was able to let it out for me. The bridal shop said that most gowns have enough seam allowance to let out 1 size.
I bought my dress from Your Dream Dress on ebay!
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You are beautiful, and that dress looks smashing on you. Don’t fret about the one size, I really doubt it’ll be a problem. Seamstresses can usually let dresses out 1 size with no issues, but it looks to me like you’ll be able to fit it fine. Congrats on the good deal! Yay for Vera Wang!
Miss Coconut, thanks so much for replying! Shows you how little I know about couture gowns. (I just assumed I’d never be able to afford VW or Carolina Herrera, Monique Lhuillier, etc. b/c I thought all their dresses were all over $10K!) I’m very, very impressed with your shopping skills!
OMG! We’re dress twins! I’m also wearing that Vera dress. I love it! You’re so lucky to get it off ebay!
i did the same thing. i found my pronovias dress at a discount boutique for about $1k and then my friend went online and found it for $300 at a buy it now price. but it was a size too small. so i worked out and the dress was let out about half an inch on each side and it ended up fitting perfectly without a tummy tucker. you can do it! if i can, you can too. i don’t think i lost any weight before the wedding, even with the stress. i think i love food too much…
good luck and it looks great on you.
You look stunning!!!
i bought my vera wang dress on ebay too! it was my dream dress, but i had never tried it on because the saleswoman (not in the vera wang salon) wouldn’t let me try it on if i wasn’t going to spend that much on the dress…i found it on ebay that night and even though it was a size 10 (and i’m closer to a 2) i bought it and after tons of fittings it fits prefectly. i pulled a pretty woman, too
Funny you should mention J. Crew…my wedding dress came from their online site. Only cost me $325 total, and even though I made an educated guess on the size, the dress fit perfectly and didn’t require any alterations! For any brides who are looking for simple, yet classy gowns (especially for a destination wedding), I highly recommend J. Crew.
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