Wedding Blog

I knew that I needed to do my first dress shopping session either alone - or at least with an un-opinionated bridesmaid. I needed a chance to try on some dresses to see what I REALLY liked without influence of outside parties. Plus, I kept hearing about Too-Many-Cooks-in-the-Kitchen dress shopping horror stories where a delightful wedding adventure quickly turned sour.

Therefore, I took my Crafty Bridesmaid - who, while she has lovely taste, she is also the most carefree. We had a fantastic morning, perusing the stores and sites of the mall. Then we headed back to Sacramento for the first of two bridal appointments.

Image via Lana’s Bridal Studio

Lana’s Bridal Studio is located close to the Town & Country area of Sacramento and is hidden behind a lovely tree lined niche of a parking lot. They have several sample gowns to touch and try-on, as well as books of previously made fashions to peruse. They also offered custom gown design - which is actually what brought me their way, as I had my heart set on a custom designed gown in the likes of what Kelly Osborne is wearing below.

Image via TeamSugar

While their estimate was appropriately steep for a bias-cut, charmeuse satin dress with such an intricate weave, it was MUCH more affordable than the quote given to me by the locally infamous Miosa Couture. I decided to check out a few of their other beautiful options, including the gorgeous silk shantung asymmetrical gown shown below.

Image via Lana’s Bridal Studio

The next bridal appointment was at a more traditional bridal studio, Bella Donna Bridal Studio. They were located close by in the Town & Country Village shopping center, and boasted a large collection of designer dresses - namely one by Nicole Miller that I had my eye on since the proposal. I tried on a few more than the three I’ll mention here, but these were the ones I felt looked and felt the best. Bella Donna had great customer service, allowing me to try on the dresses mostly in the dressing room and not “on stage” in front of an audience, which was the polar opposite of my try-on plan.

Dress #1 - Dora by Melissa Sweet

Image via Brides

On Me.

I absolutely fell in love with the dotted organza used in this gown. It was the epitome of the full princess gown I thought I would never like - but did. It was completely out of my price range ($3,400) - but I vouched then and there that if this popped up on eBay within budget, I’d jump on it.

Dress #2 - Monte Carlo by La Sposa

Image via Brides

On Me.

Okay, I have to admit that the full reason for me being so “into” this dress was the fact that there was a trunk show going on for La Sposa, and this girl LOVES her a sale. The fact is, it’s pretty plain and while I wanted plain, I didn’t quite mean THIS plain. I wanted something plain with a TWIST!

Dress #3 - HG0013 by Nicole Miller

Image via Nicole Miller

On Me.

I absolutely love this dress. Still, to this day - love it. The Crinkle Metallic Tafetta is to DIE for - it has a delectable texture to it and the tawny color is beautiful. The sample size actually fit me perfectly in the store and I loved the loft of the fabric. However, it again, was sort of…plain. I was torn. This was officially slated as my backup dress - but I didn’t get “the feeling” that everyone spoke of.

Coming up - the final dress decision.