Wedding Blog
A few months after my dress appointment in New York, I had a trip to Los Angeles planned. I knew I had to take it seriously–plan out appointments, set up dress try-on dates with my bridesmaids and mom–so I started combing through TheKnot.com’s dress pages. When I saw something I liked, I’d note which stores sold it in LA and try to find stores that sold multiple designers I liked. Schlepping across LA, circling blocks looking for addresses, and finding parking can get extremely tiring, so I tried to spread out the appointments as best as I could.
A little dress shopping in LA, anyone?
(source)
My mom loves to mention to everyone she meets that her daughter is getting married. She’ll often end up talking about weddings with the person for an hour or so, noting any advice she gets and making sure to pass it along to me. I try my best to acknowledge it and oblige her. Someone she works with mentioned the store Lili Bridals in Tarzana, so I agreed to make an appointment.
When we got there, at least five brides-to-be were popping out of changing rooms, dresses were being dragged across the room, racks were bulging from every wall, and it was nothing like my last appointment. The saleswomen were buzzing around, pulling dresses from every direction, and selling. selling. selling. The samples were dirty and some had holes in them. It was not the environment I’d want to make such an investment in.
Nonetheless, I made the most of it. Amidst the chaos, I happened across two dresses I considered fairly seriously. And, amidst the chaos, I found out there was no picture-taking allowed. The good news is, I know which dresses I tried on so I can share their brands and styles with you.
Dress #1:
(Watters)
(Watters)
The website describes the dress as a: “Re-embroidered lace, sweetheart strapless gown with full trumpet skirt and velveteen ribbon at waist”. I describe the dress as: heavy. It felt like I was wearing a robe and dress from the Renaissance days. While I loved the way it hugged certain areas of the body and felt it would be great for a ranch wedding (albeit, a little costume-y), I would’ve been fed up with it by the end of the night.
Dress #2:
(Once Wed)
Oh, how I loved this dress. It was soft, feminine, blush-colored, and swimming in pools of soft organza. It accentuated the chest, arms, and shoulders, sat taut around the waist and flowed out from there. It was unique. It was, gulp, $4,000. This was my introduction to swooning over a dress that was well outside of my budget. Or was it “well outside of my budget”? Did I dare dream of spending this amount on a dress for one day?
Did you fall in love with a dress well outside your means? How did you deal with it?
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Share this post: The Dress Hunt (Part 2 of 4)
Oh, the Grace dress is sooo lovely! That would be hard to resist!
Oh wow, that second dress is amazing! It’s dresses like that that make me rethink my whole wedding!
Wow, I’ve never seen that Amy Michelson dress before … gorgeous!
But, I’m guessing that since we’re still on part 2 of 4, there’s more to come!
p.s. that pic of ‘Tuxedo Town’ is hilarious!
I love the Amy Michelson dress! I swoon over organza. Can’t wait to hear the rest of the story!
That Amy Michelson dress is to die for. Amaaaazing.
My fiance spotted a dress in a window that he liked and it was everything I wanted (a touch of lace, strapless, mermaid). I tried it on and loved it but at the time I thought I’d get my aunt to make my dress. it was over $4000 and my parents are giving me $10,000 toward the wedding. I never let myself completely fall for it and I ended up finding one for $1000 that I like just as much. At one bridal salon they asked me my dress budget upfront because one girl had fallen in love with a $6000 dress and left the store crying. I can’t see myself doing that but I can see how it could happen.
Loving #2!!!! 
The dress I ended up purchasing was actually $4100 and way more than I intended to spend! I tried very hard to find something I loved almost as much for cheaper, but I just couldn’t! This was the first big over budget spend for me!
it is gorgeous!!
Grace is gorgeous! I hope you end up with a “swoon-worthy” dress–whatever it may be–when we get to Part 4 of 4.
The Jasmine style F110 is a LOT like that Amy Michaelson dress and under $1000. You might like it! They have pics of the front and back at the Jasmine website if you search for 110
That dress truly is something special - it’s so atypical, yet still in a very classic way!!! I hear you on the budget issue - maybe if it was a few hundred dollars more, but it’s hard to swallow spending SO much more on a dress you only wear once! Imagine how devastated you would be if it got dirty :(.
oh, I love that dress too. i bet it looks fantastic on you!
I fell in love with a hard-to-find Reem Acra from her 2005 collection. (She focuses more on ballgowns instead of flowy vintage-y sheaths, so there wasn’t even much similar, other than “Flourish” to choose from in bridal salons.) So..I stalked the dress, typing Reem Acra Heavenly into google everyday. The dress retails btwn. $3200-$4600, but I got it for significantly less on BridePower.com. (They sell only excellent-condition samples-my dress was in perfect condition-and are based out of Boston.) It took me a year to find it, but it was worth it. I also plan to resell it to recoup some of the cost. I had resigned myself that if the dress was too expensive, I’d get something else that I’d still feel beautiful in, but wouldn’t regret. My advice: find it used (or as a sample) or find an alternative that you will still love. (Try salons that carry once-worn or samples).
that second dress is absolutely breakthtaking–and I think it would be perfect for you!
I know there’s more to this story, but have you looked for that dress pre-owned??
Wow that second dress… Wow.. gorgeous! (there are very few I look at and say mmm maybe I would have gotten that instead.. and this one did it.. gorgeous!)
I did fall in love with a dress beyond my means.. and do not follow my lead.. but I bought it… :-/ my BMs were no help and neither was my mister.. they encouraged me.. ahh sometimes I feel guilty (more like all the time) but as soon as I get a glimpse of the dress it was made for me… waterworks in the dressing room, etc….
Maybe you can see if there is a pre-owned dress?
ooooooooooh. That dress is consuming all of my thoughts now. I love it.
I love that Amy Michelson dress too! I saw it on Oncewed and Preownedweddingdresses for a lot less than $4000.
I fell in love with an Anne Barge design - I don’t know the name or style number, but it had straps, a grecian feel, and this beautiful embroidery under the bust. But, it was over $3,000, and I couldn’t get past the guilty feelings I had over potentially spending that much on a dress. But I can totally understand people who do!
Love love love the Amy Michelson dress. It is breathtaking! Thank goodness I have already purchased my dress– if you had posted this during my dress search, I would have been heading out this weekend to find it at a store near me so I could try it on! 
I can’t wait to find out what you picked. Any chance you’ll post part 3 & 4 now!?!?!
well i just fell in love with grace. it looks so delicately scrumptious. alas that price tag does not 
That second dress is beautiful and somehow seems like it would be so perfect for you!
Here is the trunk show info from her website: http://www.amymichelson.com/amy_trunkshows.html. AMAZING dress!!!
i fell in love with plenty of monique lhullier and lela rose dresses, i just knew that i couldn’t try them on because they are soooooo much out of my price range and would tempt me.
Gahhh that second dress is amazing… I loved a dress that was way too much ($5K), and after searching and searching (we’re talking months here) for something close enough to my dream dress, I finally had to start over and find something that I could learn to love (and afford more in the $1.5K dept.) - It is a toughy, but I suppose in the end I am happy that I didnt go into debt over my dress… Happy searching to you and/or happy lotto winning
That second one is amazing. I will add this to the list of things I would change about my wedding if I won the lottery.
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Mrs. Cowboy Boot, Santa Fe
Age and Occupation: 25, Magazine Editor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 29, Artist and Whitewater Rafting Guide
Engagement Date: April 28th, 2008
Wedding Date: October 2009
Venue: Devil's Thumb Ranch, Colorado
About Me: I grew up in Los Angeles and have since lived in San Diego, Boston, Italy, Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Fe. I speak Italian and love pasta. My real passion is the outdoors, though. When I'm not at work, I'm snowboarding, hiking with my two dogs, mountain biking, surfing, cross-country-skiing, or boating New Mexico's rivers. Despite my boyish love for adventure, I'm a girly-girl at heart and am overly-excited to pull off the romantic, vintage-inspired, country wedding of my dreams.
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