Weddingbee Blog

The first time I went dress shopping, I went into David’s Bridal with MOH-S for my first round of dress shopping (round 2 was scheduled for the following day with Mama Spaniel at a smaller shop). My goal was to limit my options, because I could not commit to a style: one day I liked satin, the next I liked lace, and next thing you know I’ll be walking down the aisle in a chic potato sack (yes, I actually Googled “chic potato sack” to find this link… who knew that would work?).

I was completely unable to do this (limit my options, that is) while engagement ring shopping, which is one of the reasons why I had to pick out the ring for Mr. Spaniel instead of letting him to the legwork (that, and he just wasn’t getting on the ball fast enough for impatient me!). Sure, I liked round cut stones, but mostly only in six-prong solitaires. And I didn’t like princess cut, but I might if it were in a clean, modern band. And I didn’t want side stones, but I might if they were in halos. And I didn’t like too much sparkle or bling, except when the band was a sparkly vintage style. In other words, I couldn’t narrow down anything until I saw it on my finger (but ended up getting the very first ring I tried on after we started seriously shopping).

It shouldn’t be a surprise that I was so wishy-washy with dress styles, also, but I did narrow it down to three of their styles that I would have considered (and they are all totally, totally different from one another).

Beaded lace gown with cap sleeves, $799, David’s Bridal

This was the first dress I tried, and I thought it could very well be the dress I bought for our wedding. I tried it in champagne with an ivory overlay, and it was gorgeous, and vintage looking, without too much ornamentation and without being too plain (and it looked FABULOUS on me except for the crazy racer back tan lines I sport year-round thanks to my Ultimate Frisbee addiction).

It’s funny, because I wasn’t too crazy about it in pictures, but I still felt compelled to try it. With a little bit of contrast between the lace and the lining, it’s GORGEOUS. The pictures do not do it justice… although it may turn out to be a little more casual garden wedding than I ultimately want. But it looked like me, like something I would wear, and it did look truly special with a plain, ivory chapel length veil. I felt like a bride. And the fit was fantastic! The only problem was that it was too short with the four-inch heels I’d tried the dress on with. And if four inches is too much, than my 4-½” heel Pradas (which wouldn’t match with the dress anyway) is even more too much, and I can’t go buy fancy designer shoes with a two-inch heel, because that’s just boring!

Oleg Cassini brocade strapless dress, $1050, David’s Bridal

After trying a few dresses that made me less than happy to be there, I tried on this dress, which I like more for being more formal and less for being strapless and a little heavy. The brocade fabric reminds me of Christmas, which would be great if I were getting married in December, but is less special for the first day of spring.

Still, with the exception of a couple of key alterations that would be needed, it fit really nicely. It was a pretty dress. It looked interesting like lace because of the pattern in the brocade, but without being so fussy and delicate (I’m always afraid a sharp heel will go through an allover lace dress). But I knew it probably wasn’t “the one”. I also tried this dress with the same plain ivory chapel length veil, but it was too long for the dress (I felt). I’d be happier with a fingertip veil for this one, I think.

I knew Mama Spaniel would love this dress, so I tried it on also. I thought it made my waist look a little thicker than it is, which should have annoyed me because I have worked REALLY FREAKING HARD to lose the weight I did (oh, did I mention I got to my goal weight? BECAUSE I TOTALLY DID! I’m kind of unreasonably proud of myself). But it didn’t annoy me so much because the dress looked HOT. I didn’t think so at first (it’s a weird dress, and not entirely my style), but the more I saw it, the more I connected with it. I’m not sure it works in the setting, but it felt light as a feather on (it was by far the most comfortable, softest, easiest to move in dress I tried all day) and I might have actually loved it by the time I took it off.

When I went dress shopping with Mama Spaniel the next day, we came up pretty much flat. My mom and I visited Rose Petals Bridal because they carry Allure Bridals, and I’d really wanted to try two of their dresses:

But, unfortunately, they didn’t have either in the store. Instead, I tried a few other Allure Bridals gowns which I can’t find on the website.

The selection was pretty small, and none of the samples were too near my size, but I got enough of a sense to know: Allure Bridals gowns are reasonably priced, and they fit really well (even when they are a size too small or four sizes too big). Apparently they’re made for women up to six feet tall without adding extra length (which means I could wear the heels I like without having to pay more for extra length on the dress!), the low backs are really beautiful, and they’re nicely constructed. And the quality was about a gazillion times better than anything I’d tried on the day before. But I didn’t love any of the dresses I tried.

I thought I was either going to have to go to a larger bridal salon that carries a larger selection of Allure Bridals so I can try the dresses I like, or wait for a trunk show and try again. I did know that I didn’t want to wait until the fall to buy my wedding dress, though… I also knew I’d have to go without Mama Spaniel (sorry, mom!). She can dress shop with me once I’ve already picked what I want so that it won’t bother me so much that she wants me to try on everything in the store. As it was, she liked everything I didn’t (and made me try them on), and was “meh” about all the dresses I thought had some potential (mostly because they were the wrong size; she kept commenting on how certain parts don’t fit).

Did you find it hard to locate the dresses you liked online and in magazines? Did you go to great lengths to find them or did you end up just trying similar dresses on?