Weddingbee Blog

I found my dress while shopping with Spaniel Bridesmaid (and former roommate!), BM-Y. I didn’t know exactly which dress it was at the time, but I knew that I had found it!

I went into Kraoza Bridal in Glendale because (1) I knew they carried Allure Bridals gowns, which I liked a lot, (2) I knew they were big and had a lot of dresses in stock (and so maybe they would have the two dresses that I absolutely must try before I committed to anything!), and (3) they have a reputation for, if not great customer service, at least really competitive prices. I brought BM-Y because of her great taste and fashion sense, and also because Mama Spaniel? Well. She is just not much fun to shop with.

Anyway. I must have tried on about 15 dresses. Nine were good enough to photograph, and three were definitely my favorites. I really didn’t know which of the three I’d end up with, but I was almost certain it was one of them.

Nine might be dress overkill, so you get the short story and the top 3. And keep in mind that all of these dresses looked better in person. Ironically, the best looking picture was one of my least favorite dresses.

Unknown Designer?

I have no idea what designer this is or what the style number is (I forgot to check after I decided I liked it), so I can’t provide the details. BM-Y found it, and I’m glad that she pulled it out because I would never have picked it myself. It was shiny, it had no lace, and my god! That is really a mermaid skirt! And it had a corset back! I don’t want that!

But it was really pretty on, although you might have to take my word for it with this picture. It was the first dress that I tried on in three attempts at dress shopping where I thought, this could be my dress. It made me feel good, and it fit well… even in the wrong size! But I wasn’t totally sure about the bottom of the skirt, or even the overall style… I’d wanted something with a lacy kind of antique feel, and this dress didn’t have that at all. Even with everything wrong with it, though, it was in my top 3.

Allure Bridals 8601

The girl clipping the dress was a bit, well, enthusiastic, and made this one too tight around the hips (which should account for the unfortunate crease), but this dress was beautiful. It’s one of the two dresses that I actually came in to try on, and I loved it almost as much on me as on the model. The details (the beading and the lace) weren’t as prominent as I’d expected, which I couldn’t decide if I thought was a good or bad thing. But the silhouette was beautiful! I just loved it.

I really wanted this dress to be the winner… but I couldn’t decide. For a few minutes I thought I liked it less than the other two, but as soon as I let my brain form the words, I changed my mind and liked it best. If I started to imagine myself in one of the other two dresses, I wanted to go back to this one. It’s a super tough call and I didn’t think I could make it on my own at that point. Halp!

Allure Bridals 8634

This is the other of the two dresses I came in specifically to try, and it did not disappoint. I was afraid that this would be the kind of dress you can’t wear unless you have an absolute stick of a body, but it looked amazing! (I would not be able to eat on my wedding day, though, I bet!)

I thought it would be more comfortable and feel more secure because of the straps, but that actually wasn’t the case: the other two dresses were plenty secure, and the straps were so loose (the dress was far too big on me before the clamps of doom came on the back) that I got overly focused on them at first. And the bling across the rib cage was a bit distracting. But despite every issue I had with the dress, I loved it anyway, and more the longer I saw it on me.

How is a girl to decide when the options are all so lovable? I seriously could have just taken my mom in and let her pick one of these three dresses, and I’d be happy. I love, love, love all three of these dresses!