Weddingbee Blog

Mr. Guinea Pig - if the title of a post contains the words Dress Shopping, this is a No-Go-Zone. Go to Jail. Do not collect $200.

I hate shopping (I also hate cheese… might as well get all the gasp-worthy secrets out at once). I get easily frustrated when things don’t fit and dislike sorting through racks of clothes I don’t like to find the one item that might be worth trying on, and in the end hate that I’m being incredibly picky. That being said, I was looking forward to wedding dress shopping because it seemed different, somehow. Maybe it’s because I went into it thinking you’re supposed to try on a bunch of dresses before you decide, so it wouldn’t be a big deal if I was my usual picky self!

However I somehow managed to create for myself the worst possible first dress shopping experience: I went to David’s Bridal (not in-and-of-itself a bad thing). The largest one in the nation, in fact. On a Saturday afternoon. During a $99 gown sale. Ohhhh dear. To say it was crowded would be an understatement (fortunately we got some space to ourselves in the alterations area!). It was a great learning experience in what I did not want in a wedding dress! Plus, the two BMs + honorary BM who went with me were amazingly supportive, and kept me sane and laughing.

I’ve heard this many times before, but I’m here to repeat it:

I went into this imagining a very specific kind of dress, and at the end of the months long dress journey, came out with something completely different! Below are (not flattering at all) pictures from the David’s Bridal trip to illustrate my journey - sadly I have no idea what the style names of these dresses are, sorry!
Here’s what I was certain I wanted:

(as you can see from the look on my face, I was less than impressed)

Simple, simple, simple. Also, white. It turns out, I like some embellishment, and white = me looking like a mix between a ghost and a lobster. The saleswoman tried to convince me this dress was too simple to even try on, but I swore it was what I wanted. She was right. {sigh}

I decided to move on to dress # 2, which was something a) not stark white, and b) a lot like the dresses I already have in my closet (albeit those are not ivory, or long).

(This is one of my most favorite necklines ever)

I thought that since almost all the dresses (and many shirts) I own already have this very same neckline, maybe I should branch out and do something a little different for my wedding. So I tried on this dress…

(How uncomfortable do I look?)

… which made me - a) feel a little like a medieval princess (actually, that was sort of fun), and - b) decide to nix the empire waistline. A series of other random dresses followed, including a dress BM Lauren picked out with pin-tucking that confirmed my dislike for feeling like a marshmallow, and then I tried on the game-changer:

(Why yes, that is all-over lace. The opposite of simple.)

What was this? A lace dress?! But I’m a tomboy scientist! I don’t like pretty, feminine things! No, I must resist! Alas, it was to no avail. The lovely-lace bug had bit me, and suddenly all I could think about were wedding dresses with lace!

Fortunately for my opinion of the whole wedding-dress-shopping-thing, we stopped there after 1 hour, 10 dresses, and multiple pin pricks from walking barefoot in the alterations area. We grabbed lunch, which infinitely helped my mood, and headed to our second dress appointment that day. The difference between the two stores could not have been more drastic! But as you’ve probably already guessed from my clear love of To Be Continueds, you’ll have to wait for the conclusion of this story.

Did you know exactly what kind of wedding dress you wanted? Did you actually get that dress?! What was your worst/best dress shopping experience?