Weddingbee Blog

Is he gone now? Okay, after not being totally in love with what I thought was my dream dress at David’s Bridal, my search took me to The Wedding Shoppe. With Sister Sunrise MOH C and Sister Sunrise MOH N in tow, I arrived at the shop ready to try on the DaVinci 8340.

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Sunmaid S met us there and we were quickly ushered upstairs to a private room filled with many different dresses in my size. My initial thought was, “Wow! They’re ALL in my size already?” And then I realized, “Ah, so this is why they asked me for my size when I called to make the appointment! These people are really prepared!” The private room was very nice. It was like the size of a small bedroom, with a large mirror covering one wall, and some cozy chairs lined up by the window along another wall. We definitely made ourselves comfortable!

Sister Sunrise MOH C did not have a babysitter, so she also brought along my 2 year old niece and 7 month old nephew (who were both on their best behavior). My nephew is a bit too young to be in the wedding but my niece is one of my little flower girls. We’ll call her Sunflower Girl M. At first, I was afraid that the staff would have a problem with us bringing children to a wedding dress shop, but they were very nice about it and even oohed and ahhed over the baby. My wonderful consultant also ran back downstairs to grab some flower girl dresses for Sunflower Girl M to try on. So sweet.

I know that some shops have a strict no-cameras-allowed rule, so before trying on any dresses, I asked them about their policy on taking pictures. My consultant said that they usually don’t allow cameras, but since it was the last appointment of the day, and a lot of people were already gone, she didn’t really see the harm in it. Awesome!

Unfortunately, they could not find the DaVinci 8340 for me, which made me a little sad. But that didn’t discourage me from trying on the many other dresses that they had hanging in the room. The first dress I tried on, also made by DaVinci, had the pick-ups and strapless top that I requested. But I did not like it.

Sister Sunrise MOH C really liked this dress with the silvery grey panel in the front and around the waist. Sunmaid S noted that the train was very pretty. But I did not like the two tones, so I was not feeling it at all.

Then my consultant suggested that I try something with straps, so I tried on this halter-top dress. I didn’t like that one either.

Sister Sunrise MOH N and Sunmaid S went gaga over a lacy dress that they spotted hanging among all of the ball gowns. They told me to try it on. I immediately said, “No way! I don’t like that. I am NOT wearing lace. You guys know I want a big dress with lots and lots of pick-ups!” I pushed the dress away and continued looking through the rack for more fluffy ball gowns. But they would not give up on that silly lace dress! As much as I protested, they kept on urging me to “just try it!” So I finally gave in (mainly to shut them up) and stood there rolling my eyes as they laced me up. I also complained reminded them that I wanted buttons going down my back, not a laced-up back.

When they finally finished and stepped away, I just stood there quietly in the unwanted dress, gazing at myself in the mirror… suddenly, a smile spread across my face.

BAM! A rush of emotions hit me like a ton of bricks and my words were caught in my throat. This was it—the moment I had been waiting for. I was all choked up and my eyes may or may not have welled up with tears. I couldn’t believe it… I was in love. The room grew quiet as my ladies watched on. And then I whispered, “You guys, this is it. This is my dress…”

All of a sudden, the silence was filled with a lot of yays and applause. We were all very happy. Sister Sunrise MOH N and Sunmaid S were so proud of themselves and I apologized for doubting them. I really love my ladies and I should trust them more! Sister Sunrise MOH C gathered my train and showed me how an over-bustle would look.

I did a few twirls and checked myself out some more.

Aahhh I couldn’t believe I found my dress! The lace was beautiful and I loved everything about it, especially the gorgeous train with scalloped hemline. Not only was the dress very light (so I can dance all night), but the A-line shape was very flattering on my body-type and the lace-up back made it fit like a glove. I also loved the modified sweetheart neckline and satin ribbon under the bust with the little floral detail. It was perfect and it made me wonder why I was ever so adamant on having those darn pick-ups! As you can see, my nephew liked it too.

Round and round, I spun. I was so happy that I seriously could not stop twirling in it.

This dress is also made by DaVinci, style 8357. The stock photos show it in white, but I tried on the ivory and fell in love with it, so that is what I ordered.

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So there you have it, folks! This is my wedding dress and I am so excited to wear it on the big day. Dress shopping was such a fun and positive experience and I would not have ever found it without the help of my wonderful ladies!