Weddingbee Blog

Please don’t hate me. But searching for my wedding dress wasn’t all butterflies and rainbows. In fact, Mr. SD was with me the first time! Just after we got engaged, the plan was to spend the weekend with my Bestie E. Well, she happens to own a bridal shop, so that’s where we had to go meet her. Of course I couldn’t resist trying a few on, and figured it couldn’t hurt to see if Mr. SD hated my taste or something (like that could ever happen!). His only catch was that if I found “the one” I couldn’t let on because he didn’t want to know. So I went to town picking out dresses to try on that I’ve been eying for months.

Here’s a quick fun fact: when the lovely ladies of Providence Place were starting up their shop last October, I was there to help wherever I was needed. It just so happened that I was needed to join them at Dallas Market Hall to shop for inventory. Oh, if only I was engaged then! The building is like, 14 stories tall and each level is the size of a normal mall. So, the bridal level was absolute heaven, with all the designers you could want. We went to Mori Lee, Casablanca, and so many more. They give you private fashion shows of the season’s gowns, and I was serving as their “model” to test drive the dresses so the owners could see how they wore and decide on the final inventory. I got to see all the latest Casas, and even try them on! Oh, and a little secret. I’m not allowed to tell you the price you can get the gowns for at Market. But let’s just say average mark up is 2.5 times original purchase point. It’s so off-putting to see gorgeous gowns with price tags around $200.

Once Mr. SD and I left the shop, I had a pretty good idea of the one I wanted. And Bestie E assured me that price was no obstacle. I could pick out any gown from the store. It must have been all those hours re -upholstering chairs and digging holes in the yard for electrical lines. Mr. SD put in a lot of hard labor as well. He hung the sparkly chandelier! Now for the gowns. Just for kicks, here’s the second runner up.

It’s a Casablanca, but I’m not sure of the style number. But Lord have mercy, how I loved this dress. It made my girls look nice, and my waist look tiny! And I loved how frothy it felt. But it was waaaaay too formal for the party I was planning.

I literally almost took this one home. I’d have shoved it in my purse and bolted away. It’s the Casablanca 1900, well favored by bees before me. Even the David’s Bridal knock-off is stunning. I could see myself in this one. It’s country chic, and oh-so-pretty. But as I was planning to switch into a fun and flirty reception dress, I decided to choose something a little less fancy.

Here she is. The one. I chopped out my face because Bestie E decided that I looked pretty darn awesome in pictures that I’m talking in. So I’m making a stellar facial expression in this one. We threw on a floral necklace belt thing just to see if the belt would look better with a little added fluff. Um, yeah no. I look like my ribcage is exploding with a coke slushy. Other than that, it’s perfect. It’s floaty, soft, and perfect. It’s going to look great with my red boots. It’s one of the Purely Providential dresses from their private line. Their dresses run from $199 to about $399. So if you’re a Dallas area bride you should check out Providence Place in Rockwall; I know they’ll treat you right!

How was dress shopping for you? Was it mellow like my experience, or more stressful?