Weddingbee Blog

With over a year before the wedding, I found out about a little sale called the Running of the Brides that Filene’s Basement hosts once a year at locations across the city, and Chicago is on that list. They bring in hundreds of wedding dresses to the major locations of Filene’s in the city and sell them for $249, $449, and $699 (the most expsensive being couture gowns by Priscilla of Boston, Lazaro, etc.). But the whole shebang is first come first served, and you need to know what you’re looking for going in. First step was assembling a group of girls to go with me, so I rallied the troops and enlisted all the Chicago girls I knew. Next was doing some pre-shopping so that I could figure out what I really wanted my dress to look like.

Enter Belle Vie Bridal and White Chicago.

The first salon we went to was Belle Vie Bridal; it carries favorites like Vera Wang, Amsale, Anne Barge, and more. It was the first time I’d ever put on a wedding dress, so the whole situation was pretty amazing, especially since they were able to set up a web cam and include Mama Bacon via Skype! Not to mention that wearing a big white dress made me suddenly realize that I AM GETTING MARRIED!

I tried on seven different dresses, all based on the concept of “romantic vintage.” There was lots of lace and lots of texture, and we came out of it with three dresses that had love written all over them. (We weren’t allowed to take pics, so they looked a bit different on me.)

The Crowd Favorite: Kelly by Vera Wang

The Lightweight Lover: Amsale

My Favorite: Helene by Vera Wang

So now, I pretty much found a shape, right? Somewhere between a trumpet and a modified A-line. I also learned that I like a bit of lace and I love ruching. But, I wasn’t quite done yet—I mean, come on! I only tried on seven dresses! So the next week we went over to another salon, White Chicago.

White Chicago is a salon that sells dresses off the rack that are either “once wed,” AKA pre-owned or samples from the designer. You go in, try on a dress, fall in love, buy it, and take it home that day. Our plan was to try some on, find styles we like, then search for them like crazy at Running of the Brides. I tried on eight or ten dresses with only two getting close to the coveted love.

Sweetheart with a Sweet Rose: Alvina Valenta

More Ruching and a Corset: Christina by Enzoani

We ended up really liking the one with the flower, but pink isn’t really my thing. (Need I mention my obsession with red?) I did learn that I have a thing for 3D flowers and that I’m not limited to just trumpet dresses. I even had a waist in the pink one! The Enzoani was nice and light despite the fact that it was a lot of dress (and two sizes too big), but nothing that made anyone cry, so it was on to the Running of the Brides the following week to test our luck!

Did anyone do “window shopping” before going shopping for the real deal?