Weddingbee Blog

I’ll be honest: I debated even writing this post, because I’m totally annoying myself with my wishy-washy indecisiveness. I thought to myself, “Do I want to put the hive through this again?” But I promised myself that when I started writing for Weddingbee I’d be as candid as possible, so here we go…

A few weeks ago, I was hanging up some clean laundry, and I decided to try on my wedding dress. It had been a while, and I wanted to see if it still fit or if it was too big.

Well, it was a bit too big, but nothing some alterations wouldn’t fix. It was a bit roomy and way too long. No biggie. But here’s the thing:

When I tried it on, I felt a great big MEH.

Yes, that’s right. After buying and returning two other dresses, this is dress #3. And I don’t think I like it anymore. I don’t hate it, mind you, and I still think that it will flatter my body, but I’m really starting to dislike the details at the top:

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Aesthetically, it’s too sparkly for my taste. Practically, it’s kind of scratchy, especially under my arms. I’m just not crazy about it. If the dress didn’t have those 3-D floral details, I’d be thrilled with it, even though it would be really plain. I could just jazz it up with some kick-ass accessories. But as is? MEH.

For the past few weeks, I’ve been trying to convince myself that it’s okay if I don’t love my dress. And honestly, if I was down to the wire, if the wedding was next month, I’d probably be okay with it, since there’d be no time to change my mind.

But with three and a half months left, there’s still some time, and I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t at least try to find something better. Just to throw feelers out, I listed my dress on some used wedding dress sites and got a few responses already, so I don’t think I might be able to almost break even.

A few months ago, I fell head over heels for the Melissa Sweet Fiesole:

Hello, Lover!

It was way out of my budget, so I tried to push it out of my mind, but then I found a dress on the Limited website that reminded me of it. It’s hard to see in this photo, but it had similar horizontal detailing that I loved:

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Armed with a 20% off coupon code and soon-to-expire gift card to cover part of the cost, I ordered the dress and tried it on. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out. It fit like a dream, but the bottom ruffle was too flouncy, making me feel like I was going to a square dance instead of getting married (I was a bad blogger and forgot to take photos). Back to the Limited it went.

But it seemed I was on to something. There’s no time to order a traditional dress from a traditional shop, but there are a handful of stores from which I can order an off-the-rack dress online, try it on, and return it if it doesn’t work out. Here are some more that I’m considering:

J. Crew Arabelle

JS Boutique from Nordstrom

Unique-Vintage

Ann Taylor

Another alternative is to order a fabulous retro-inspired dress from Dolly Couture. They’re not off-the-rack so I’d have to pay extra for a rush fee, but they do take returns, which is rare for a custom shop. I’m really smitten with their Lahaina, so maybe I’ll try this if none of the dresses above work out.

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I know that the smartest thing to do is to just wear the dress I already have, especially since it’s really just fine. But I know me: I obsess, and I won’t be able to relax until I’ve exhausted all other options. If I try on a bunch of dresses and don’t find anything better, well, that’s okay. I’ll wear my David’s dress and ignore the sparkly, scratchy flowers. If I can find something quickly, I’ll sell my David’s dress at a small loss and everything will work out.

This is the last thing I need as we’re getting down to the wire with planning, but I think it’s something I have to do.

Did you have dress regret?