Weddingbee Blog

Next stop on our whirlwind day of dress shopping was Lovely Bridal Shop. I was so excited when we came upon the charming little sign by the door.

We walked into a sweetly designed space. I wanted to take tons of pictures, but my camera was dying. So I made the decision to take the first few shots with my iPhone (which is why the color levels are a little different) and saved my camera for the dresses!

I wanted to grab one of these flowers and try it on. But I didn’t want to get kicked out within the first five minutes.

We were introduced to our consultant and her assistant. She let me rifle through the racks of dresses, and then we headed upstairs. Things up until this point were indeed lovely, but just wait. (Mr. Marmalade—again, this is a dress post, so you can stop reading now. Please. And I love you.)

One of the designers I went to check out was Nicole Miller. I grabbed two of her dresses off the rack, and this was the first.

This is DI0014 (has a nice ring to it).

What you can’t see here is the expression on my face as I assure my mom and sister that I’m not pregnant, no matter what this dress thinks. The fit of this dress and the drape of that fabric makes me shudder, and I can’t believe I’m going to share this with the world. Ah well…

Nicole Miller again! And sad face that you can’t see here, again.

I liked the pleating detail at the on the dress. I liked the corset-style back. And then I put it on and blagh. I did not like it anymore.

Next up is this gorgeous Watters dress, the Ravenna.

Not so gorgeous on me. The embroidered lace was too heavy. I didn’t feel like the dress did anything for me. What you can’t see here is that the back is open. I wanted a little interest in the back, but this was pretty much the entire back—bend down too quickly and voilà! Plumber’s crack on my wedding day.

Now before we get into the next round of dresses, I have to address what happened here. If you look at the picture above, you can see that a white curtain was drawn. And you can see a girl holding a dress to the right of this curtain. Beyond this white curtain, there was a photo shoot going on. I noticed at least three people, and no, I didn’t have to look inside. The girl with the dress is opening the curtain to my changing area. It’s not a room, but two white curtains that come together in a 90-degree angle, or that’s the plan at least. Because they don’t come together, they leave a gap. So when you change, everyone can see you: my family, and the people walking by (in this case the people at the shoot).

So there I am, looking for a wedding dress with my mom, Lil $is, and Bridesmaid K. We’re enjoying our time, despite the fact that it’s a little weird to be pushed into this area because of the shoot. I go back to the curtained area to try on a new dress and begin undressing with my consultant. By undressing I mean I am nekkid, the kind of nekkid that no one wants to be. Butt hanging out of a curtain, grasping for some fabric to cover my front, kind of naked. And then a woman from the shoot opens the curtain and sticks her head in, while I’m in there naked. (Did I mention I was standing there naked?) She tells the consultant that we need to keep quiet because there is a shoot going on. I’m disappointed in myself that I didn’t turn around and tell her to get her head out of the curtain, tell my consultant to leave, get dressed, and leave the shop. I should have done that. I wish I did that. But I didn’t. I’m still upset by this, and pretty humiliated. No one has the right to do this in an appointment. They should have scheduled their shoot better.

The appointment continued and I got my chance to try on some Sarah Seven gowns! She was the other reason I visited the shop (and probably another reason I stayed).

I liked this gown, but I felt like it needed something. So my consultant brought out a sash. I liked the sash, but I still felt like I needed a little more in my wedding dress.

So I got another Sarah Seven gown with more. And another with even more, plus the sash. What I also got was a couple of hip swags. Notice how my head is positioned in the first photo? I’m looking down at the ground. I’m starting to feel really defeated, and pretty deflated.

Actually if you look at the top photo, you can see my little changing area. That gap pretty much stayed that way when I was changing, just moving from one side to the other. Sigh…I was bummed that the Sarah Seven gowns didn’t work for me. But I still love them. I have a feeling that her short dresses are more my speed, but I know I want a long dress for our wedding.

Next! Watters Lasara.

I felt the best in this gown. I loved the organza, I loved how it fit. See how I’m standing up straighter? But it didn’t feel like a wedding dress. My mom didn’t like it. My sister didn’t like it. And I didn’t love the appliqués.

Next, we went for an Anne Barge.

This was the favorite of the day. Not my favorite, but theirs (mom, $is, BM K). I liked how it fit, but it was “too mermaid” for me.

Last but not least, this gown from Quail.

She said it was a convertible gown. The skirt comes off! I am so not cool enough for this. And it was really really heavy. Not to mention that there were a couple comments about the skirt, something about chickens…so I took it off. And then my consultant said, “OK, it’s three o’clock so your appointment is over. But feel free to come back.”

Now, I had another appointment so I was watching the clock to begin with. It was indeed three o’clock. But it was also pretty rude to tell me that and rush me out. I should have left in the middle of the appointment. Lesson learned.

Overall, my appointment at Lovely was a huge letdown. I wasn’t just that the dresses weren’t right for me. I felt like I was just another annoying girl looking for a dress to them. That is not the way I want to feel when I shop for anything, let alone my wedding dress. Maybe my budget wasn’t big enough for them? Who knows? I’m not going back there, and I’m not recommending them to any of my friends. You shouldn’t leave an appointment like that and feel somewhere between sadness and anger.

Did you have any bad bridal-shop experiences?