Weddingbee Blog

One big goal during my winter visit in Montana was trying on bridesmaids’ dresses. As much as I love looking at pretty things on the internet, I am slightly wary of online shopping because I can’t feel the fabric. I am very picky about a fabric’s feel.

I called up bridal salons in Bozeman, where Mr. Bracelet lives, and ended up making two appointments at salons that carried brands I was interested in. I also invited my FMIL along to give her an opportunity to join some pre-wedding activities. Since I live in Germany and our American wedding will mostly be a destination wedding, there isn’t a lot of “let’s do this together” available.

Our first stop was Plume Bridal (webpage), which just opened in September 2011. The store has a great, bright atmosphere and good heating—which was a relief because it was cold outside and I was prancing around in thin dresses. I chose several dresses from the racks that I thought would look nice (and that came with optional spaghetti straps).

Mr. Bracelet clipping me into a dress

At first the saleslady helped me, but there were other customers and I actually prefer privacy when it comes to dress shopping. Enter my knight in shining armor, who picked up dress-clipping skillz in no time.

Bari Jay 324

{image on the left via Bari Jay}

This dress was one of the few chiffon dresses at the store. It was nice and flowy, but I didn’t like the flower (which couldn’t be removed) and it definitely make my rear look extra wide.

Eden Bridal 7326

{image on the left via Eden Bridal}

I wasn’t sure that I would like the ruffled neckline (I’m kind of a no-ruffles person), but I ended up liking the look. It makes a great figure! (This one was also a top pick of Mrs. Castle’s ‘maids.)

Eden Bridal 7331

{image on the left via Eden Bridal}

Alfred Sung D504

{image on the left via Dessy}

Plume sadly didn’t have the dress with the cap sleeves that I liked so much online. Among the few Alfred Sungs that Plume had in store, I like D504 best. I have a thing for bows, and it had POCKETS (as demonstrated above)!

The second store we visited was After 5 and Weddings (webpage), which has been around for a long time. The store’s interior wasn’t quite as new and welcoming as Plume’s, but they did have a large selection of dresses to choose from, especially Watters and Wtoo.

What you guys don’t get to see is the heap of photos where I look like a zombie. There were so many photos of me with my eyes half-closed that I started pulling faces to liven up the photos. Exhibit A:

Wtoo 172

{image on the left via Watters}

Wtoo 788

{image on the left via Watters}

Wtoo 986

{image on the left via Watters}

Wtoo 784

{image on the left via Watters}

This concluded my in-store dress search. I was still waiting for a package from BHLDN to complete my dress research…

How did you approach your bridesmaids’ dress adventure?

*All photos personal or by FMIL