Of course, just like almost every other bride out there, as soon as I had the ring on my finger (which just got cleaned, by the way- so sparkly and shiny now :D), I wanted to go dress shopping. I didn't care where it was, as long as it had white dresses, I was game for it. About a month later, at the end of January, my mother gave in, and her and I hit the local bridal salons.
I had known for a while what I wanted my dress to look like. A family friend had gotten married back in 2005, and her dress had a navy blue train. As soon as I saw her pictures, I knew right away that I wanted my dress to have a colored train. Not sure what color, but a colored train. So when I had the reason to start looking at dress pictures online, I quickly came across a picture of an Alfred Angelo dress, with a colored train. I did a little more research, and found that AA is known for their bridal gowns with color accents, available in 55 colors, and bridesmaid dresses all have the ability to coordinate. Best part was, they were affordable- after all, we had only budgeted $1,000 (in the initial budget) for my dress. So when we went trooping off, I had in my mind that I wanted white with color accents, preferably strapless, A line or ball gown, no lace. I wasn't picky, and told myself I would try on whatever was pulled for me.
We started at Brides and Grooms in Newark, DE. My mom had heard about this little, tiny, hole-in-the-wall bridal salon from a co-worker, so we decided to start there. First thing- never go gown shopping on a Saturday. Ever. It's always so packed, no matter where you go. And don't let looks deceive you. This shop is so stuffed full of gowns and dresses, and only has 3 (tiny) dressing rooms. But they are awesome. Totally worth the wait on a Saturday. After we finally managed to get a dressing room and an attendant, Faith, we went to work. I told her what I wanted, and she pulled dress after dress. I tried on so many, each one prettier than the last. They didn't have the one AA dress I had in mind in stock, but I was told that I could order any style number through them. We didn't buy anything there that morning, but left with ideas and the high probability of returning.
We ate lunch, then headed to Jennifer's in Hockessin. First off, big clue there. Hockessin=money. Lots of money. We walked into the store, and immediately noticed several differences. One, they only had one customer in the store, compared to the 10-15 customers that had proceeded us at B&G. Second, there were only 2 employees, versus the 4 or 5 at B&G. The other thing that struck us as odd? At B&G, the employees were dressed professionally, but comfortable. Dress slacks, comfortable black sneakers. At Jennifer's, the employees were wearing high heels and skirts/dresses. Why does this matter? Because when someone is helping me in and out of a heavy bridal gown, and is doing that hundreds of times a day, I would prefer that they be in practical clothing. Immediately, I was on alert. Well, I found out why soon enough. They didn't have a dress in there under $4,000- we looked at every price tag. And they didn't have any that fit my style- no long trains, extremely simple styles. We pretty much immediately crossed it off the list for dress shopping. To be fair, they had GORGEOUS veils. They were a little pricey, but they were breathtaking. We are still keeping it in mind for a veil, but in terms of dresses, it was way too hoity toity for my liking.
We left there, and headed to the typical bridal store that everyone thinks of when they think bride- David's Bridal. I was against it from the beginning, but my mom convinced me that we needed to go to get an idea of what we wanted and didn't want. When we walked in, it was packed. Tons of brides, everywhere. Tons of dresses, everywhere. When you enter the store, they have a desk where they "register" you. AKA, they get your info so they can blitz your mail box (both real and electronic) with tons of crap. Luckily, they were busy with another bride, so we wandered over to the Plus Size section, and started looking. I was appalled at what I saw- ugly dresses, few to choose from, in horrible condition. Some even had stains on them! A consultant came over and tried to "help" us, but God bless my mother, who knows how to scare them away. I was disgusted with what I saw, in terms of both dresses and consultations. It was like an assembly line, and I felt like a cookie cutter bride. What little service we did try to get when looking for help with the flower girl dresses was abominable. The only thing we found to our liking was a cute flower girl dress, but for the same price, I can get the one that I really want from AA!
We went home that day, empty handed but for a few bridal CDs we had found at David's Bridal. My mom and I decided to find out when my sister was free, and two weeks later, we took a drive up to Lancaster, PA. Alfred Angelo has a flagship store there, and has many more of their styles in stock then B&G did. We showed up, and it wasn't horribly busy for a Saturday. We started on bridesmaid dresses first, which Meghan modeled for us. I had originally wanted the same dress for all the girls, in a tea length. After seeing some on Meghan, I decided to go with a floor length skirt- it's more classy for a formal church wedding, floor length is appropriate for an October wedding, and this way, they can all wear a silver shoe, but it doesn't have to match. I had decided to do separates, which would allow for some leeway with the bridesmaids' choice, but now, I have decided that it doesn't have to be a separate- as long as it is in my color, floor length, satin, and Alfred Angelo, I will be happy.
We then moved onto my dress. The lady who was helping us had pulled a whole bunch of dresses, based on my criteria. She showed me what she had pulled, and I told her to put the second one back- it was everything I didn't want, and I had seen the picture online and thought it was hideous. She insisted on placing it in the dressing room anyway "just in case". Begrudgingly, I agreed, and my mom and I got me into the first dress, my first choice- which looked horrible on me. It did nothing for me at all. We went to change dresses, and my mother said to put the not-an-option dress on, just so we could get it out of the dressing room, because it was taking up so much room. I agreed, got into it, walked out- and fell in love. It was perfect. It brought the attention to the right places, it worked with my body, it was amazing. And it had everything I didn't want, too! Sleeves, which made my arms look smaller, and accentuated my bust line. Re-embroidered lace, which looked wonderful and sparkled with the crystals and beading. It had a colored sash, that made my waist look smaller, and a sweetheart neckline that made my bust look gorgeous. Okay, it was an A-line, and it had a semi-cathedral train, two things I wanted. I put that dress on, and proceeded to sit in it for the next hour while Meg tried on more dresses. I was in love.
Brian and I had decided earlier that if I was going to get a color in my gown, it would be a royal/brilliant blue. We discussed it together, because we wanted to be on the same page for the rest of the planning, in terms of colors. So we decided on Cobalt Blue for the dress, with the bridesmaids in Cobalt Blue with White accents. Our colors for the entire wedding are also Cobalt Blue and White, with accents of silver. We may do a lighter blue in there as well, but we haven't fully decided yet.
We told the saleswoman what color we wanted, and sized me. She then told us that the dress was on sale during the promotion they were running. It was originally $800 (in my budget!), but was on sale for $650 (even better in my budget!). At this point, my mom went outside and made a phone call to B&G, to find out pricing through them (remember, they are in DE, and AA was in PA- that means tax!). When they said $520, she said sold, and we ordered my dress through them the next week. It took 6 months to come in, and it is so breathtakingly pretty. I can't wait to get my surgery, lose weight, and look beautiful for Brian the day we are wed!
(I am not posting pics here...sorry, but Brian has access to this site, and others, so the pics are staying in my hot little hands! He doesn't want to see the dress, or be tempted to see it, before the big day!)
No comments:
Post a Comment