I've been procrastinating writing this post because I wasn't sure how to do it without actually showing you the dress (because Steve reads this, and also because for our guests reading this, I want it to be a surprise too!) But don't be scared of all the forthcoming text. There are two wedding dress pics at the end!
A month ago, I had my first dress appointment at The White Gown in Brooklyn. I went with my Mom, maid of honor and another friend. I originally chose this bridal store because it's super close to our apartment, and they had a dress I desperately wanted to try on, ever since I got engaged. It was the first dress that I found while looking online that made me think, wow, I could get married in that! I showed it to a few people and they all agreed it was very me, which is a good thing!
Of course, this dress I had hoped to try on was no longer at the store because a bride had JUST bought it off the rack and they were waiting for their other sample to come in. TEAR!! But, I could come back once they got their sample, and in the meantime they had other similar dresses. I had also thought to bring a page with images of other dresses I liked, so they used that to pull some dresses, too.
Mom, my MOH and friend went to sit on a couch near a big mirror while the person helping me, Erica, got me into dress after dress. I tried pouffy ones, slim ones, ones with long trains, ones with beading, plain ones, lace ones, most every end of the spectrum. I would try on a dress, go out to show it to my posse, and pretty quickly give it a yes or no. It didn't take long to figure out which styles I wanted to see more of and which ones I never wanted to wear again. Finally, many dresses later, it was down to two contenders: Dress A (which was similar to the one I had originally wanted to try on) and Dress B (which was a completely different style, one I hadn't realized I liked until trying it on). I tried them on again--back to back--and showed them to my posse. It became clear that I felt happier in Dress B. My face apparently lit up! (Though I didn't cry. I thought I might cry. My mom didn't cry either. Having watched way to many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, I thought she might burst into tears when she saw me in THE dress. I even jokingly asked her if she felt like crying, but she said she didn't. Haha. I bet she'll shed many a tear during the wedding through! Anyway, I digress....) My posse also liked it the most, so it was a clear winner.
Of course, this was my very first appointment, and the wedding was over a year away (and still is!) so there was no reason to buy a dress that early. This was just the jump start to what I thought would be a long process of dress-shopping. That is, until Erica told me a bit of information: the store gives a 10% discount for brides who buy their dress the same day as their appointment.
Hmm.
The dress wasn't even that expensive to begin with (at least in the world of wedding dresses...it's still an expensive dress!) at around $1200. I had told Erica that my budget was $2000, hoping that we'd go way under because I'm trying to be a budget-savvy and practical bride! I'd even hoped I could find a dress for only $1,000, which is why I was fawning over so many of the affordable yet beautiful J.Crew dresses. So though the 10% would only save us $120, it still made my ears perk up. It would make the dress $1,100, only $100 more than my goal. And I really did love the dress! Erica also told me that with alterations, the dress would be no more than $1,500, a number that made me very happy.
But I just couldn't decide right that very second, so I asked Erica if I could go have lunch and think about it, and she said that would be fine. Over lunch we talked about the pros and cons of getting the dress, and the pros definitely outweighed the cons. The only cons were:
a) I wouldn't be able to try on any other dresses, and
b) I usually don't like making quick decisions.
The pros were:
a) the style fit the feel I was looking for
b) any accessory I'd be interested in wearing would go with it (flower in my hair!)
c) it was flattering to my figure and comfortable
I also realized that in the past, I'd made quick decisions that worked out. In the end, my gut told me to get it. So I did!
I feel really great about my choice and I'm glad that step is over! Honestly, looking for dresses online was starting to be unenjoyable, especially with my price goal. Now, not only do I have a dress I love, I also can feel good about not having spent a fortune on it. I can't wait to start the alteration process many months from now!
So, since you made it through this long post, here's a picture of the dress I had originally wanted to try on (left), and similar Dress A (right), that was my other favorite that day:
A month ago, I had my first dress appointment at The White Gown in Brooklyn. I went with my Mom, maid of honor and another friend. I originally chose this bridal store because it's super close to our apartment, and they had a dress I desperately wanted to try on, ever since I got engaged. It was the first dress that I found while looking online that made me think, wow, I could get married in that! I showed it to a few people and they all agreed it was very me, which is a good thing!
Of course, this dress I had hoped to try on was no longer at the store because a bride had JUST bought it off the rack and they were waiting for their other sample to come in. TEAR!! But, I could come back once they got their sample, and in the meantime they had other similar dresses. I had also thought to bring a page with images of other dresses I liked, so they used that to pull some dresses, too.
Mom, my MOH and friend went to sit on a couch near a big mirror while the person helping me, Erica, got me into dress after dress. I tried pouffy ones, slim ones, ones with long trains, ones with beading, plain ones, lace ones, most every end of the spectrum. I would try on a dress, go out to show it to my posse, and pretty quickly give it a yes or no. It didn't take long to figure out which styles I wanted to see more of and which ones I never wanted to wear again. Finally, many dresses later, it was down to two contenders: Dress A (which was similar to the one I had originally wanted to try on) and Dress B (which was a completely different style, one I hadn't realized I liked until trying it on). I tried them on again--back to back--and showed them to my posse. It became clear that I felt happier in Dress B. My face apparently lit up! (Though I didn't cry. I thought I might cry. My mom didn't cry either. Having watched way to many episodes of Say Yes to the Dress, I thought she might burst into tears when she saw me in THE dress. I even jokingly asked her if she felt like crying, but she said she didn't. Haha. I bet she'll shed many a tear during the wedding through! Anyway, I digress....) My posse also liked it the most, so it was a clear winner.
Of course, this was my very first appointment, and the wedding was over a year away (and still is!) so there was no reason to buy a dress that early. This was just the jump start to what I thought would be a long process of dress-shopping. That is, until Erica told me a bit of information: the store gives a 10% discount for brides who buy their dress the same day as their appointment.
Hmm.
The dress wasn't even that expensive to begin with (at least in the world of wedding dresses...it's still an expensive dress!) at around $1200. I had told Erica that my budget was $2000, hoping that we'd go way under because I'm trying to be a budget-savvy and practical bride! I'd even hoped I could find a dress for only $1,000, which is why I was fawning over so many of the affordable yet beautiful J.Crew dresses. So though the 10% would only save us $120, it still made my ears perk up. It would make the dress $1,100, only $100 more than my goal. And I really did love the dress! Erica also told me that with alterations, the dress would be no more than $1,500, a number that made me very happy.
But I just couldn't decide right that very second, so I asked Erica if I could go have lunch and think about it, and she said that would be fine. Over lunch we talked about the pros and cons of getting the dress, and the pros definitely outweighed the cons. The only cons were:
a) I wouldn't be able to try on any other dresses, and
b) I usually don't like making quick decisions.
The pros were:
a) the style fit the feel I was looking for
b) any accessory I'd be interested in wearing would go with it (flower in my hair!)
c) it was flattering to my figure and comfortable
I also realized that in the past, I'd made quick decisions that worked out. In the end, my gut told me to get it. So I did!
I feel really great about my choice and I'm glad that step is over! Honestly, looking for dresses online was starting to be unenjoyable, especially with my price goal. Now, not only do I have a dress I love, I also can feel good about not having spent a fortune on it. I can't wait to start the alteration process many months from now!
So, since you made it through this long post, here's a picture of the dress I had originally wanted to try on (left), and similar Dress A (right), that was my other favorite that day:
I wasn't allowed to take pictures of myself trying on dresses, but once I decided to buy my dress, Erica let me try it on again so I could snap a few shots. With the alteration process only starting a few months before the wedding, I need those pics so I can remember what the dress looked like on me!
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