Dresses for the 'Maids

I have to admit, I'm pretty sure that I've looked at every single bridesmaid's dress that is currently in production. That may sound like an exaggeration, but I promise you it's not. See, I have a great group of 4 girls standing up with me as my bridesmaids.. but they are all very different shapes. One is pretty busty, one is super-petite, and the other two are fairly average. Also, I happen to love these girls a lot, and I wanted to make sure that they look really good at my wedding! Oh, and it had to be in a deep purple color, which was surprisingly hard to find at the point of my search.

The first real contender was Dessy dress #6553. Here it is on me (obviously not in the correct color):

I love how the top kind of mirrors the top of my dress (which I'm still figuring out how to show you!), and the waistband really nips in your waist. The dress also has pockets(!!!) and I think overall matches the formality level of the wedding pretty well. I love pockets. Unfortunately, it's strapless. And I was really looking for non-strapless for my super-busty bridesmaid. It does come with removable spaghetti straps, so it's still definitely a possibility. Another problem was that it was tea-length, when most people preferred knee-length and so it would have to be hemmed.

I came across the second dress kind of by accident, I was looking at someone's post on the WeddingBee boards and had to go to the David's Bridal website to look at her dress, and lo and behold there was a very cute printed dress with straps. And it was purple!

(source)

No real problems here, except that the more I think about it, the more I feel like it doesn't entirely fit the feel of the wedding. Perhaps it comes across as too casual? Or am I way overthinking this? I do love the print, and think that it does make it more wearable post-wedding.. I guess I'll just have to see how it looks like on all the girls and make a decision that way!

This decision is made all the harder by the fact that three of my girls are currently in Georgia, one is in Guam(!!) and I am in Kentucky. I am planning a trip down to Georgia soon, but it's also a matter of getting all the girls there together (oh, did I mention they're all in different cities too?). So we'll see how it all turns out. Obviously, I have some time to go before I have to make any hard and fast decisions.

What do you think? Which dress is your favorite?

The Story of Dress #1

So uhm... yes, I am a bad blogger. Somewhere right around the beginning, I had mentioned that I got a second dress, and the whole saga that went along with that. But I never actually mentioned or pictured my first dress! Ridiculous oversight on my part. I realized it about 2 days later but of course am just now getting around to it. Oops.

Anyway. At the very beginning of my engagement (and perhaps slightly before..) I had this vision of an outdoor garden wedding. Along with the outside-ness and flowery-ness, I had a certain image of what a garden wedding dress looked like. The only dresses I really looked at online or in magazines fit in this category of "garden dress" - which included a trumpet or a-line style dress and all lace, preferably with straps.

Actual page from my attempt at keeping an inspiration notebook.

Clearly, I had a vision. A very close-minded vision, one that left little room for variation, but a vision nonetheless.

One weekend a couple of weeks after I became engaged, Brides Against Breast Cancer was holding an event in Atlanta, so I drove down to go with my mom. I tried on a lot of different styles of dresses there, but since I was looking for a very specific style, I didn't find anything. On a whim, we decided to go to Priscilla of Boston and looked up their number in one of the bridal magazines we had in the car. 

While there, I tried on another ton of dresses, saving the all-lace one for last. I mostly tried on trumpet-style gowns, and even though they were gorgeous, I felt like they looked more red-carpet than bridal. I did try on one ballgown dress, and it was the only contender against the dress I ended up buying..

(source)

The next day my father joined us, and I tried on the Maeve (above) and a few others but was convinced that the all-lace dress was THE dress for me. It didn't totally feel like me, and I wasn't quite sure about the fit, but I had this vision in my head of an all-lace dress at a garden wedding, and I can be quite stubborn when I want to be. So that day we put down the deposit and we bought.. 

(source)

Her name is Nora. That night I went home, excited but also a little nervous. Had I really found my dress? Why hadn't my parents made me look at any more dresses? For reassurance, I looked at all the pictures we had taken once we were finally allowed to.

I know it is a gorgeous dress. But in my mind I kept making up reasons as to why it wasn't perfect. It made me feel self-conscious about my hips. The top part was a little itchy. And so on.

I think that what was really the problem was that I am not-so-secretly in love with ballgowns, the bigger the better. 

(exhibit A - my prom dress, otherwise known as my most favorite dress ever)

I would see other people's dresses posted on WeddingBee boards or on facebook and be more than a little bit jealous of their princess dresses. I tried to convince myself that a princess-dress wouldn't work in the gardens.. but ended up having a panic attack at my internship that convinced me I should try on other dresses. And you know how that ended up! 

Did you question some of your major decisions? Were you blinded by a look that you thought you had to achieve? Do you have any ideas as to why I temporarily forgot that I want to be a princess? 

A Moment of Indecision, Part II

After looking around at some other Priscilla dresses, I still hadn't found anything that was really just perfect, or at least better than the one I had already purchased. So I made an appointment at Bridals by Lori, a bridal salon just around the corner from my house. And I have to say, it was a totally different experience from the single-vendor store of Priscilla. Just having that wide array of prices and styles was amazing. So I tried on a ton of dresses.. and unfortunately don't remember most of them! I've posted the few that I can remember the actual maker and could find the picture.

The Julianna by Christos (I'd seen Miss Cowboy Boot in it and thought it was beautiful)

Unfortunately, it just really wasn't me. And apparently it made my torso look a little.. wide. or puffy. Or something like that. Gorgeous on Miss Cowboy Boot, not so much on me.

I quickly realized that Marisa gowns seemed to fit me like a dream. Each one I put on just seemed to somehow fit with my normally too-long torso and more rectangular body shape, and made me look like I had a really thin waist. Needless to say, I was pretty sure one of her dresses would be the one. The saleswomen even asked me to model one that was new to the store (and seemingly new to the line overall - can't find a picture of it anywhere!) since they said I was the perfect model for her fit. I really wish I could find a picture - it was a beautiful dress, just kind of plain on top with a really full and layered skirt.

The primary competition for the one I eventually ended up getting was the Marisa 809. I can't find it on their website anywhere, but luckily someone on oncewed.com was selling it so I can show you some pictures!

It was totally different from anything else I tried on, and I actually cried once I had it on with the veil and everything.. so here it is..

Of course, not really the best pictures, but the best I could do for now. Coming up - if I can figure out how to do a link to hide the text of my post, you'll see pictures of the dress I ended up choosing!

A moment of indecision

As the self-proclaimed "decisive bride," this is kind of a hard post to write. I never thought that I would be indecisive about such an important part of my wedding! But in the interest of full disclosure.. I am a two-dress bride.

One of the second decisions I made regarding the wedding was my dress. One day not too long after the proposal, my mom and I went to the Atlanta Brides Against Breast Cancer event (where we were unsuccessful) and then we went on a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Priscilla of Boston store. At the time, I was looking for something all-lace, not too poofy, and semi-mermaid style. I had seen it a lot in magazines and thought that it would be perfect for a garden wedding. So, while we were at the Priscilla of Boston store, I found a dress that fit all of those qualifications - and even had a cute removable sleeve option! The next day we went back with my dad, and bought the dress. That very same night, I questioned my decision... but I justified it by thinking that all brides probably go through that stage.

A couple of months later, two of my bridesmaids were due to be in town (they both live out of town) and I decided this would be the perfect time to show them both my dress. I called Priscilla and made my appointment just to come look at my dress. On the day of, I was sitting there at my internship, having a panic attack about how much I wasn't sure about my dress. After calling my mom from work, she assured me that we could go ahead and try on some other dresses when we were at the store. Well, I tried on my dress, and sure enough, it just didn't make me feel.. bridal.. or something. I was also questioning whether or not it was really the most flattering fit for me.

The following dress was my top contender from PoB, but it was even more expensive than the first dress, and BM C thought it reminded her of winter - not good for my June wedding!

Coming up, the exciting second day of shopping!