Wedding dress shopping was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I had this idea in my head (thanks Say Yes to the Dress) that I would put on my dress and KNOW it was the one. That did not happen.
My parents came down in late January to help me shop. I was sure I would find my dress that weekend. After all, we were going to four places. Since the wedding was just over 7 months away at that point, I knew I needed to figure out my dress asap to make sure it comes in in time. So off we went and I was confident.
Here's some things to keep in mind if you haven't shopped for a wedding dress before:
1. You may like styles in photos but they will not look like you want them to when you put them on.
2. You may hate styles in photos but they will look great when you put them on.
3. You have to be patient and do not rush into a decision.
4. If you know what you want, then ask for it. And if the salesperson won't give to you, be a little bit mean like I was.
At the first store, I told the stylist I had never tried anything on before and we just started pulling everything. I learned quickly that as much as I liked some styles on the hanger, they did not flatter me the way I wanted them to. I probably tried on 15 dresses and none of them were similar to each other. Lace, satin, taffeta, poofy, sleek, you name it, I tried it. I left there with one dress in mind that I liked, though I can't remember much about it now since I've tried on about 100 dresses since then.
We met Michael for lunch and then moved on to store number 2. I was a little worried about this time. Though one of my best friends got her dress there, I've heard people either love it or hate it. In the first five minutes, I hated it. But luckily, that situation improved.
I met my consultant and told her what I wanted - I really liked the idea of a one-shouldered dress. She said "Oh no, you don't want a one-shouldered dress. They are going out of style." My response - and yes, I got a little bit mean here: "I don't care that you think they are going out of style. You are my consultant and that's what I want." She then left, pulled me four dresses - I vetoed all but one immediately and NONE of them were one-shouldered, and when I commented on that, she looked at me with disgust (I'm not kidding - her face was downright bitchy) and disappeared. Two minutes later, in walks another consultant saying "Jackie got pulled into something. My name is Sarah and I'll be helping you now." Um, no she didn't. We didn't get along and you are trying to save the sale. I told her about the interaction I had with Jackie and she listened, apologized, and said we'd try some one-shouldered gowns. Well, she gave me one. NOTE: this is the only place I went that did not let me pull gowns with them. I did not like that at all. I liked doing it together so they could get a taste for my style. The one-shouldered dress was actually the last dress I tried on, and before that, my dad had picked a dress out that I actually liked too (not one-shouldered though). He told me it was "the one." Then I put on the one-shouldered gown and my parents and I liked it a lot. The problem was - I couldn't tell if I liked it b/c it was the first one-shouldered gown I tried on, or if I actually liked it. We left there feeling pretty good about our find, and thankful that Sarah saved the appointment.
Day 2, it was just my mom and I. We went to store number 3 and I instantly liked the consultant we were working with, Megan. I told her the story about my day before and she said "I don't know why she thinks that because we have a ton of them." I told her I didn't even care if they were - I just really liked the style and it's my wedding and if I want to wear a one-shouldered dress, I'm going to wear a one-shoudered dress (I promise I didn't sound like a 6 year old at her birthday party when I said this). Between Megan, my mom, and I, we pulled and tried on every single one-shouldered dress in the store, plus a few strapless ones that could be turned into one-shouldered gowns. Trying on all of these confirmed that I really did want a one-shouldered dress and that having a nice consultant really was great. I also learned that things I thought I would not like - like poof - I actually did like and things I thought I would like - like lace - I did not. Finally, I learned that pictures are REALLY helpful! This store let us take photos and seeing myself in the photos helped me veto several dresses. I just wasn't loving how they photographed. I could also send pics to my sisters and get their opinions, which was great. I left that store with 2 dresses in my head that I really liked and really happy.
Store number 4 didn't have a ton of one-shouldered dresses but they were helpful in helping me see what the strapless dresses could look like if we added a one-shouldered look to it. They let us take pictures here too, which was super helpful. I found three dresses I liked, but afterwards, when my mom and I went to lunch and we discussing the dresses and looking at the pictures, I found that I did not like the way any of them photographed, nor was I super jazzed about the idea adding a one-shouldered look to a strapless gown. I didn't want it to look like I added it. I wanted it to be part of the dress.
My parents left that day and I felt like I had some options, but still was unsure. I needed to make a decision - pronto!
Part 2 next week. 192 days!
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