I didn't give this one as much thought or care as most brides for three reasons:
1.) My fiance would find me sexy in a white bed sheet. Seriously. That's how I know it's love - he finds me attractive (and tells me constantly) in sweats just as much as when I'm all dolled up;
2.) As previously stated, I'm getting married on the side of a mountain - therefore, whatever I'm wearing will most likely end up muddy and a little worse-for-wear by the end of the night. AND I'm doing "trash-the-dress" photos in the week after the wedding (more on that later);
3.) I'm wearing it for 4-8 hours max. I refuse to spend more than I make in a week on something that will be worn once and probably end up destroyed anyway.
I went back and forth between ordering something online and having someone tailor it for me, and being able to try on multiple dresses in a store and buy something in-person. I don't have any bridesmaids or family withing a 5 hour drive of me, so I was really fortunate to have some great coworkers take me to a nearby bigger town where there is a David's Bridal.
I knew I wanted a lace dress or something with a flowy chiffon overlay at the least, but I was dead set against anything strapless or poufy (inspiration photos below).
Long story short, I ended by first trip to the dress shop nearly in tears. I am a 5 foot 5 size 4 with a, shall we say, ample bust. It seemed like every dress there was a v-neck or low cut, and I am so large in the chest that they were putting me in size 8 dresses. So my entire body was swamped in a too-big dress with my chest hanging out on top - I continually looked like Stripper Bride Barbie. Trip no. 1: Complete Failure.
I decided to schedule a trip to Portland when a whole bunch of my family, extended and immediate, would be in town for spring break. This way, I could have my mom, several aunts and female cousins, and some friends available to help me. And you know what? I was in and out of a David's Bridal in less than an hour with my dream dress in hand (see below). Yes it's lace, and yes it's a sheath style. But it's also strapless and has a gorgeous little lace train....and I couldn't be happier. And my price? $449.00, plus $10 for a garment bag. I also made sure to look at the tag for the strapless bra they had me use when trying it on, and I found the exact same one through Amazon.com for $35.00 instead of the $55.00 they were charging.
Admittedly, the dress does not yet fit. I still had to get a size 8 because of my bust, but already it's too big because I've lost some weight. I'm going to Montana for Memorial Day, and am going to meet with my high school Home Ec teacher, who is also the woman that taught me to design and sew my own clothes, to get the dress altered. She has been a tailor and clothing designer for a long time, and designed and made gorgeous wedding dresses for a lot of my friends back home, so she is really the only person (other than my family members) that I trust to alter my dress. Because my dress is lace and has beading, I would have had to pay more than $200.00 at David's Bridal for the fitting (up front no less, so if they completely destroyed my dress I'd be S.O.L.), so I'm excited to save money AND have someone I fully trust handling the alterations!
**A note about the picture above - I don't get her shoes. Yuck. I guess some may think the same of me when they see my footwear choice - I'm wearing lavender cowboy boots under my dress! :) I like simple little unexpected surprises!
No comments:
Post a Comment