Bridesmaid L and I were greeted with bright flourescent lights, and massive amounts of racks; bridesmaids dresses on the left, wedding dresses on the right and shoes/accessories in the back. We stood by the desk by the front, thumbing through their catalogs as we waited for someone to assist us. "Do you have an appointment?" one of the sales associates asked when she noticed us. I nodded and she told me to start looking for dresses I liked while she found the consultant assigned to me.
I headed to the racks with Bridesmaid L, beginning in their woefully tiny size 0 section. There were exactly two dresses there -- one baby blue princess-y monstrosity (which looked remarkably like my ballet recital costume from 3rd grade...and even though I was going for something with a splash of color, I still wanted some semblance of a white dress!) and another that was simply too ornate for my tastes (think metallic embroidery and beading).
We found a couple of dresses on my list in the size 2 and size 4 section as well as a few others that I either didn't see online or looked way better in person. Our bridal consultant found us browsing through more gowns and led us to the dressing room. On the way Bridesmaid L spotted a gorgeous dress on the manequin and we asked our consultant to add that one to the pile as well.
The consultant stuck me in the room and handed me the most amazing strapless bra ever -- seriously, after a couple hours of wearing it, dressing and undressing, the thing stayed up the entire time -- and a poofy looking slip while Bridesmaid L sat in an adjacent chair, flipping through the wedding dress catalog.
We took lots of pictures, laughing about the truly hideous ones whenever the consultant left us to help her other customers or went looking for more dresses. I didn't actually end up trying all the ones in my initial pile because once our consultant got a sense of what I was looking for, she hunted down dresses she thought would fit my style. Unfortunately, many of those were on my "no" list and I didn't like them on me any better than I did in online. I tried to be diplomatic "I just don't think it's my style. It's a very pretty dress, though" but in retrospect, it might have been better to be firm. Then, I wouldn't have ended up trying on so many that I didn't like.
By the end of it all -- 15 dresses (including three from my "favorites" list and three from my "no" list) and 3 veils later -- I was tired of changing in and out of dresses and honestly couldn't stand to look at another one. I'm the type of girl who hates trying on clothes. Whenever I go to the store, I can fairly accurately guess whether something will fit and look good on me. I've mastered this talent when it comes to jeans, skirts, sweaters and tops. I still have some trouble with dresses and dress shirts, though. But I digress. As I was saying, I have very little patience for trying clothes on. Especially when, after I make an immediate assesment that I don't like it, I have to wait in the dress for 10 or 15 minutes because my consultant has run off again.* In the end I loved the first two dresses I tried on and the very last one. The first two were on my "favorites" list while the last one was dress Bridesmaid L spotted on the manequin. Ready to see which ones they were? Anyone want to go back to Part 2 of this saga and make guesses as to which two made my final list?
Yup! Option #5, the one that I said was probably my favorite ended up being the first dress I tried on and I loved it! It was very simple in the front and I loved the two tone split/cutaway in the front. The champagne color was gorgeous, the simple a-line has always been my favorite for skirts (though I didnt know the proper term for the style) and the beading on the train and very top of the dress was enough to give it something extra while still remaining somewhat simple. Bridesmaid L loved it too! We shall now rename this choice "Option A" for ease of description in Part 4 (forthcoming).
Option #4 was the second dress I tried on and it also made my top three! I hated the bow on the front, but the bridal consultant showed me how it was tacked on and assured me that it could be removed. This bride is definitely anti-bow. It was a lot more ornate than I wanted, but was something I could deal with. I also adored the back of the dress which was a lace-up/corset style which gave me a fantastic figure. The skirt, a trumpet style, looked great on me and I was surprised to find out that I did like trumpet and mermaid gowns. At this point I was afraid that I was going to fall in love with every dress I tried on, but luckily it didn't turn out that way. When I didn't like something, I knew immediately. While there were plenty of other dresses that I did like, they just didn't make my final cut. Bridesmaid L also agreed that this dress, Option B, was just as good as Option A.
Finally, the last dress. This one I had to try on in a size 14 because it was the smallest one they had in the store. Seriously? Me in a size 14? The consultant tried her very best to pull the dress back after I was in it to show me what it would look like on me when I got it in the proper size and had it tailored. She also showed me the view from the back which, minus the huge bow, I loved. I have to hand it to her, for something that I was swimming in when I first put it on, she made look really great. This one had no additional beading or embroidery, but I loved the rouching (is that what it's called?) and the twisted fabric around the shoulders and back. Option C definitely made the cut too. It was a nice way to start and end the day -- my first two dresses and my last one making the final list. I have to say, that it was sometimes very hard to determine what would look good on me since all the dresses I tried on were massive on me -- I did not end up trying on anything in my actual size and most that I did try on were 4 or 5 sizes too big. They were pinned with clothespins and binder clips in so many places that sometimes all you could see were a row of clamps! Overall, the consultant did a great job and I asked her to write down the above three styles so I could bring my mom back with me to make the final decision.
*I liked my consultant, I really did...and I understand she was super busy. It's just that trying clothes on is not my cup of tea so doing it for so long, and doing anything that extended this period was hard for me. I also felt super bad for Bridesmaid L who had the patience of a saint.
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