Before I went dress shopping, I was sure I had it all figured out. I had looked at hundreds (maybe even thousands) of wedding dresses online. I researched designers, necklines, silhouettes, and fabrics. I thought, this is gonna be easy peasy.
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Yours truly in Adorae by Sottero Midgley. It's a beautiful dress and I considered buying it,
but I decided it kinda looked like a gazillion other dresses I tried on. |
Here's a little secret: Wedding dress shopping can be oh-so-much fun, but it can also be completely confusing. I know my own taste and I had a definitive idea of the style I was looking for, but it's hard to be decisive when you're trying dress after stunning (really, really STUNNING) dress.
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| Can't find the designer of this dress, but I suspect it's an Allure number. |
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Style 8764 by Allure Bridal. The detail on this dress is fantastic! Also, my posture is awful.
Note to self: Work on standing up straight for wedding photos. |
My dress, as I had imagined it, would embody glamor in it's simplest form. It would not be over-done or gaudy. It would not overwhelm me with embellishments, embroidery, or layers of fabric.
I certainly didn't want lace or lace-like appliqués (like the above two photos), but I tried on a few lace Allure dresses and I nearly changed my mind. A lace dress does have a certain sweetness that you don't find in other styles. I had also thought I wanted white, or at least diamond white, but
not ivory. And lace dresses almost always look better in ivory. (The slightly deeper color gives the fabric more dimensions and the dress a more vintage, classic feel.)
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No idea who designed this dress, but it is elegant, isn't it? The simplicity and chic
vintage design reminds me of Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly. And, it has pockets! |
The ball gowns I tried on made me feel like princess, which is a pretty awesome feeling! Yet, I definitely prefer a mermaid or sheath silhouette to a ball gown. I like big, tulle skirts as much as the next girl, but I'm only 5'3" (on a good day!). And short girl + big dress = stumpy looking bride.
I didn't want a dress that was very modern, like the gorgeous Allure gown above. The textured swirls and ruching are what make this dress beautiful, but both are also the trademarks of a modern gown. (For a master class on texture, please see:
any dress by Vera Wang.)
A few other requirements for my dress: it has be "dance-able," namely not too heavy or cumbersome; it must not drown my petite figure in pick-ups or heavy layers; and it must make me feel like the prettiest, most glamorous woman in the room.
So I started out my hunt for a dress with seven or eight criteria. And now that I've bought a dress, how close did I come to my imaginary "dream" dress?
You'll have to wait to for my next post to find out! (Sorry to be a tease, but I've got lots more to say about dress shopping, including how I had a major,
major freak-out the day after I bought my dress.)
What about you, dear readers? What kind of dress did you shop for? Did you find your "dream" dress or did you fall in love with an entirely different style?
