who went wedding gown shopping with you?

[Lauren8211]

Date: 7/14/2009 12:57:52 PM
Author: gwendolyn
Ooh, I''m glad I read this thread--I can''t go dress shopping with my mom or best friends since they all live in another country and wanted to go alone but thought maybe that was weird. Hooray that it isn''t! I''ve had a few chick friends offer to go shopping with me, but I''m very self-conscious of myself when I''m doing any type of clothes shopping. Dresses usually make me the most uncomfortable (when possible, I wear jeans jeans jeans), so I don''t really want anyone around when I''m figuring out what types of gowns to try on.

I only brought someone the first round because I felt like I was *supposed* to. (That''s what dress shopping is all about, dontcha know??) It was nice she was there though, since the SA didn''t help me at all. It can be tough getting in and out of some of the gowns.
I preferred going by myself. I''ve always liked shopping by myself. I feel like I have a better gauge of what looks good and what I like on me when I don''t have everyone''s opinion coming at me. Once I think I like something, I always like a second opinion. My second opinion was PS... you guys are less likely to lie.

 

[marlie]

i''m going dress shopping at the end of august with an entourage. my mom, sister, aunt, cousin, grandma, fmil, fsil and a BM/best friend. that is a LOT of opinions....and i''ve booked 3 appointments on one day and one the next. that''s a whole day and a half of these opinions! :0)

 

[TravelingGal]

I never went dress shopping at a wedding dress place.

I tried on one BCBG dress I didn''t like. The second dress (at a normal dress shop) was the one I bought. I HATE shopping.

In hindsight, I regret not taking my mom. I say this because having a daughter of my own, I think I robbed my mother of the wonderful moment of seeing her daughter in a wedding gown for the first time. She never got to have that mother daughter moment.

 

[elrohwen]

I went once with my mom when she was in town, but only to David's Bridal quickly and I didn't find anything I liked. I went on one quick trip with a girl friend from work (the place was a mile from our office) mainly to look at bridesmaid dresses, but I tried on a couple wedding dresses while we were there. My main dress shopping, where I actually bought my dress, I did with FI. We really only went to try on two dresses that I liked from runway show pictures, and I picked one of those. My total dress shopping time was very short.

I would've done it all with my mom if she lived closer, but, honestly, we have very different taste and I was probably better off going without her. I would've also liked to go with MOH, but she lives on the opposite side of the country so that wasn't happening.

ETA: I showed my mom pictures of the dress I loved (and ended up buying) and she said she hated it and that it looked like a ballerina dress

This is when I knew taking her with me would be a bad idea. I did send her pictures of me in that dress she hated, and she said she liked it on me (just not on the model). But maybe she's only saying that because she knew I was going to buy it

ETA2: FI was the perfect shopping partner because he said he liked whatever I liked. Smart boy. Though he did try to be honest when I asked him which was more flattering. Otherwise he didn't care and just wanted me to get what I liked.

 

[Linda W]

Can an old granny answer this question

I took my mom with me.

When my daughter when shopping for hers, she took both me and my mom.

 

[Laila619]

My mom. That was it. Period. I did NOT want a big party standing around watching me try on gowns!

 

[whitby_2773]

my mother had died a few years ago, my sister lived 200 miles away and my other bridesmaid's mother had just died and she was in no condition to be going shopping for wedding dresses.

so i went by myself, and i was totally supportive of ALL my choices!

 

[packrat]

My mom came with me. She knows what I like and don''t like, and she''s not pushy about wanting me to pick something SHE likes..she spent most of the time with tears in her eyes.

I like watching that show-I looove looking at the pretty dresses (as does my daughter!) but I don''t understand how friends and family can be so rude. It''s not about whether *they* like the dress, it''s about how it looks on the bride to be, and if *she* likes it.

 

[plethora23]

My mom. The person I knew woud tell me the truth...good, bad or hideously ugly.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

I went with my mother the first time [1982]. The second time I went alone [2001].

 

[Linda W]

Date: 7/14/2009 4:37:58 PM
Author: DiamanteBlu
I went with my mother the first time [1982]. The second time I went alone [2001].

Oops, I forgot to add that too. Second time I went alone. It wasn''t really a wedding gown either that I bought.

 

[Elmorton]

The first time, I was just goofing around looking for reception venues with one of my BMs and my then FSIL (also a BM), and we decided on the fly to go try on dresses. My mom seemed a little hurt by that, so I took her to the same place a week later and showed her the dresses I'd tried on (and not really liked).

Second time was with my mom and the BM above. That's the visit where I found my dress - but I have a hard time deciding on things, so then my mom, BM, and MOH drove up to Chicago and tried on dresses there.

When I actually got my dress, I think it was just my mom and me.

One of my close friends bought her dress over the weekend - we (just the two of us) went into a salon just to see if they had some style numbers (she told me she didn't want to try anything on), and 20 mins later she was in the dressing room telling me that the dress she had on was the ONE! It was really exciting, but also very different from my own shopping experience. A lot more matter-of-fact/happened very fast/less fuss.

 

[nycbkgirl]

i didnt have a wedding but my bff did and she bought a dress from KLeinfelds and i went with her to pick it out ...i gotta say i am very opinionated and bff and i are very close and we can say exactly what we are feeling...so if i didnt like a dress i told her (i wasnt nasty about it but very honest!)...when she bought the dress her mom, sis and i came for the fitting and gotta say bff was really stressed with all the knitpicking going on ..mom and sis were realllly honest lol...but i got her thru the whole experience and she looked gorge!

we both agreed that if her mom and sis were there she wouldnt have picked the dress she really wanted bc they wouldve drove her nuts.... so sometimes u gotta pick someone close to go with u but who understands that the bride has to love the dress not u or anyone else!

 

[Amandine]

I first went with my Mom, Grandma, Grandpa and Dad. I live a long ways away from them, and was in town way before my wedding, and wanted Mom and Grandma especially to have the experience of seeing me try on the first dress. Dad and Grandpa only stuck around for a bit, then went off and did the shopping they were interested in: a woodworking store.

Months later, my Mom was able to come and visit and we went out for a couple days. I hadn''t really expected to be able to do this with her, and was thrilled. We are really close, and her opinion mattered the most. She is great to shop with...and she knows if I like something and she wasn''t thrilled with it, I would go with my gut anyway.

Later, when I had narrowed it down (and Mom was no longer in town), I took my roommate and then a co-worker.

After working at a bridal shop, I learned you should only go with a small group of people you are really close with...the more people you bring with you, the less you tend to listen to your own opinion. And try to bring the same people with you, the consistency tends to help, too. The show is actually pretty true to life, even in a small dress shop...people can be really wretched to their loved ones.

 

[FrekeChild]

I went to DB with my FSIL, but neither of us tried anything on.

And because it''s such a mother/daughter moment, and seeing as how I had just lost my mom, I decided that I didn''t need or want that experience (I should mention that I had 9 different formal dresses for high school and she shopped with me for every single one of them) and I bought my wedding dress off of Bluefly.

If anyone really went dress shopping with me to find my dress, it would be musey--seeing as how she''s the one that originally found it and everything.

 

[rainwood]

I went on my own. I had just moved to a different state for school and didn''t really know anyone. I''m glad I did it that way though. I''ve always been comfortable clothes shopping on my own and was very happy with my choice. If I''d brought someone with me, it would have just been more time-consuming and confusing because the style of dress I wanted (and actually picked) was quite different from what was popular at the time.

 

[IluvEmeralds]

I went on my own for the most part. I went to the same place my sis got her dress and luckily found my dress fairly quickly. Once I did, I put it on hold, and then called in my best friend to verify my choice..which took about 5 seconds to ensure that had a made the right one. My dress shopping was shockingly pain free in comparison to several friends of mine who spent months searching and went through several CITIES looking for the right one.

ILE

 

[SparklyLibra]

Both times I went by myself, and found the dress by myself... My mom lives out of town and couldn''t make it (esp since I was planning my wedding in 8 weeks), so I brought my MIL to my first fitting.

 

[jstarfireb]

Oh boy...do I have a story about people influencing your dress choice!

I went shopping MANY different times. First I brought my then-FI, a male friend, and a female friend. The second time I went with 2 female friends and bought my first dress, an organza halter trumpet with a plunging neckline, sweep train, and simple ribbon details. I thought it was all well and good, but then my mom had a major freak-out about the dress when she saw me in it. She said it was too plain, not bridal enough, unflattering, looked like a bridesmaid dress instead of a wedding dress, etc. My MOH didn''t love it either but was far more tactful about it and would have supported whatever I chose. But I let my mom convince me to return the first dress to David''s Bridal in exchange for another. Then I went shopping at 2 different bridal shops with my mom and MOH and eventually found one they liked better, a satin strapless corset A-line with beaded details and a chapel train. I was going to exchange it, but at the last minute started crying when I saw my beautiful old dress hanging up on the rack, ready to be restocked. At that point I couldn''t go through with it, so I collected myself, went home, and went back a few days later with my grandma. I tried on almost every dress in the store and ended up choosing the same one that my mom and MOH liked on me the other day. So I got that one, but only after I was satisfied that no other dress at David''s was worth exchanging my awesome original dress for. Later, I showed my FI the pictures of the original dress, and he also hated it (he and my mom have similar, more traditional, tastes). Part of me still regrets allowing my mom to manipulate me into exchanging my dress, and part of me still feels that dress is tainted, even after the wedding...but it did look very good on me, and a minor alteration allowed me to feel like the dress was a little more "me."

 

[Camille]

Not easy but I went with Mom, she was very patient but couldn''t stop crying. I was the first and youngest to get married.

 

[HollyS]

I learned my lesson after the first day of dress shopping. If you can''t go by yourself, at least take someone who doesn''t have any possible agenda - - like making you feel or look like an idiot. Your BFF may NOT be the person you need by your side. Ditto Mom or Sis. Take someone with you who is more neutral, with far fewer opinions.

 

[honey22]

I went to several places by myself to get a feeling of what I really like without other people''s opinions. Then I went shopping with my Mum and FMIL, they happened to be there when I found the dress! When I went back to actually purchase it, I brought my BMs and Mum, and everyone loved it.

I think it''s a good idea to go by yourself intially, if you don''t want any outside influence before you decide what you love.

 

[AdiS]

We have an entire bridal town here in Bulgaria!

2/3 of its population are in this industry-from designer gowns, custom made and hand made ones to confection gowns.

I went there on a “girls trip” as my aunt called it, with her being our driver, and also my mom and my cousin. It was fun, they were all really nice and supportive. That was my one and only dress shopping tour. At the last boutique we walked in I found the dress and that was it.

When they saw me in it, the girls went so silent that I thought something was wrong and they hated it. lol Then they all got teary and I knew I was right-it was my dress.

 

[princessplease]

I went with my MOH for the first time, then with mom and MOH the 2nd time. When I went to the boutique where I bought my dress, I bought my MOH and my sister with me when I bought the dress.

When my aunt came to visit me from SC, that was the only time mom agreed to go.