What do you think of these dresses?

[Scintillating]

Everybody's got their fingers crossed for you.

...while they're waiting for pictures

Scintillating...

 

[BrightSpot]

Oh, ladies, I''m SO disappointed...

I ran home from the gym to pick up my boxes of pretties & couldn''t wait to tear into them & try them on. Well, all of my excitement (and yours!) was in vain. I hated every single dress. They were either sack-like nightgowns (J. Crew dresses) or too thin & clingy (Nicole Miller), silly looking (the lace one w/ the ridiculous bows) or too body conscious for comfort (the Grecian looking gown--MelissaSue pegged that one perfectly!) Each was unflattering in its own unique way.

The only one that wasn''t horrible was the ABS dress, but it wasn''t right either.

I feel like I''m back to square one. Now I''m thinking more about the MS Tayla & the Monique Luo dress, but I''m still concerned they might be too much dress for the venue.

Any suggestions? This is so frustrating...

 

[MelissaSue]

BrightSpot- Thats too bad! I''m sorry! Just keep in mind that it is YOUR wedding and you can wear whatever you want, no matter what the venue. You don''t need to wear a super casual gown just because you''re getting married on the beach. IF you really wanted you could wear a satin princess ballgown (although you might pass out from heat exhaustion j/k) I say go for one of the slightly more formal dresses, they are gorgeous and they are by no means inappropriate for a destination wedding. Find something that makes you feel beautiful!

 

[BrightSpot]

Wonderful words of advice, MelissaSue!

You''re right--I need to, first & foremost, find something that makes me feel beautiful & that, hopefully, won''t make me pass out from heat exhaustion!

Do you think that a train is a bad idea for a beach wedding? (Will it get dirty & gross?)

I have an appointment at Vera Wang Maids tonight too look at some of her BM dresses as potential wedding dresses. (hopefully they come in ivory!) So, we''ll see how that goes.

I''m getting a little panicky about the Monique Luo dress. I''m not sure it''s "the one," but the $200-off sale on the dress at David''s Bridal ends Monday! Maybe they have other, similar sales throughout the year, though.

 

[icekid]

aww, how disappointing... but, I know you will find THE dress- and look phenomenal!

MS is right- wear what makes you feel happy! it''s your day

 

[Tybee]

I am so sorry that you were dissapointed, if it helps at all, I guess we were too! I was looking foreward to more gorgeous pics!
I agree with MelissaSue, it doesn''t matter WHERE your wedding is, you are a bride! You should wear a dress that you love.
As far as wearing a train...I''m wearing my dress ONCE...so what if I get sand on it!
Good luck!

 

[BrightSpot]

Aww...thanks so much icekid & tybee! Hopefully I''ll have some good pics to show you soon...

Speaking of pics, icekid, I LOVE the new pic of your ring in your avatar!

You''re right, Tybee, I shouldn''t worry about the dress getting messed up--I will likely only wear it once anway! (unless I can wear it again at an at-home reception....

)

 

[Rube]

Date: 9/22/2005 1:37:52 PM
Author: BrightSpot

Do you think that a train is a bad idea for a beach wedding? (Will it get dirty & gross?)

Guess what? I didn''t have a beach wedding and my train got dirty!

Sorry you haven''t found the perfect dress yet, but get what you want and love. You won''t be sorry! Best of luck

 

[icekid]

Bright Spot- Thanks! that was the last picture I took before I mailed my ring back!

The funny thing though- the day my FI proposed, he got me roses... they were all red and pink, except two were orange? Apparently, I had pointed out a flower at some point that I liked and it was orange, so he thought he would throw a couple in! I was so confused... "but the orange doesn''t really match baby".... "but you told me you like it!"... hahaha, metro, my boy is not! So I made fun of him for it all week. Too cute! He really does try.

So I had to get a good shot of one of the orange flowers

 

[Scintillating]

No worries Brightspot - you''ll find it!

I was looking at Watters Bridal the other day and thought of you. They have some informal gowns that might work. Take a look.

Keep us updated on your search.

Scintillating...

 

[BrightSpot]

Lol, rube...I guess trains were made to get dirty! It doesn''t really matter anyway--it seems unlikely that these gowns will be worn again.

icekid, you had to send your ring back!? How horrible! What happened? (I guess I haven''t been following your thread closely enough!) That''s so cute about the orange flowers! I''m glad you got a pic w/ them & your ring.

Scintillating, I''ve looked at the Watters dresses online & they''re beautiful. Maybe I should go try some on...

So, to continue my crazy dress saga, I went to Vera Wang Maids on Madison last night. I''d made the appointment a month ago & told them I was looking for a BM dress in white to wear as my wedding gown. When I made my appointment, the receptionist told me the gowns came in white, no problem. So, I arrived to find out that they do indeed come in white. Here''s the catch--there''s a 3 dress minimum purchase when you buy in white. (!?) The dresses can be of different styles & sizes, but all must be in white. So, I was very thrown by this, but decided to try on some dresses anyway. I found several I''d be thrilled to wear to my wedding--one in particular I just adore!

They all have a very Vera Wang look, but are made in a lighter weight satin than her bridal gowns (which is perfect for me as I want a lightweight dress anyway!) So, now I''m wondering if I can find 2 more brides-to-be who want to order a Vera Wang BM dress in white so we could place our orders together. Is this insane?

 

[Rube]

Date: 9/23/2005 9:53:21 AM
Author: BrightSpot
So, now I''m wondering if I can find 2 more brides-to-be who want to order a Vera Wang BM dress in white so we could place our orders together. Is this insane?

I can''t believe they have a minimum # purchase! Is there anywhere else to buy a Vera Wang BM dress? If you buy in off white can you get just one?

Otherwise, good luck finding two other brides to be! I''m sure it can be done.

 

[BrightSpot]

I know, doesn''t that sound like a bit of a racket? The same rule applies to ivory dresses. They have a champagne color, (I''d only need to buy one dress in champagne) but the color looks kinda tan & I''m not sure it looks good w/ my pale, pinkish skin tone. (Also, who wants to wear a sand-colored wedding dress to get married on the beach?

)

What they said was that they cut dresses all the time in the other colors, but not frequently in white or ivory, hence the 3 dress minimum in white or ivory to make it worth their while to buy a bolt of fabric.

I don''t know if other bridal shops would have the same policy or not. Maybe I should check around...

 

[MelissaSue]

brightspot -The thing about the 3 dress minimum thing sounds like bull to me! It is clearly to prevent you from buying them as a wedding gown. CLEARLY. Vera Wang obviously doesn''t want you buying their 200-300 BM dresses when they could have you buying their $5000-$20000 wedding gowns!

Look at other companies BM dresses. That Alfred Sung that I posted in that other thread comes in white.. and you could get it online for probably under $150! Dessy/AFter Six has some nice BM gowns that are available in white too! I have always thought Dessy style 1999 would look lovely as a wedding gown. Same thing with Jordan, they have BM dresses in white, and they also have thier own line of informal bridal gowns (pearl collection)

 

[icekid]

BrightSpot-

that''s too bad about Vera Wang requiring you to buy three dresses! ouch! I should make a trip up to NY and check it out with you... that would be two out of three! Are her bm dresses silk also?

yeah, my ring was sent back to whiteflash on Tuesday. So now I guess it''s somewhere near hurricane-land, but definitey not at WF obviously. bad timing!

but anyway, a couple days after having the ring I noticed that a couple edges of the milgrain were really messy and not straight. I think I was blinded by sparkles at first! There is a thread somewhere in rockytalky about it. I was so sad to send my ring away... I didn''t realize how hard it would be. Hopefully the hurricane won''t delay my ring getting back to me too much.

 

[BrightSpot]

Ooh, icekid, you should totally come up to NY to check out the dresses! (then I could see your fabulous ring in person too!) We could be octagonal halo & w-dress twins! LOL.

Her bm dresses are not silk, but that''s fine with me. Silk is lovely, of course, but I personally don''t have a strong preference for it, or for the price premium it carries!

Most of the BM dresses were around $300.

I thought the silhouettes of the dresses were quite flattering. They were somewhere between a classic A-line & mermaid silhouette. Slinkier than an A-line, but not quite as slinky as a mermaid. Perfect!

I''m sure it was really difficult to part w/ your gorgeous ring, especially so soon after receiving it. But better to have it exactly as you want it. (BTW, all of the milligraining on my ring isn''t absolutely perfect either, but I think it lends a bit of an antique feel to the ring, so it''s fine w/ me.) I hope it''s back on your finger soon!

MelissaSue, I made an appointment for next week to look at other BM dresses--Lazaro, Jordan, etc. Trying to keep my options open, but I did LOVE those Vera Wangs. (Plus, how cool would it be to wear a Vera Wang to your wedding for $300?!

)

 

[icekid]

haha, we would be dress/ring twins! too cute

so I checked out Vera Wang''s website (not like I have exams coming or anything

) and she has a lot of bm gowns that I think would be great wedding dresses. At 300 bucks, that would be a great deal I think! Perhaps if they get three dresses sold, they figure they''re making enough money then that it''s ok if you don''t buy one of her official wedding gowns- pretty crappy!

My milgrain is definitely not perfect- I don''t think it should be. But there was just one edge that was so far from being straight. And I knew it could be straight, because the other 7 sides are! I''m too OCD... it would have driven me crazy! So it''s better to just get it fixed.

 

[abradabra]

BS,

I was so bummed to dig up this thread and find out you hadn''t had as much luck as you were hoping with the dresses you were hoping for--but the Vera Wang idea sounds great.

Do you have links to the pics of the ones you liked?

I have a couple other ideas to help you out with the three-dress minimum...

1. Since they don''t have to be the same dress, have you thought about using two of them yourself? One as a rehearsal dinner dress and one as a wedding dress (you could get a knee-length one for RD and a floor-length one for the wedding). I think well-made knee-length white dresses are incredibly versatile in the summer, so you could potentially get a lot of use out of that. Three $300 dresses is a lot of money, but it''s not really out of the price range of other dresses you''ve looked at, right?

2. Ebay--try to get a feel from the people at the store which dresses in white are the most popular, buy an average size and try to sell the extra dresses on Ebay.

3. Are you having any bridesmaids? Maybe you could get a more formal dress for yourself and shorter, more casual dresses for your bridesmaids. One of my dearest friends was in a wedding recently that had the bride in an ivory gown and the bridesmaids in ivory dresses. The pictures turned out beautifully because it took place on a golf course and the natural beauty of the surroundings was really emphasized against the simpler color palette. I could see a beach wedding having a similar effect.

Just some thoughts...

-J

 

[E B]

BrightSpot,

The 3 dress minimum at Vera Wang is ridiculous. Why should they care that you'll wear the BM dress as your bridal gown, as long as they sell a dress? I'd blow them off and look for other fabulous BM dresses, like these!

http://www.jimhjelmoccasions.com/dress_db_occ/display_dress.php?imageno=5560&multimatch=x

http://www.amsale.com/bridesmaids/050628/0506281097.shtml
http://www.amsale.com/bridesmaids/040607/040607208208.shtml
http://www.amsale.com/bridesmaids/030811/030811170170.shtml

http://www.amsale.com/bridesmaids/030811/030811169169.shtml

http://www.amsale.com/bridesmaids/030100/p.shtml

(the last four all come in "Ice")

 

[MissAva]

Oh and you can her shoes there as well!

 

[BrightSpot]

Hi again!

Thanks, everyone, for your continued support & great ideas re: my dress shopping saga!

abracadabra, how was your wedding? (Did I miss a thread?) Unfortunately, Vera''s site is flash so I can''t copy the links to the actual dresses I like. If you go to her website, it''s dress #9. It''s style 19M01, shown in silver. I tried it on in navy & loved it. I think I found another retailer who will sell me one Vera Wang BM dress in white. (I got the quote over the phone--it was a good bit less than the quote at Vera Wang) It almost seems too good to be true.

My mom & Gran were visiting this weekend & looked at some of my pictures. They really want to go shopping with me (fairly difficult to coordinate as they''re in VA & I''m in NYC), but I''m a little hesitant to go w/ them as they seem to be fairly intent on what kind of dress is or is not appropriate for me to wear. (This is my 2nd wedding, so they seem to think fuller dresses and dresses w/ trains are out.) Ugh...drama.

But, the good news is that they were able to take a picture of me in a couple of the dresses I was considering. Both are by ABS--the halter dress was from Nordstrom & the dress w/ the gold beaded strap was a find--$90 at Filene''s Basement! I''m not sure about either one, though. What do you guys think?

I have an appointment at a bridesmaid dress store to try on some Lazaro dresses & some Jim Hjelm dresses as well (including the one you suggested, EBree--so pretty!) this week. I''ll let you know how that goes.

Do you guys think a satin dress would look too hot on the beach? I''d kind of hoped for a lighter looking fabric w/ more movement that might blow a bit in the breeze, but I really loved the look of one of the Vera Wang dresses on me...

 

[BrightSpot]

ABS halter dress

 

[BrightSpot]

ABS halter (back)

 

[BrightSpot]

ABS halter (side)

 

[BrightSpot]

ABS bargain

 

[BrightSpot]

ABS bargain (back)

What do you guys think of these?

 

[Kaleigh]

I love love that dress!!!!! It looks great on you!!!

 

[E B]

Those dresses both look great on you, but I''m holding out until I see the Jim Hjelm. It''s so simple and perfect. Are you going to be taking pictures at your next fitting?

 

[BrightSpot]

I'll definitely take pictures if the salon allows them. I wish I'd gotten a shot of me in the Vera Wang...

Do you guys think the dresses above are too nightgowny?

ETA: here's the link to the Vera Wang dress I like: Link

 

[E B]

Date: 9/27/2005 2:33:38 PM
Author: BrightSpot
I'll definitely take pictures if the salon allows them. I wish I'd gotten a shot of me in the Vera Wang...

Do you guys think the dresses above are too nightgowny?

To be completely honest, I do find them a bit nightgown-y. Especially the first one. They are very pretty on you, though. Do you find them to be too nightgown-y?