Wedding Dress Shopping

[amc80]

I picked a date for wedding dress shopping- June 25th. 72 days to get my butt into gear. Question about the logistics of wedding dress shopping-

There are three stores in town I want to check out. Well, definitely two, and maybe a third. I was going to make the appointments for the same day, since I've only got one day to work with. What if I go to store #1 and find my dream dress? Do I still go to store #2? I would feel bad canceling last minute, but I also don't want to waste a salesperson's time if I know I've already found The Dress.

Thoughts?

 

[blacksand]

I would still go in case you change your mind later. Or maybe if you do find the dress of your dreams, Shop # 2 could offer you a lower price on it? Who knows. I'd go to all appointments with an open mind and decide later. If you're 10000% sure you want the first dress you love, at least call and cancel the other appointments so they know not to wait around for you.

Have fun! Can't wait to see what you pick out.

 

[amc80]

Thanks. My choices are somewhat limited since I'm having a morning beach wedding. That right there knocks out probably 75% of dresses out there (which I see as a good thing, fewer options = easier decision...hopefully). Here are some I like that I want to try on:

http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=58ebc5de-3fe5-4f2e-9772-a55f696c0963&categoryID=32e5a88c-cbf1-498f-afcf-dbfca138c5d3&pg=0&colorId1=

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Satin-Tea-Length-Gown-with-Box-Pleats-WG3038_Bridal-Gowns-Shop-By-Style-Destination

Thinking about this one to change into after the wedding, to board the cruise ship:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Short-strapless-cotton-sateen-dress-INT83312_Bridal-Gowns-Shop-By-Style-Chic-Modern

It's actually a dress I could wear again.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

As someone who works at a bridal boutique, it would depend. If you found 100% THE ONE at the first store, then call to cancel the other appointment. It's so annoying to have someone constantly talking about a dress that you do not carry and comparing everything to it. We also can fill appointments even if you cancel fairly last minute. When your mind is made up, that's great, but don't waste the consultants time. If you have just found something you think you love, then definitely keep the appointment, and describe the other dress. They may have something even better!

If you're shopping 2-3 stores in one day, give yourself time between. It can be stressful and exhausting. By the last appointment it can sometimes be like smelling too many perfumes. Bring bottles of water and try to go to lunch and such between your appointments.

Have so much fun!

 

[blacksand]

I love love love the Alfred Angelo dress. So much. If I weren't planning a winter wedding, I'd snap it up right now!

 

[amc80]

I love love love the Alfred Angelo dress. So much. If I weren't planning a winter wedding, I'd snap it up right now!

Yeah, I love it too. My only concern is I'm pretty well endowed in the boobage area...so I have to find something that will work there.

 

[sillyberry]

I love love love the Alfred Angelo dress. So much. If I weren't planning a winter wedding, I'd snap it up right now!

Yeah, I love it too. My only concern is I'm pretty well endowed in the boobage area...so I have to find something that will work there.

A well-made corset is a beautiful thing... It's a great dress! With big boobs, I might see if it could be modified into more of a sweetheart neckline - I've found that that helps with avoiding the "prow of a ship" look!

 

[amc80]

A well-made corset is a beautiful thing... It's a great dress! With big boobs, I might see if it could be modified into more of a sweetheart neckline - I've found that that helps with avoiding the "prow of a ship" look!

I'm hoping they go down by dress day. I'm normally a C but have gained some weight in the last year (25lbs or so), so they are probably DDs. I was in amazing shape...did 3 1/2 marathons in 16 weeks. Got a bad stress fracture, took 6 months off from running. Learned elliptical does not equal running. Met fiance right at stress fracture time...he's the kind who can eat anything, so obviously I had to keep up with him. Ugh. Finally over stress fracture and got another injury. So now, after about 15 months of not running, my giant boobs and I are running again. I'm hoping they will go down proportionally with my weight, but with my luck, they will stay giant and I'll look like a hooker.

 

[blacksand]

Good luck with your running! I run, too! Every day. Have done a few halves and am training for the NYC marathon this year. I'm fat anyway! FI and I have been trying to eat healthier, because I think that's all it comes down to, really. I can exercise all I want, but if we eat dinner at Friendly's, I'm not getting any skinnier! I'm still secretly hoping that when I get into the really high mileage marathon training will require, the weight will just magically drop off, but I suspect I will have to work a lot harder for it. I'm definitely not even tying on wedding dresses until I'm a little happier with how my body looks! I still think the Alfred Angelo dress is gorgeous. A nice corset and a sweetheart neckline would be even better! I bet it will look great.

 

[amc80]

I'm still secretly hoping that when I get into the really high mileage marathon training will require, the weight will just magically drop off, but I suspect I will have to work a lot harder for it.

This is exactly what I hoped for when I trained for my full marathon. I ended up weighing the most I had ever weighed. My legs wouldn't fit in my jeans, ha! I think I lost about 10lbs by 2 weeks after the race, so it must have just been water weight. It's funny because we see these professional runners and they are all skinny...so surely doing what they do must make me look like that, right? I finally figured out that the key to losing weight while running is to not increase food intake at the same rate you are burning calories running. Which is sort of a "duh" but you get into the "well I ran 10 miles so surely I can eat anything I want."

But glad someone else gets it. As soon as I got engaged everyone was asking when I was dress shopping. Um, when I'm not fat. I know if I went now I'd just end up being pi$$ed off and wanting to elope.

 

[blacksand]

Oh no! I guess that's what I have to look forward to also, if I don't get my diet under control. FI and I are trying. We eat better on the weekdays, but weekends are always filled with social events and food. Oops. I need to be better about that. As an aside: I gained a full 10 lbs. when I ran my first half (as in, immediately afterward). Water weight I'm sure, but it took me 3 weeks to get back to normal. That was totally unexpected. Run 13.1 miles and, as a reward, you'll be 10 lbs. heavier for the next month! Running is weird.

Anyway, sorry I hijacked your thread. I still can't wait to see which dress you choose, and I hope you have a great time dress shopping!

 

[amc80]

Anyway, sorry I hijacked your thread. I still can't wait to see which dress you choose, and I hope you have a great time dress shopping!

No problem! It's relevant to me getting my butt in a dress

 

[merilenda]

Yay, it seems like we're in similar situations! We originally were planning to get married in June, but after 10 months of not doing anything after getting engaged, I didn't think I could pull it off that quickly. We're thinking beach wedding in September now. Do you mind me asking where you're planning to have your ceremony?

I really like both of the dresses you've posted and would totally go tea length myself if that particular length didn't look terrible on me. I also went dress shopping for the first time last weekend and ended up at 3 stores, so I can tell you about my experience.

I found a dress that I really liked at the first store. I was tempted to buy it because I felt that it was so very flattering on my body. But I got to thinking that I would regret not taking a look at a couple more stores. In the end, it WAS a little overwhelming. What OUpeargirl said about it being like smelling too many perfumes is spot on. By the end of the afternoon, I was actually sore (not sure how that happened) and all the dresses started looking the same.

I'm still glad I did it though, because I live in a different city than my best friend (and FMIL) and I really wanted her to be the one to go with me while I was home for the weekend. I also realized that the first dress I was tempted to buy in the first store, while beautiful (and probably the most flattering dress I tried on all day), wasn't the dress I really had my heart set on wearing. I haven't gone back to purchase the dress I want yet (and need to get on that ASAP), but I found it at the third store we went to (David's).

P.S. I'm also very well-endowed in the boobage area, which caused some problems. I think I'm definitely going to have to do alterations because of it, since dresses that fit me everywhere else tend to not be able to zip when the zipper gets to that area. I found it can also be pretty difficult to find a dress that flatters that particular feature.

EDIT: I just realized that I mis-read your post. I thought you were getting married in June, not going dress shopping. Anyway, the rest of what I said still makes sense. I also need to get my butt into shape. I'm hoping to order my dress this week, but I'm worried that if I order it and lose weight, I won't have time to have it altered again (or it will cost a lot of money).

 

[amc80]

Love this one-
http://www.bestbridalprices.com/ella-rosa-wedding-dresses-style-be106-p-65333.html

 

[mrswahs]

Thanks. My choices are somewhat limited since I'm having a morning beach wedding. That right there knocks out probably 75% of dresses out there (which I see as a good thing, fewer options = easier decision...hopefully). Here are some I like that I want to try on:

http://www.alfredangelo.com/Collections/ProductDisplay.aspx?productID=58ebc5de-3fe5-4f2e-9772-a55f696c0963&categoryID=32e5a88c-cbf1-498f-afcf-dbfca138c5d3&pg=0&colorId1=

http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Satin-Tea-Length-Gown-with-Box-Pleats-WG3038_Bridal-Gowns-Shop-By-Style-Destination

Thinking about this one to change into after the wedding, to board the cruise ship:
http://www.davidsbridal.com/Product_Short-strapless-cotton-sateen-dress-INT83312_Bridal-Gowns-Shop-By-Style-Chic-Modern

It's actually a dress I could wear again.

It's funny to me that these are the dresses you posted. These were the three that I fell in love originally when looking for a dress for our destination wedding in Hawaii! As soon as I got them on I decided they weren't for me. Go figure.

You should go to an Alfred Angelo store and try some of them on. They have a lot of beautiful dresses that work well for a beach wedding. And just because you're having a beach wedding doesn't mean you need to get a "beachy" dress. A lot of the girls on the destination wedding board on the knot are getting regular wedding dresses.

I personally love mine because it can be shortened to make a nice cocktail dress after the wedding

 

[amc80]

You should go to an Alfred Angelo store and try some of them on. They have a lot of beautiful dresses that work well for a beach wedding. And just because you're having a beach wedding doesn't mean you need to get a "beachy" dress. A lot of the girls on the destination wedding board on the knot are getting regular wedding dresses.

Love your dress! It's true, I could technically get any dress I want...but I do want something more on the casual end. It's on the beach plus it's a morning wedding...so those two things together just steer me to something a little less formal. I could very well end up with something full length, which is fine, but it obviously won't be a ballgown or anything like that. This is probably my favorite dress, but it's WAY too much money-

http://www.jlmcouture.com/Jim-Hjelm/Bridal/Additional/Style-8801