Wedding Dress Shopping

I IM-ed Betsy on a Monday morning and basically said something like, hey, I'm going to David's Bridal at lunch to look at dresses. You want to come?

I never imagined myself shopping for my wedding dress at David's Bridal. I always thought I would go to a smaller, more intimate boutique.

SIDENOTE: In fact I do have a gown from such a boutique that I purchased when I first became engaged - must be like 8 years ago now. (I'm trying to sell it so if anyone wants a gorgeous silk, designer ball gown for their wedding, hit me up.)

I was keeping myself to a strict budget and I wanted to have access to the widest selection possible within that budget. David's Bridal fit the bill perfectly.

I pulled a short list of styles from their website and brought it with me. They didn't have all the styles in-store, but the stylist was good about finding a nearly matching dress in those cases.

The stylist was fun and there was always at least one other associate nearby to gush about how good I looked. It felt vaguely staged but that was ok. It felt nice to be gushed over.

The first dress I tried on was actually in their prom dress section. It was not on my list. I saw it on the rack while I was waiting. (They kept me waiting longer than I expected so I ended up browsing a bit.) They didn't have my size in this dress, but I was into the idea of wearing color. And the colors were so romantic on this one, like a mermaid princess.

I thought, "Hey, if it looks good..."

Well, it did not look good.

And I'm way beyond trying to pull off any kind of fantasy creature look. I had a lot of fun trying it on though. They stylist was totally just humoring me at that moment. I think he was off looking for shoes or something. Obviously not serious.

So I stuck with wedding gowns after that.

I loooooved the neckline in this next one. But I felt like my chest looked huge. And it seemed a touch matronly. And it seemed kind of serious.



This next one was my least favorite. I felt like I was wearing a maternity gown. You can see the stylist taking my concerns very seriously.



Next was actually a true contender. The stylist pulled it based on my other selections. It looked nice with the veil and I liked the sparkles a lot. But I was looking for a higher neckline and while the extra fabric on the lower skirt was really pretty (especially when I twirled!), it was a bit frilly for the look I wanted.



The one I chose was the second one I tried. I was ready to walk out the door with it! But being only the second dress, I felt like I needed to try a few more. I put it back on in the end and was so happy I found my dress! I felt like it was the most "me" of them all.



I found a different veil later at a Brides Against Breast Cancer event. And obviously I opted not have a belt. I wanted to keep the line clean and simple.

Thanks Betsy for being there and being the photographer!

P.S. Seeing these photos makes me want to have bangs again.