Where for art thou, wedding dress?

September 17, 2009 · Posted in what to wear by juel

For reals. Where are ya?

I’m getting to the point where this whole dress hunt thing (almost) isn’t fun anymore. Trying on a bunch of pretty dresses IS still fun, it just feels like it’s time to find “the one” ya know? I’ve been to 8 bridal shops and still haven’t found a dress in my price range that I know is the one that I’d like to wear on our wedding day and that I’d love to look back at in pictures. Sigh.

I thought I didn’t want a big dress… The one thing I AM sure of is that I don’t want a strapless dress, and THAT is where I’m running into problems since it seems like that’s what everyone wants these days! Now, I’m not going to share a picture of the dresses I’ve been liking (just in case Mr. reads this one day) but I think it’d be fabulous to be the bride in this photo:

{ photo by Amy and Stuart Photography, via What Junebug Loves }

More appointments this week… here’s hoping that I find one soon!

click to go to comments

Katy writes... {September 17, 2009 at 12:24 pm}

I know how you feel! I had such a hard time finding a dress. I went to over 10 different shops and tried on countless dresses. I never did get that feeling everyone talks about when they find “the one.” Luckily I had that feeling when I met my husband though :-) But I said “I don’t want strapless and I don’t want lace.” What did I end up with??? A strapless, lace dress! But I loved it and it looked great :-)

Qasia writes... {September 17, 2009 at 1:55 pm}

I didn’t want a strapless dress because I don’t find most to be very comfortable (always feeling like they’re out of place, falling down, etc). But all the dresses I tried with straps or sleeves (the whole 5 or so that actually exist!) didn’t look good on me. So strapless it was!

I actually tried on the dress in the Paris picture! Looks much better on her :)

Clare Richardson writes... {September 17, 2009 at 2:11 pm}

I am so with you on not wanting a strapless dress! I personally would never feel comfortable wearing a strapless dress to church on any given Sunday; why is it ok to wear strapless to church for my wedding? Anyway, I ended up buying a strapless dress and will add straps during alterations, but unfortunately that doesn’t work for all designs and it’s hard to envision what it will look like when you’re trying it on.

Christine writes... {September 17, 2009 at 2:57 pm}

I had to go to 17 different bridal salons until I found my dress. I went to salons in 6 different cities, including NYC. It was a long and frustrating process. I didn’t want a strapless dress either. When I finally found “the one” I didn’t cry, I had been searching for so long that I was all business “ok this is it, where do I sign?” I ended up going with Jim Hjelm 8958 without the sash. It didn’t get to stores until last month so it was worth the wait! Keep persevering, you will find it!

meag writes... {September 17, 2009 at 3:17 pm}

Ah, a Parisian wedding, how perfectly lovely! Have you considered online shopping? I just got my dress (vintage 50’s) in the mail today and I love love love it! I found it on e-bay and took a chance on never having seen it in person, but I’m so happy that I did. There are a lot of non-strapless vintage styles. Good luck with the search!
meag’s most recent blog post: Wedding Workout #1

Reh writes... {September 17, 2009 at 6:44 pm}

I so feel you! But my dilemmas a little different, I’m having a traditional Indian wedding…and EVERYTHING is sent back the motherland to be made custom. Argh…i just want to know if what I’m buying is going to look good on me!!!! without having to wait 3 months to see the final result!

Norah writes... {September 17, 2009 at 7:20 pm}

I also found dress shopping very frustrating. I’m a modest girl who wanted straps, but more importantly wanted to stay within my “$500 for everything on my body” budget. Eventually, I did have a “the one” moment, but it took a while to get there.

Have you tried Nordstrom’s online bridal shop? It’s so convenient, affordable, and full of straps! I actually just posted the dresses I ordered on my blog - I didn’t end up going with one of them, but there’s many lovely options. Good luck!
Norah’s most recent blog post: Honeymoon – PERU!

PDX Bride writes... {September 17, 2009 at 10:07 pm}

I totally recommend having your dress made from scratch . . . it is not as expensive as you might think!! Plus you get exactly what you want and don’t have to pay for any alterations!! Plus, it is such an amazing fun process. And, you get to put on your dress over and over again for months as it is getting put together!!

juel writes... {September 18, 2009 at 9:17 pm}

Glad I’m not the only one looking for a dress with a little more than bare shoulders. I finally did find a dress (stay tuned for that post) in NY. I found it most difficult to just envision straps on dresses and did consider having a dress made but…at the end of the day I felt much better just knowing exactly what it is going to look like! Norah - love Nordstrom’s online shop…definitely going to keep my eyes open there for rehearsal dinner dresses when they go on sale! Christine - I totally feel you on the business approach. I wasn’t quite that business, but at first I definitely was. When we made the decision is when I got all sorts of excited :)
juel’s most recent blog post: Church Decor

Rebekah writes... {September 20, 2009 at 6:31 pm}
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I also didn’t want a strapless dress. I found a strapless dress (on my second bridal shop visit!) that I absolutely love and I’ll just have cap sleeves added to (though I think they’re more like wide straps, so I’m not sure why they call them sleeves). It’s nothing like I would have envisioned - I almost didn’t try it on. But it’s just perfect. At least, it will be once the sleeves are added. :)

Elena writes... {September 21, 2009 at 8:29 am}

What about Mikaella? They have several dresses with straps and are about $1,200 or so.
Elena’s most recent blog post: Shooting in good light