Finding a wedding dress is an interesting process, to say the least. It is definitely the one iconic thing you will buy for your wedding that really brings it home that, yes, you are getting married. It can be a fun and joyous process. It can be a little frustrating at times. It can make you laugh, smile, and bring tears to your eyes. It can be all of that, really, because it is a big important decision, and usually one that takes a few times of looking to figure out.
I’m getting married in November, but I wanted to get started on my planning early so I wouldn’t be pressed for time. After booking the venue, flipping through every bridal magaizine that was out at the time, and kind of thinking about how I wanted my wedding to “look”, I thought it would be a good idea to look for a dress. Once I had my dress picked out, I could settle on a bridesmaid dress and my fiancee could think about tuxedoes and ties. Also, and I don’t mind sharing this with you, it would help to provide some concrete (expensive concrete at that!) motivation for really getting back into my workout routine that I had stopped sometime during my courship with my fiancee.
When I first started looking, all I really knew was that I didn’t want a “princess” dress, or anything with a very full skirt. I didn’t want anything like this:
And, on the other end of the spectrum, I knew I wanted something a little more formal than this:
{J Crew}
After looking through the magazines, I thought I wanted something like this:
This:
{Watters}
Or this:
{Mori Lee}
But when I showed people the picture of the last one, they would inevitably comment on the jacket. What? I kind of liked the jacket, but I was met with a few raised eyebrows. After trying it on, it wasn’t REALLY the dress for me. I can’t tell you why, but it was just “okay”. (But I thought the jacket was fab!)
I then went with my sister and tried on a few more. Out of that grouping the favorite was a strapless champagne dupioni silk A-line dress from Casablanca. I definitely liked it better than the lace one, but I still wasn’t sold on it 100%. Was it TOO plain??
So, one chilly January morning, my Mom and I set out to look at dresses at yet another shop. What we had gone into the shop to try on (a specific dress), they didn’t have, but we found several others to try on nonetheless. I tried on lacy ones, fuller-skirted ones, empire-waisted ones, chiffon ones, and silk ones. After all of that, I narrowed it down to these two (neither of which really fit me, btw):
{Pronovias}
My favorite was the strapless one. Oh, I can hear you now, “But I thought you didn’t want one that was “poufy”?” Well, it’s not that poufy in person. It was very pretty, and with the slightly dropped waist managed to show off my “curvy” figure. I could tell this was my Mom’s favorite as well as she kept commenting on how different it was. But, the other one looked good too. When I had it on, my Mom happened to mention how “flattering” it was on me – that’s always a plus! Also, it was on sale for $400! What a steal! So it was a tough decision. I didn’t have “that feeling” of just *knowing* which one was right for me. But, I was getting tired and hungry. And the strapless one was my favorite – I had thought it was so pretty on the hanger when I first saw it. Plus, I could tell, that was my Mom’s favorite. So I chose the strapless one.
Now, I am going to share with you one of the funniest/most horrifying moments of my life. I am sharing this with you with the hopes that it will make others smile and maybe not feel so bad about themselves. That moment would be my measurements and matching them to the sizing chart. Eeek! Now, I am a tall girl. 5’8″ to 5’9″ to be exact. This was before I started my workout plan, and I know I’m no skinny-Minnie. But I was horrified. They tell you that the sizing runs “small”. “European” sizing. And I’m usually not one to get upset over numbers. But as I matched my measurements to the sizes – bust: size 12 waist: size 14 hips: size 20 – I nearly died!! Was I truly that triangular?? OMG. Even though they say to order from your largest measurment, there was NO WAY that I was ordering that size. I am no where near a size 20. We decided that I could lose 2-inches off my booty by November, so I ordered a 16. Dangerous? Possibly. But I know I can do it.
As we drove away, all I could think was “Gee, I hope I really like that dress…. Did I choose the right one? It’s non-refundable, and Mom would get so mad…” But I’m happy to say that the more I thought about it, the more I fell in love with it. I truly do love my dress, and can’t wait to wear it!
How was your dress-buying experience? Am I the only one that was horrified by the sizing?