The dress update.

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OK. Well, I survived the weekend! LOL

On Saturday morning, we had an appointment at Gesinee's Bridal in Concord. I knew going in that I wouldn't actually buy my dress there.
(When we were shopping for Katie's dress, we had a bad experience… 10am appointment, they open at 10am, we got there at 9:50… we were told to wait in the car(in the freezing cold) for the 10 minutes until they were offically open. Oh yeah, that *really* makes us want to look at (and possibly buy) $1,000 worth of dress from you people!) But I digress.
We had an appointment and showed up, Mom (my mom, duh!) , Katie (sister and Matron of Honor) and me (I would be the bride).
I told the salesgirl that I wanted something simple and not fussy; we're looking at a Sunday afternoon, and I didn't want too much dress… I told her that I found myself drawn, over and over, to tea length strapless lace, and that I would like to concentrate on things along those lines.
We headed upstairs and started pulling dresses… she (salesgirl) went through and pulled I think *all* of the tea length dresses they had… my sister convinced me to try this humongous creampuff dress… there was way to much skirt, but the top part was exactly what I'd pictured, so I agreed to try it.
Allow me to introuduce “The Creampuff” This is a spectacular dress… truly. It fit wonderfully, and the top was perfect… the little rhinestone detail at the waist, the quality and “fanciness” of the lace… I loved it. I didn't love the $900 price tag, and I didn't love the $250 estimate for the needed alterations (shortening it to mid-calf and removing one of the FOUR petticoats to de-volumize the skirt a bit. I did come home and, with a quick glance on eBay, find the dress for “only” $469, but it was still on the higher end of what I was even willing to consider spending.

And then the other one that made the short list… we'll call it the “Marilyn dress” a fabulous, hot little french tulle number designed by Watters & Watters It was so fun, and way sexy, but upon further reflection (after leaving the shop) we decided that it was something I'd look back on and wonder what the hell I was thinking. Also, the sample was a size 10, so it fit, but wasn't quite the right size. I wouldn't be able to try it on in the right size unless I commited money to it, and I'm not at that point yet. (This little doll had a $650 tag) I would, however, love this dress in red or black for a fancy New Year's Eve party or something!

So that was it for Saturday… I tried on a total of (I think) 5 or 6 dresses, and only kept note of theses two. We also wandered around a craft store for a while, looking for inspiration (I did figure out how we're going to define the aisle and ceremony circle, so that's good news! LOL)but otherwise, that was about it for the day.

And then there was Sunday. (Katie: Don't get mad at me! LOL)

I woke up Sunday morning to an empty house… Jamie was at his monthly “Car Guys” get together, so I had the whole day to myself… he wouldn't be home until almost dinnertime.
I decided that I'd head over to David's Bridal and look around.
I actually had one goal in mind… to try on the dress I'd first liked… I wanted to rule it out if I wasn't happy with it… I was viewing that (and David's Bridal) as a kind of last resort, if I couldn't find a “better” dress elsewhere. I occurred to me that if I didn't verify that I wanted that dress, I could find myself dressless and desperate come September.
So off I went… I was a walk-in (always make an appointment, people!) and spent an hour wandering the vast white aisles.
I found the four tea length dresses that were available, and waited for a room to become available. I fell in love with darling little flower girl dresses, and rolled my eyes at some Gawd-awful bridesmaid options.
And then it was my turn to go in the dressing room.
Of the four dresses, one was *way* too short… it barely covered my knee and reminded me of the dress I wore to Winter Ball my sophomore year in high school… there was another that was very pretty, but it just wasn't “it”

And then there were the other two…

I tried on this one, mostly because it was the length I wanted… I hadn't liked it in the catalog photo (shown here) but figured it never hurt to try. This is the dress that makes me want to write to David's Bridal and tell them that they need a new photographer… this photo does NOT do justice to this amazing dress! I didn't try it on in True White… I found it in Champagne and Ivory; the inner lining and empire detail are a champagne satin, and the overlaid lace is ivory. It. is. gorgeous. The skirt is much fuller than it looks in the photo, and the picture makes it look like an unflattering length. None of this is true. It's a beautfiul, classic dress. So, that's one of two.

Two of two, you can see a photo in my last post (below)… it's the dress that brought me to David's, the dress I've been referring back to every time I am looking at dresses. Tea length, strapless, lace. It's everything I've been looking for. This is also the second dress that makes me want to email David' corporate. This dress sparkles! There are lots of sparkles and beads up top, and they're lighter, more scattered on the skirt… also, it isn't all over lace, it's lace appliques on tulle, again, heavier on top, more scattered on the skirt. It really is very pretty. I tried it on in ivory, but only have the photo in white.

So anyway, it's offically narrowed down to the two dresses at David's… I need my sister to come with me to help with the final decision.
(I didn't find out until we were there that David's allows photos even if you're just trying on… I might go back some evening this week or wait until Katie can go with me to get photos of me actually *wearing* the dresses! LOL)