But the others were pretty bad. There was one that I tried
on that after I said I didn’t like it, everyone was like, “Oh thank goodness!”
and my mom said “I wouldn’t have paid for that!” So it was pretty much a dud.
The lady had me walk around and look at everything they had to see if I found
anything I wanted to try on, but it was no luck. I think because I am just not
into what are the big styles and techniques that are popular right now. As my
dad told me, I’m looking for something more traditional. But that doesn’t mean
I want to break out my mom’s dress ;-)
So as we were deciding to leave Megan over Skype (because we
had skyped her in) asked what my top 5 dresses were that I had tried on. And I
said well I really liked the skirt of that one at the very first store that I
went to with the girls, and I guess after that the one I thought I liked, and
then the top of this other one but I wasn’t really sold on anything. So from
that I got to thinking about maybe how I should go back to that very first
store to see if the bottom skirt of that one dress was really as amazing as I
remembered it being, or if I had been building it up in my mind. So while we
were waiting to leave I called them up and told them we had just had a dud
experience and wanted to see if they could get us in to look at the skirt of
that dress. They said sure and that they had an hour to fit us in and even with
the same consultant that we had last time! So we said great! And then in the
transition over I grabbed a sandwich for lunch and Mom and Grammy had some
bagels and we headed back to Store #1 for round 7. (Bridal Exclusives at
Bridgeport)
I walked in and Lindsey was at the front desk waiting for me
and had already pulled the two that I had liked last time. I told her that I
had not great experiences since I had seen her last but that I knew now pretty
much what I was looking for. So she set me up in a bay and we walked around and
she showed me some other dresses. She said that since I didn’t like the top of
that dress, that if I found the top of another dress by that same designer that
they would be able to mix and match it for me to have that bottom! I was pretty
stoked with that idea (although in my head I was seeing $$$). So we pulled some
other dresses that I would maybe like. They had the best selection of my style
of dress (and all styles total) by far from anywhere else (10/10 would
recommend!).
I found there the dress that I had thought I liked at the
other store so I tried that one on first. And I was glad I did because it
dispelled any doubt that it might have been the dress for me. I said, and to
coin my classic dress shopping phrase, “I like the top, but… I don’t like the
bottom”. Most specifically on this dress I didn’t like the bottom of the back.
The front was beautiful, but when I looked at the back I hated it. It looked
sloppy. Lindsey said she had always disliked the back on that dress too. So it
was yep this isn’t it and off with it and on to the next.
Then I tried on the one with the skirt that I really liked.
And oh man. That was right where it was at. The bottom of the skirt was just
GORGEOUS and EXCACTLY what I had been wanting. It didn’t have a ton of stuff on
it that I didn’t like and it didn’t have a bunch of flowers. It was perfect.
The top on the other hand… It was just okay. I wasn’t thrilled. It had a weird
belt thing that I didn’t like and it didn’t seem as flattering of a top to me.
I was preparing myself to just suck it up and live with it for the sake of the
bottom though. But then I remembered what Lindsey said about mismatching. So
after we oohed and awed over the skirt of the dress, Lindsey pulled one of the
dresses by the same designer that I had told her I liked. It looked awesome on
the hanger. So it was off with the gorgeous skirt dress and into the one with a
different top and a boring bottom.
I really liked the top of this dress – a few things. It
wasn’t a sweetheart neckline which is the
sort that I was liking the best. Lindsey said that I could have that altered no
problem, easy. The other thing was that it wasn’t the type of ruched top that I had thought was really
flattering to me. The top I was wearing was what I had been picturing in my
head, but I wasn’t sure if I should be going with that sort of top and not with
the other kind. So Lindsey went and grabbed that sort of top from the same
designer again, so that if I wanted, I could try to do a custom with that sort
of top.
Before I switched tops though, Lindsey had the crazy idea to
put the dress with the gorgeous skirt on OVER the dress that I was already
wearing. And I was already wearing a ball gown and
was going to try putting ANOTHER ball gown over the top of it. That’s a lot of
fabric!!!! So it was pretty hectic! But also really fun. And one she put
it on over and I saw them together it was like “Wow I think this must be it.” I
LOVED it! It was exactly like what I had been looking for! Just the right
amount of everything and flattering and not boring! IT WAS PERFECT!
Shari got me to look at the other top and did the one dress over
the other again and everyone was just like “Oh”. It wasn’t nearly as good. It
wasn’t bad but compared to the first there was no contest. So I put the other
one back on and just loved it. I walked around I looked in the mirror, I
smiled, and ALMOST cried. But then I got stuck on the idea of how much this magnificent
dress was going to cost me since it was custom this and that and etc. So I
looked at Mom who looked at the dress and asked the burning question. How much
will it cost us to have this wonderfully perfect for me dress done?
Lindsey went off to call the designer manufacturer or
whatever you call them while we sat and thought about it. I thought it was
going to be a lot. The dresses that I had tried on at Charlottes were like 1800
or 2300 for ugly ones. I couldn’t think of what a custom gorgeous one was going
to cost me. Especially because everything I had ever seen had said that what I
wanted was going to cost me more to have. So I was mentally preparing to think
about where I was going to cut stuff or decide to settle for something else. Mom
said she didn’t think it was going to cost too much though because one of them
that she had seen the price on was 1,000. I figured though that the custom and
all that would make it way more expensive.
Lindsey came back with our number ($1055 for the dress, $300
for the changing of the bottom). We all looked at each other. I was shocked it
was only that much for all that it is. We said great! We will take it! I
decided to also get it done with a corset/lace up back as well. I think those
are so pretty! I am still so excited about it. I LOVE the dress. It is exactly
what I pictured in my head. Shari took off to get home for dinner while we
finished wrapping up the deal.
Then Mom called Dad and he came by unfortunately just a few
minutes after I had taken off the dress(es). I showed him them on the hanger. I
said, “Here is my dress! … and here is my other dress!” He was confused but we
explained it. I don’t know if he really got the picture of how AMAZING it is
but it was nice for him to stop by.
I am really excited that I finally found what I was looking
for. After six shops you get a little disheartened that you won’t find it… I
was glad that both the moms were there when I found it, as well as my Grammy. I
think that is really special that they are all so supportive of my marriage. It
is really cool to have such amazing women there for me.
The next day I got a text from my Grammy telling me that she
really wanted to buy me my dress. I was floored. I hadn’t expected that at all
and it means a lot that even though I don’t see her very much that she is
always a supportive force in my life. She even dug out a picture of me wearing
a veil when I was playing dress up at her house when I was younger. I was
pretty cute :-) But it just really shows how much she cares about me. She even
sent me a witty card! On the front it said: “Houses are made with boards and
beams, Homes are made with Love and Dreams” And then on the inside she added, “and
weddings are made of $ it seems.”
I’m so excited for the dress to get here! In like 6 months… Oh
and I guess I'm a little excited to marry the best man ever ;-)
P.s. Here's my moms rendering of the dress!
