The Dress (Part 3)

It's no surprise really, that my greatest wedding planning struggle to this point (crazy to think we're over five months in already!) has been choosing a dress.

I should have known that all those years of watching Say Yes to the Dress, tearing out magazine pages, right click saving images off the internet and eventually pinning until I could pin no longer (hasn't happened yet), would come back to bite me in the ass. It probably also doesn't help that I blog about personal style and believe strongly in choosing something unique that reflects that style I've been working to cultivate. All of these things are ensuring that choosing a dress is as difficult as possible.

At this point I've visited three bridal salons (not including my Seattle BHLDN fling) and tried on about fifteen dresses and my biggest problem is that everything looks pretty good. I mean, how can it look anything less than good when it costs more than I make in one paycheque? I've tried on lace, I've tried on tulle, taffeta, silk dupioni and satin. I have some styles I can rule out, some things Ive discovered I really don't like, but there's still a huge variance in what I do like.

Some surprises:

• The atmosphere and how the appointment goes really does affect how I feel about the dresses. One of the three salons I visited was a Davids Bridal and after my first experience at Novelle, it was like going into an H&M to buy high end designer. The girl got me stuck in multiple dresses, it was the only salon where they required me to put on their undergarments which meant I had to be all Nekkid in front of an adorably young and one can imagine, inexperienced, consultant, and most of all the quality of the dresses was leaps and bounds from what I had experienced before. I tried on a Vera Wang White dress and although I loved the way it looked it was remarkably uncomfortable all the way down to the way the fabric felt against my skin.
• I am totally won over by key words like "Canadian Designer", "Unique", "ethical" and "natural materials". When did I become a hippy? JK, it's the most expensive garment I'll ever buy so is it really so crazy I would like my money to stay in Canada or for the fabric to be ethically sourced? In any case, I did not expect this to affect my decision the way it has been.
• Apparently the most important thing to me is how I feel in the dress. I had definitely expected looking good to out way this little detail, but I've found myself completely ruling out dresses that require me to wear a corset or walk with my thighs together. I want the fabric to feel good, I don't wanna have to suck my tummy in, and I want to be able to move and sit and not be overheating. That was another thing about the Vera White collection, the materials were synthetic and I was worried I would be too warm under the skirt.
• I've actually been surprised by how affordable most of the dresses are. The first salon, Novelle, had nary a six thousand dollar gown in sight. With my three thousand dollar budget I could have afforded almost anything in the store. SO not what I anticipated.  
• The biggest surprise? The styles I'm liking best have been fit and flares. Like... how did that happen? See below. 

The contenders so far...

Some not so surprising things:

• There's not a lot of variety in Edmonton.  Every store I've visited has had a lot of variances on the same styles, sheaths, columns, mermaids and ball gowns. Not a lot of options with sleeves or straps, not a lot of options in different colours like blush or pale blue (I almost got to try on a pale blue gown at Delica but I ended up saying no since it was one of the most expensive, giant ass tulle ball gowns in the store). 

I think the hardest thing right now is reconciling how I look in the dresses with how I dreamed I would look.  The dressess above are what I'm liking so far, but in my dreams I look like this:

So how do I reconcile my idea of a bride, and of that romantic princess look -- with the fit and flare dresses I'm liking on my body? That's the hardest thing at the moment.

December is the latest I can order a dress from a salon like Delica, so I branched out and ordered a sample dress from Etsy. This one:

Gabby, the amazing designer behind new studio Truvelle, is being a doll and making me a sample in my size. How could I have anticipated having that privilege? She said it should arrive mid November so I'll be cutting things close. I want this dress so so much to be perfect, and I know it's probably crazy to pin all my hopes on it. If it doesn't work out I have some awesome fit and flares to consider, but all of my crazy, colorful, romantic princess dreams are caught up in this sparkly, flowy, Canadian designed dress.

Well, that's where that is. I'll update you as soon as I make a decision/receive the Truvelle gown. I am so filled with anticipation I might go nuts by then.