The Dress (4) - SPOILERS

Tried on one last batch of wedding dresses this past weekend and I can safely say I no longer feel the need to shop. If the Truvelle dress doesn't work out I know what dress I'll be wearing down the aisle, so that's a good feeling.

Now that I've ruled everything else out, I can show you the runner ups. ;)
 

Left: Theia crepe petal gown, Center: Nicole Miller Satin Gown, Right: Wtoo Bridal Camilla

 For my first experience I chose Novelle. They have a great selection of bridal gowns I would label as 'non-traditional' and I tried on a lot of beautiful sheath gowns and one awesome ball gown. If I were getting married in the winter I would have totally chosen the taupe ball gown on the right. It looked gorgeous, but something about it I felt better suited the colder months. I also loved the 'petal gown' on the left which suited my aesthetic beautifully, and felt like PJ's. Serious. It was so comfy and easy to wear. Unfortunately, it's lack of structure was ultimately less flattering than other gowns I tried. The center gown was almost immediately regarded as a failure, but in pictures I actually like it. Turns out it's not dissimilar from what I ended up with... 

Left: Scoop neck taffetta gown by Davids Bridal, Right: White by Vera Wang for Davids Bridal

 My second experience was at Davids Bridal. Not the best time there, despite the sticker shock (the good kind, like whoa, this dress costs $400). Surprisingly, not a lot of the dresses I liked were even close to my size and some I couldn't even try on.  That being said, I really loved the dress on the left and  hell, it was a major contender! In fact, If I randomly decide I need a second dress this one is cheap enough to fit the bill... I have always loved Vera Wang and I did love the look of her gown (on the right) but the quality of the White by Vera Wang line left a lot to be desired (fabric was rough and stiff) and I didn't feel comfortable in it at all.

Middle: Hailey Page Carrie, Right: Bianca by Lillen

 Our third shop met with a lot of success. Delica was originally my first choice shop, but when I learned they no longer carried a designer I wanted to try (California's, Sarah Seven) I was kinda devastated and ended up leaving them for third. The dresses were the most expensive I had the pleasure of trying on, and I loved the quality of the designs. My favorite on was the one on the far right by Lillen, made of the most beautiful dupioni silk. The middle gown was also a fav,  a Hailey Page design.

 I had been referred by a friend to ABC bridal, and we stopped there after work one day since it's so close by. They have what seems like a huge selection of dresses, but I found they all seemed like variations on the same styles. I didn't want to try on any more fit and flares at this point, but I found the ballgowns to be too cumbersome and what the hell was going on with the busts? AMIRITE?

My last, and most successful stop ended up being The Bridal and Tuxedo House. I had never really considered them a contender, but my mum and I made an appointment anyway. By far the largest store we visited and the busiest,  they had a really great selection of couture designs and simpler fair. A huge range of price points, and the promise of a free suit rental should I purchase my gown from them. The poor bridal consultant could never have guessed the dress I ended up loving. She followed my confused specifications perfectly and I tried on several beautiful dresses pictured above. My favorite, the one on the left. I have a huge soft spot for coloured sashes and sleeves. We didn't end up being fans however of the straight seem just under my midsection. The center gown was too formal, and the third gown was MASSIVE. Haha.

Here's a sneak peak of my fav:

It's satin and LOOK HOW IT DRAPES. Plus, there are pockets. <3

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.

Shopping Pics

True to form my Dad took a bunch of photos while were were gown shopping! Not all of them are spoilery so I wanted to share a few here.

Thanks Dad!

Again, the salon is Novelle Bridal and my consultant was Kirsten.

 

 

 

 

 

The Dress (Part 2)

So gown shopping at actual bridal salons is pretty much the most fun thing ever.

I kind of missed out on the perfect experience in Seattle (since my family was so far away), so I decided that even though I could happily buy my chosen BHLDN gown whenever I chose, I wouldn't be satisfied until I had experienced bridal shopping with the people who were closest to me.

I made an appointment for myself at Novelle Bridal shop, since they carried a line I was interested in, Theia White. My parents and sister picked me up from work and all of us headed over there to see if anything could compare to the dress I already had in mind!

After trying on about 14 dresses, I narrowed them down to my favorite three!

The Theia petal gown, a swirly Wtoo gown (the furthest departure for me from what I had previously tried on, a ball gown!), and a very slinky sexy Nicole Miller gown!

I have to keep reminding myself to forget what bridal culture and the wedding industry has been pushing down my throat since devising the brilliant idea to create a reality show around buying a wedding dress. There is no one gown.

There are many gowns.

In fact, I also tried on a lace gown and tea length gown that I could also have easily said 'yes' to. In all FIVE of these gowns I could picture myself getting married, walking down the isle, and saying I do!

The biggest difference between them each was; what kind of event am I throwing? I had to remind myself that I wasn't throwing an elaborate black tie affair, and so probably wouldn't require that illustrious beaded mermaid. In the tea length dress I felt oddly childish -- not the feeling I wanted to have in my dress. And in the lace dress, oddly traditional! I wasn't interested in looking super traditional so I decided no on the beautiful lace gown even though the sample fit me like a glove and I was smitten with the silvery lining material.

The feeling that caused me the most joy came from the dresses that made me feel like a fairy princess.

I kept picturing my indoor garden/industrial wedding with twinkling lights and lush greenery and here comes the bride looking like a gorram fairy princess with a dress made of delicate glistening petals and a floral crown fit for a queen.

The BHLDN gown also fits this vision, and the Nicole Miller.

I have a lot to think about, but I'm also reminding myself that no matter what I pick I will look absolutely knock out stunning on my wedding day (I'm reminded of my friend Ashlee who recently looked drop dead gorgeous times a million on her amazing day!).

Anyway, life lesson learned, the dress is not as crucially important and hard to find as I once imagined it would be! 

The Dress (Part 1)

Well, I promised to show pictures, so here they are!

When I was in Seattle with Nick I was privileged enough to attend a BHLDN trunk show at the Bellevue Anthropologie. The ladies were super nice and never even asked me why I didn't have an engagement ring. Haha. If only I had known at the time I would be getting engaged officially the VERY NEXT DAY.

I tried on quite a few dresses, and one of the ladies was nice enough to take pictures for me. Unfortunately the largest sample size they had was a ten so I had to squish into some of the dresses, but these three fit me pretty well!

Dress one is the Flamenca gown, dress two is the Cascading Goddess, and dress three is the Rosecliff gown. Dress one has always been my favorite online for some reason, and magically, it was also my favorite in person! I love the floaty cap sleeves, and the mini ruffle train gives what is a fairly casual dress that little bit of wedding appropriateness. It's remarkably well priced, AND I think I could dye the top layer and wear it again! Haha. I'm pretty sold on that one, now the question is whether I need more then one dress... ;p

It was hard to try on dresses without my mum and sister there, so I'm excited to try more on in Edmonton!

First Bridal Appointment

I am soo soo stoked to get to post about my first bridal appointment!

As many might know (either from me talking non-stop about it, or taking a casual glance at my pinterest), I'm kinda obsessed with bridal boutique BHLDN owned by Anthropologie. The gowns are unique and different, come in many gorgeous styles, and are almost all within my price range. Hello.

The only problem with BHLDN is that the gowns are carried only in their brick and mortar shops, and online. Being that their two locations are in Chicago and Texas, I knew from the start if I was going to walk down the aisle in BHLDN it would be because I had the cinchonas to order my bridal gown online. That's a big deal. I do a lot of shopping on the web but even I am not that brave. The only other option would be a girls weekend in Chicago which would add to the wedding budget.

Well Nick and I have been planning a trip to Seattle in June for my birthday and our dating anniversary, and lo and behold BHLDN makes an announcement they're doing a series of trunk shows across the states as they prepare to open a third location. I casually check out the trunk show dates and OMG Seattle, June 3rd and 4th!

Needless to say I am freaking out at this point. I email Nick and ask if it's OK if I hijack our vacation for one itsy bitsy bridal appointment, and he's all "Ya, I don't see why not", and I'm giddy because apparently not being engaged yet is not a reason to not try on bridal gowns. After telling him "babe, you made my day" I proceeded to nervously book a time block during the second day of the trunk show.

All I can say now is I am INSANELY excited, but just a little (read, a lot) nervous about attending my first appointment alone (Nicks not actually keen on coming with me to the thing) and most notably without my sister or mum. The point of the whole thing is mostly to try on the dresses and decide if any of them will be flattering, or look half as lovely as they do on the models. The point is not to come home with a dress. However, if I fall in love with one I may certainly purchase it online at some point in the future.

I know it's still early, and no, we're not engaged yet, but this is the first time my pre-planning has led to something concrete and it certainly makes things just a little more real. I told Nick, "don't let me embarrass myself by going in there with no ring", so hopefully he can get this whole proposal thing together sometime in the next three weeks...