Shout out from Austin, TX this week! I am here visiting my little sister (also my MOH) who moved to Austin last year. It's my first trip here and, wow, what a fun place! My mom and grandma also came in for the week. It's not too often these ladies are all in the same place, so it was a must that we go wedding dress shopping.
Up until this point I really hadn't given much thought to the dress other than knowing I would like it to be described as simple and classic, yet fun and young. This description could really go many directions so I was pretty much starting with a blank slate. With other wedding details on my mind, I hadn't started ripping pages out of magazines or pinning dresses on Pinterest. This meant that when it came to my first day trying on dresses yesterday, I was totally open-minded - I just wanted to try on anything and everything! What girl doesn't love to play dress up?!
Here are some shots of a few of the dresses I tried on. Like I said, I was trying on many different styles.
Erica, the owner of Blush Bridal Lounge was awesome and had the most amazing belts! We had so much fun seeing how different belts can totally change the look and feel of a dress. She also gave us lessons on different types of lace. Erica gave some great advice about wedding dresses - she said that it is a decision to be made with your heart, not your head (loved that advice!). I also liked that she would pin the dress up with me facing the mirror and ask me what I thought before turning me around to face my family. This way I got to assess how I felt about the dress before hearing other opinions.
Next up was Unbridaled, another great boutique.
Kelsey assisted us at Unbridaled. She is also the buyer for the store, so she knew it all! She was great at seeing what I liked and then pulling other dresses that fit the bill. Just like everything else in Austin, these bridal dress boutiques did not disappoint. The people here are so genuinely nice and cool. I definitely recommend coming dress shopping if you are ever in Austin and in need of a wedding dress! :-)
I loved two dresses in particular – one from each place. One of the two was not a style I was expecting to like as much as I did and I was pleasantly surprised! If I do end up wanting to get a dress here, I can get measured while I’m in town and have them ship it to me in San Francisco. If you go this route they charge for the shipping but you don’t have to pay sales tax - not a bad trade-off!
Not only did I find a few options that I could see myself wearing on the big day, but I learned a lot about what I'm looking for and am excited to continue the search for my dress.
What was your dress strategy? Did you go in knowing what you wanted? Did you come out with what you thought you wanted or something completely different? When you tried on the one, did you just know?
Until next week, ya'll!