Dress Fitting Finale

Last Friday I flew to San Diego for a number of exciting wedding-related things, but the Kalista & Kyle-related wedding thing was my final dress fitting. Hooray! I zipped in for my 30-minute dress fitting, and slipped on my dress. It's like putting on a cloak of perfection, slipping into a wedding dress. I couldn't feel more beautiful, more glamorous, more sexy than I do in that little white dress. What IS it about wedding dresses?

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The dress fit like a dream, and the seamstress just had to take off another half inch from the bottom. I picked it up the next day, and proudly carried it on to the plane with me, only to stuff it into the overhead compartment. What happened to the closets on airplanes?!

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Anyways, it made it home in one piece, and now I just have to make sure not to wear it too many times before the wedding for fear of getting lipstick on it.

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In case you're confused, yes, I did have my final fitting 3 1/2 months before my wedding. And yes, I need to pretty much stay the same weight until the wedding. But I'm not too worried about it. That's the nice thing about a sheath dress. It's relatively simple and doesn't need a whole lot of tailoring, plus I can fluctuate a few pounds and there's still room.

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By the way, all of these dresses are by Jenny Packham. It's concerning how obsessed I am with her designs. But aren't they just to die for? It's a dream come true to be wearing one of them.

How many dress fittings did you have before your wedding? Did your size change a lot before your wedding day? Should I do another fitting 2 weeks before my wedding day?

Designer at a Discount :: Dresses

Last week I wrote about one of the most fun parts of wedding planning for me thus far – dress shopping! I was in Austin last week and went to two stores…it definitely got me on the dress kick and I have already been again since getting back to San Francisco. Some girlfriends and I went to the Bridal Galleria in the Financial District. We had a great time (and I tried on some killer dresses!), but the first thing I noticed was how much more expensive the dresses were here. It definitely could have had something to do with the stores I went to, but it got me thinking – is it even worth trying on dresses over my budget? Will I fall in love with one only to be disappointed that I can’t have it? Naturally, my next thought was about alternative ways of buying wedding dresses. I know there are many. And being someone who doesn’t like to pay full price on my clothes, why should I pay full price for a wedding dress?! It is, after all, the most expensive single item of clothing I will have ever purchased. Eek! So, while I plan to try on more dresses at regular bridal boutiques, and may even buy from one of them, I’d like to at least attempt to find the dress I end up picking for a deal! Below I’ve compiled a list of alternative ways to buy wedding dresses. This is by no means a complete list, so if you have others you have heard good things about, please do tell in the comments!

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1. Trunk Shows: A trunk show is when a designer (or their representative) brings their collection to a bridal boutique and provides personal consultations. These trunk shows also typically come with a discount on the designers' dresses. This is a great option if you have already had a chance to go shopping and have found a designer and particular cuts and styles you are drawn to. You wouldn't want a trunk show to be the first time you try on dresses because you might feel pressured by the temporary discount.

Click here for a guide of upcoming trunk shows in some of the major metro areas. Also, if you are in a store and love a certain designer, you can ask your consultant if there is a trunk show coming up for that line.

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2. Discount Stores: I heard about Glamour Closet through my future sis-in-law, fellow E&I blogger and deal-lover, Taya. See her dress post here. She had great success at GC in LA and I feel super lucky that there is also a location here in San Francisco. I will definitely be making a stop by GC before my dress shopping is through.

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3. Pre-owned (aka 'used,' gasp!) wedding dresses: How GORGE is the gown above?! It is Monique Lhuillier, listed for $3,000 - more than $2k off the retail price. The site I found this one on has so many designers - see more at PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com. I think this would be for the bride who has found the exact dress she wants, knows her size and has time to wait and see if it becomes available on the site. You also have to be the type of person who doesn't mind if someone has worn the dress before you. As long as the dress came clean I really wouldn't care that it had already been worn. And, hey, you know the girl who wore it before you must have impeccable taste! ;-)

I recently heard of a company called Nearly Newlywed. Not only can you buy 'nearly new' dresses, but you can also sell your dress to them after your big day (post dry-cleaning, of course). 

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Here are some other resources where you can find used dresses: Once Wed, 100 Layer Cake, SmartBride

Then there is always the option of getting a dress that is not technically a wedding dress, like a white prom dress or something not branded as 'wedding.' I think I am going to stick with the 'wedding dresses', but I could definitely see this working for the right person with a knack for fashion.

Have you considered any alternatives to buying a new dress at a boutique? Did you have a good experience? 

Finding The Right Dress

According to the folks on Say Yes to the Dress, your wedding gown is the most important thing about your wedding. Now while I may not agree with this, I do think it's definitely in the top 3 on the importance meter. (I'm pretty sure for me, the groom is number one (; ) Now when we first got engaged, I thought picking my dress was going to be one of the easiest things. It wasn't. I made a terrible mistake that I think a lot of us girls make, which is to take in too many dresses on TV and the internet. As you can see by my picks below, I was all over the place.

Source: Maggie Sottero, Maggie Sottero

Source: Reem Acra, BHLDN

So because I had no idea what would look right on me, I went on a test trial to a mass produced wedding store, you know the one. I tried on about five dresses, most in what I thought I wanted to wear and two in something different. My idea of the perfect dress was straps or cap-sleeves, something A-Line or a small trumpet. Something that showed my figure without showing all the goods and finally, something I could see myself wearing for 6 plus hours through dinner and dancing and pictures. So me and my mama went into the dressing room with some picks that my amazingly cute and sweet consultant pulled and tried them on. The strapless dresses made me look too hip-y and young, and the dresses with straps made me look like I was playing dress up. It was pretty much a disaster.

So I did what any bride worried they won't find "the one" would do, I looked at more magazines, dress galleries and watched about 5,000 episodes of SYTTD.  Meanwhile I googled the local bridal shops and found that one of them was having a trunk show for a line I had been staring at and bookmarks dresses from.  The day came and armed with print outs of the dresses I had to try on, I walked in with my future mother & sister-in-law and of course my mama. My high hopes came crashing down when I found out the dress I had called ahead to make sure I could try on, wasn't there. I really didn't have much hope for the appointment. Once we began trying on styles that were similar to what I thought I wanted, it was apparent that it was all going the way it went the first time. That is, until I put on the fourth dress.

This dress was shockingly everything I wanted to feel about a dress and very little about what I had pictured in my head. No longer did I feel like a little girl, I was really a woman. Everything thing I put on after just didn't compare. Obviously I can't share the dress with you, but I can share a couple pictures of other dresses that I tried.

Was it love at first wear for you and your dress? 

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