Wedding Planning: The Dress

On Saturday I went to try on wedding dresses for the first time with two friends and my sister. It was so lovely and so much fun! We went to two different shops where we had two very different experiences.

In the first we had a lovely time; very relaxed, happy, chatty, loads of beautiful dresses and a great atmosphere. But in the second it just felt so different. I had to actually try really hard to pick some dresses to try on because there weren’t really any that I loved the look of or were what I wanted. I tried about six on anyway because it’s good to try on styles you didn’t think you wanted in case one really suits you. But there was only one we all liked, and it would need too much doing to it to get it to how I would want it. The atmosphere just wasn’t as relaxed and the lady kept the curtain drawn around me while she perfectly placed the dress for my friends to see and then opened the curtain for me to be viewed! I couldn’t help letting out a “Ta dah” and jazz hands the first time the curtains were pulled back and I was ‘revealed’! The shop was quite dull and old-fashioned and not a great overall experience.

At the first shop that we all really enjoyed, I found a couple of dresses that I liked as did the girls, and one in particular that I’m kinda in LOVE with! My original thought on what I wanted and what shape of dress would suit me best were actually spot on! And even though some of the other dresses in different shapes and styles looked quite pretty, they didn’t do as much for me as the shape I had thought I wanted; which is great! However, the one I can’t stop thinking about is actually made from very different material to what I thought I wanted which is ok with me really; it just takes some getting used to going for something different that you didn’t think you liked or wanted. I also don’t love the bottom of the dress so it isn’t perfect and I am going to keep looking. The girls also really loved THE dress on me and gave me some lovely comments which is nice. They are actually calling it ‘the WOW dress’ which says a lot. And how can I choose another dress after wearing a ‘wow’ dress?! I actually re-tried the other dress that we all really liked after I tried on the ‘wow’ dress and it seemed quite boring to me, even though it certainly wasn’t a boring dress.

There’s just one problem. The dress I want/need/love/can’t stop thinking about is over budget. Surprise surprise! Damn my bloody expensive tastes. But it’s ok! The lady is happy to sell me the sample dress which hasn’t been in the shop that long and would then be in budget! It is also weirdly in my size, which could be a sign that this should be my dress! All of the other dresses that I tried on (about 15) were all too big, and ‘The One: Possibly’ fits me really well! Sooo, because I can only realistically afford the sample (which I am happy with as it looks perfect) I need to make a decision quickly because someone else could steal the dress from me! But, it’s nearly Christmas and there is no time until the new year to go and try more dresses on in other shops. So I am feeling rather anxious and under pressure to buy this dress as soon as possible if I want it!

I have decided to go and try the dress on again with my sister later in the week to see if I still love it, and if I do? Then I still don’t know what I will do. I caaan’t just buy it without trying some others on in the same style, but with a hemline that I like, can I? Can I?! No, I can’t. I’ll just have to keep my fingers REALLY tightly crossed that no-one goes to that shop in the next few weeks, tries ‘my’ dress on, loves it, and is the same size as me. Easy.

If you are married did you find your dress easily or did you try on loads before you found ‘The One’? Or did you never really find ‘The One’, just one that you were happy with? I’d love to hear your experience of trying on wedding dresses.