Wedding Planning: Dress Shopping

     Well...So much for my calligraphy goal haha.  This month has been consumed with wedding planning!  I decided to move the wedding up a month based on weather patterns in my parents' town since we will be getting married in their back yard!

     The new date is August 18th and this past weekend was a busy one!  I'm so thankful for my sister and mom throughout all of this.  They have been awesome to bounce ideas off of, kept me company through all of the vendor visits so far, and my sis gave me quite the fashion show of bridesmaid dresses!  I think she's tried on over 15 dresses at David's Bridal recently.

Here's what I learned while dress shopping last weekend!

     I chose David's Bridal as my starting point because they have tons of dresses to choose from and if you find a winner, you can take it home with you that day!  I was assigned to a consultant who was working with me and another bride (I happened to choose a busy Saturday to shop).  My sister and mom were with me and the consultant gave us a quick tour of the store and left us in the dress aisles so she could go help her other bride for a few minutes. 

     The dresses are hanging in huge, see-through bags so you can kind of pull them out to see the detail.  My sister pointed one out and I immediately loved it.  The consultant came back to take it to a room for me and we found one other dress for me to try on that she took as well.  When you're in the room, your consultant gives you a bra in your size and a slip.  You put the slip on and put the bra against you so she can come in and fasten the back for you because the bra has the cups attached to a part that goes around your rib cage as well.  There's probably a name for that but I have no idea haha.  She fastened me up and told me to put my arms out like I was going to dive into the dress and slipped it over me and fastened the back. 

     The dress was already my exact size so that was thumbs up number one.  I walked out and stepped up onto the platform and my mom started crying a little (thumbs up number two!)  When I saw it I immediately loved it and everyone said my face lit up. (Winner!)  It made me feel beautiful and it was flattering and I could have walked out right then only having tried that one on but I thought since it was a huge deal I should try on more. 

     My consultant helped me out of that one and into another.  I really liked that one too but it didn't get nearly the same reaction.  My consultant brought over two more that were similar to my taste but those were the same as the second.  It's VERY fun trying on such beautiful flattering dresses by the way :). 

     My consultant then put me back into the first dress so that we could see it once more and she could try some accessories on me.  She found a matching set of veil pieces and it looked amazing but for some reason I couldn't stomach paying $150 for a piece of lace that I was only going to wear once.  I had no idea there were 3 parts to a veil and for anyone who has not shopped for a veil before...they're dang expensive!  Just the one piece I'd probably be interested in was $150!  My mom is pretty handy in the sewing dept so she's going to make one instead. 

     I can't remember what all of the pieces are called but there is a short part that starts at the top of the head or in front of where a pony tail/bun would be and falls behind you around armpit length, there is another one that hooks in underneath where the pony/bun would be and has varying lengths but this one is pretty long (they probably make them to be as long as your train if you wanted that but $$$!), and the last part is the duster?  It's the part that covers your face.  If I had to buy these I'd only get the short one that goes behind me but since mommy is making them it might be cute/romantic to have the one that covers the face also!

     Something else to think about is you should buy the bra and slip with the dress because they help it look the way it was meant to and help your posture.  That was an added expense I didn't expect.  I did get approved for a $2500 line of credit with David's Bridal though so that REALLY helped.  The dress was $450, the bra was $80 (I think) and the slip must have been somewhere around the same price as the bra.

(This is my dress!  Not me in it...I need to work on my posture first haha)

     David's Bridal also offers a photography service that you can pay for with your David's line of credit.  That frees up a lot of cash to use for other parts of the wedding!  I also wanted to pay for the bridesmaid dresses for the girls so those will be going on the card as well.

     As a last note about David's Bridal...I read some bad reviews about it and went in a little worried about how my experience would be.  SERIOUSLY Great service from these people!

• I made a last minute appointment on their busiest day of the week and was still treated to AMAZING service. 
• Like I said, my consultant was helping me and another bride at the same time but did not ever rush me or run off without answering questions. 
• She never left me unattended for long periods of time and she was really warm and friendly the whole time.
• The manager got all of my items together at the front desk for my consultant to help free up her time to finish the other bride's appointment and offered the line of credit application to me and I was approved within a matter of mintues.
• I decided against the veil and she didn't pressure me into buying it at all.
• They didn't have the particular slip I need for my skirt so it needed to be ordered and they provided me with a special receipt for that and an expected date for arrival.
• We decided to spend a few minutes looking for bridesmaid dresses while we were there and though our appointment was well over, they still provided us with a new dressing room.
• I've called the store a few times with questions and all of the employees that answer have been polite and helpful, even for a complicated question that took about 15 minutes to research and answer.
• My sister and I went in without an appointment to try on bridesmaid dresses and they immediately provided a dressing room and consultant for us (this was also on another busy saturday).
• I noticed another bride trying on the same dress I had bought and I pointed it out to my sis saying "I think that's the same dress" and as the manager and another consultant walked by and overheard, they both remembered me and confirmed it.
• One last thing...When you find the dress you love they bring out a cute bell with lace on it and you get to ring it.  I heard a ring or two while we were there but had no idea what it was for before they brought that out for me.  We got pictures of me in the dress with the bell and with my mom and sister.  Such a cute little tradition :)

For anyone that lives near Victorville, CA, I highly recommend this David's Bridal!  Amber was my consultant but all of the ladies here are amazing.