Don't fear the ruching
Posted on | Sunday, January 30, 2011 | 2 Comments
Yesterday I ventured into the land of taffeta and tulle along with Katy and my Mom in an attempt to find my wedding dress. We went to two bridal boutiques - one that is locally owned called Moliere that sells couture dress and the other was David's Bridal.
Can I say right now that the two experiences were polar opposites?
Moliere had three brides in the small shop, and while it made the space was slightly crowded the consultants were right beside their customers one hundred percent of the time. I felt like a bride and really enjoyed trying on the mountains of fabric and hopping onto a tiny box to be critiqued. If nothing else the service I received there makes me want to purchase my dress from them.
First stop was at Moliere. Lots and lots of tulle. Mountains of tulle. Getting into these dresses was akin to swimming; you dive in head (or arms) first and flail a bit until you reach the surface. Oh, and if you are like me and rarely wear such large amounts of fabric learning how to gracefully walk while your legs are encompassed in layer upon layer is quite the challenge.
This dress was very pretty. But when I tried to sit in it I could hardly breathe let alone get back up on my own. Although it did make me look about fifteen pounds slimmer.
It was really fun to try on all the dresses, and my consultant Terra (who you can see behind me in this picture) was really fun to work with. Yay for people who enjoy their work! It definitely makes a world of difference to the person that they are working with.
Meet my corner. It was a tight fit since within twenty minutes of us trying dresses on the other fitting rooms filled with about eight bridesmaids who could not understand that "excuse me!" means "please move before I kick you". One of them actually stepped on the train of my dress which nearly sent me keeling to the floor. Not fun.
We spent about half an hour looking at veils and shoes while waiting for my consultant to finishing doing... something. I tried on a few of the birdcage veils and realized they are finicky little buggers. Oh, and that most of the shoes had a heel high enough to make my feet cry just from looking at them. What's so hard about carrying a cute easy to wear 2-3" heel?
Then we tried on dresses. I only spent about five minutes in each before going onto the next, but it did help me to realize the kind of style I like. And that tea length dresses and I do not get along well, regardless of how much I wished the opposite.
Ultimately I found two dresses I loved before we left. At least I have gotten it down to three (one of which I love more than the other two) from the eighteen or so I tried on yesterday, and hopefully in the next week or two I will make my final decision and place an order. Everyone says that once you have your dress everything else falls into place.
At David's Bridal the only word that comes to mind is "pandemonium". I had made an appointment over a month in advance and as I was waiting to be see three walk-ins came in also wanting to try wedding dresses who were taken back before my consultant was able to greet me. It took forty-five minutes (during which I was told to "look at shoes") to get to a consultant and smooshed into a mirror-lined corner as I tried on dresses. Perhaps it was because the weekend in busy, but I felt pressured to pick a dress just to get out of the cramped space.
Talk about being frazzled! I found dresses I really loved at both stores. And I think I might have found "The Dress", although as I think about it this morning over a cup of warm coffee I keep looking back at the other two dresses I fell in love and having second thoughts. I think I might go back on a weekday and try on the three again and make a better decision that isn't based off of a feeling of claustrophobia.
It definitely was an experience, I'll say that much.
It definitely was an experience, I'll say that much. And before anyone asks, no I am not going to show pictures of the three dresses I am in love with. At least not until I actually choose one and make a down payment. But! I can show you pictures of me trying on dresses and being a ridiculous goof-ball.
Not that that's anything new.
First stop was at Moliere. Lots and lots of tulle. Mountains of tulle. Getting into these dresses was akin to swimming; you dive in head (or arms) first and flail a bit until you reach the surface. Oh, and if you are like me and rarely wear such large amounts of fabric learning how to gracefully walk while your legs are encompassed in layer upon layer is quite the challenge.
This dress was very pretty. But when I tried to sit in it I could hardly breathe let alone get back up on my own. Although it did make me look about fifteen pounds slimmer.
It was really fun to try on all the dresses, and my consultant Terra (who you can see behind me in this picture) was really fun to work with. Yay for people who enjoy their work! It definitely makes a world of difference to the person that they are working with.After spending over an hour at Moliere Mom and I scarfed down lunch and hustled across town to David's. There were dresses. So many dresses. It was a bit overwhelming to think that a person could find their own idea of the perfect dress from the aisles and aisles of plastic wrapped bridal fare.
Meet my corner. It was a tight fit since within twenty minutes of us trying dresses on the other fitting rooms filled with about eight bridesmaids who could not understand that "excuse me!" means "please move before I kick you". One of them actually stepped on the train of my dress which nearly sent me keeling to the floor. Not fun.
We spent about half an hour looking at veils and shoes while waiting for my consultant to finishing doing... something. I tried on a few of the birdcage veils and realized they are finicky little buggers. Oh, and that most of the shoes had a heel high enough to make my feet cry just from looking at them. What's so hard about carrying a cute easy to wear 2-3" heel?
Then we tried on dresses. I only spent about five minutes in each before going onto the next, but it did help me to realize the kind of style I like. And that tea length dresses and I do not get along well, regardless of how much I wished the opposite.Oh. And I have a tattoo, in case no one knew this. Yes, it's huge. And I love that I have it. Moving on.
Ultimately I found two dresses I loved before we left. At least I have gotten it down to three (one of which I love more than the other two) from the eighteen or so I tried on yesterday, and hopefully in the next week or two I will make my final decision and place an order. Everyone says that once you have your dress everything else falls into place. That means I won't need that paper bag again, right?
... Right?
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OCD Powers Activate
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About
I was born and raised in California. I have also lived in Hungary, Texas, Alabama, Oklahoma, and I will be moving again this summer. Kael is my incredibly awesome kiddo who is growing up far too quickly, and Alex is my fiance who makes me happier than should be legally allowed. I write about them a lot. I'm mildly obsessed with cooking and photography. I write about those things, too.
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January 30, 2011 at 12:25 PM
i love the one of you that is the 3rd pic of you in the dress - i think it has a little flower off to the side....looks fantastic on you!! :)
January 30, 2011 at 12:34 PM
One other thing -- a friend of mine mentioned that you can buy discontinued dresses (for $99) from various stores -- she found the one that you had originally picked out online (the tea-length one with the different colored sashes), but it was the wrong size. But she found it in about five minutes (and didn't even know what it looked like except from my verbal description). Just in case you were interested.