My thoughts on my selections...

Here are my thoughts on my bridal gown selections…

*Once again, Mr. CC. If you are reading this post, you need to stop reading right now. Seriously!

Gown #1:

I like how clean and simple this gown is. There’s not a long train, but enough of one to make it there and to need a bustle put in. The neckline of this dress with the cap sleeves, or off the shoulder action, really made a beautiful framing of my neck. I have a long neck, and when I went back for the evening appointment, my hair had gotten all crazy from earlier in the day, so I had it clipped on top of my head messily. The hair-do wasn’t all that great, but it really emphasized the neckline of this dress and made for a gorgeous picture of me. It’s a VERY flattering style with the rushing along the sides that acted like a built in “de-mommifier” for my mom’s body. Very classy.

Gown #2:

To be perfectly honest, this was my least favorite gown. It looks better in the white as pictured above, than it did in the cream which is what they had for me to try on in the store. I’m ordering cream in whichever gown I get, so it was nice to see the coloring on me. I didn’t really like that this dress doesn’t have a train, but at the same time, that’s kind of nice so I don’t have to worry about a bustle or people stepping on it and all during the reception. The beading was just enough to give the dress some pop, but it just didn’t completely stand out in my mind when it was on me. If it looked as good as it does in the picture above, I think that I would have had a harder time with this one.

Gown #3:

This was the only gown that I ended up liking with the pick ups in the skirt. The really funny thing is that in almost all of my pages and pages of wedding dress pictures torn out of my magazines, the pick ups are on almost every dress. But when I got there and actually tried it all on, this was the only dress that I actually liked with the pick ups. I tried this on in cream, and there was a black and ivory-beaded sash that Amy put on my a little above the natural waistline and it just jumped out at me. I had not previously liked having color on me anywhere, but that black sash just gave this dress a little extra zing, and I LOVED it. I was a little worried about how the fitted bodice would work with me pre-working-out body, but it looked fabulous. The undergarments and the corset in the back really worked out well. Easily one of my top contenders…

Gown #4:

THIS is the dress that I’ve been drooling over since I started shopping for dresses. I love it, love it, L-O-V-E it! Do you get that I kind of liked this dress? This was also the dress that I talked about the one in my actual size having the different skirt…I didn’t like that skirt and the bodice was more beaded, which was a little much for me. But Amy managed to find this style for me in a size too small for me. I squeezed into it and liked the dress, but had some concerns. I liked it SO much, that I was worried that I just wanted this to be the one because it’s the one that I had been dreaming about for so long. So I wanted to honestly and without prejudice compare this gown to the other gowns that I also loved. This dress is made out of a much thicker (insert heavier) material than the other gowns that I was looking at, and I have some concerns about getting too hot on the dance floor in this dress. Also, this dress was the most expensive of any that I looked at. It was also the one with the biggest discount with the sale that they were running. And lastly, I just expected to “feel” it when I slipped this dress on, and I wasn’t sure that I was truly “feeling” it. I guess I was afraid that it was all in my head…

Gown #5:

This dress was a surprise to me. It was a last minute selection on the Alfred Angelo website for me, and turned out to be one of my favorite dresses. The material is light and airy, which is something that I was concerned with. The dress could be worn with a petty coat or without, depending on how much “poof” I wanted, which was nice too. And the rushing on the side and the beading detail that outlined the rushing had a very nice effect. Paired with a veil that had beading around the edges, it was a stunning picture. The main thing that I didn’t like about this dress was the back closure – it was just a plain ol’ zipper. Sure, it’s easier for me to get in and out of, but I had just fallen for the corset-style back that some of the other dresses had and thought that this zipper with the gauzy material the dress was made out of looked a little cheapish. I mean, I’m all about bargain shopping, but I don’t want to look like I bargain shopped, you know? Maybe it was just the trial dress, and it would be better brand new, but I just wasn’t thrilled with that aspect of this dress.

Having mentioned price above, I’ll address it now. I had gone in with a budget number in my head. I’ve had this number in my head for a while now, just telling myself that I will not spend more than X amount of dollars on my wedding dress. I just can’t justify it for a dress that I will likely only wear one time, you know? The practical side of me just won’t do it. Mr. CC has the exact opposite view on my wedding dress. He doesn’t want me to worry about what I spend on my dress. He wants me to have the dress of my dreams, no matter what it costs…how sweet of him. I love him for having made me that offer, but I just can’t do it.

Amy had been telling me the price of each dress as I tried them all on, and for my favorite five that I couldn’t decide on she was also telling me the amount of the discount that was being given with the sale that was running. She asked at one point if budget was a factor in my decision, and I answered her honestly. There wasn’t a single dress that I was looking at or trying on that didn’t meet my budget. Even the most expensive one was still a couple of hundred dollars below the max on my budget, at regular price. So with that in mind, I didn’t need to commit to buying the dress that day just to get the sales price. Not that the practical side of me would have minded getting that sales price…but still. I wasn’t going to be rushed into a decision if I couldn’t make it that day. There will be other sales, and even if there’s not, it’ll be ok. I just want peace of mind with my decision. If I can make the decision today and also get a discount on the price, then great. If not, so be it.

So, with the help of my friends from afar and my gut leading the way, I went ahead and eliminated Gown #2 from my selection. Amy had assured me that although she would not be there when I came in that evening, that she would have one of the girls put all five dresses into a dressing room and have it ready for me, or if the rest of the afternoon was slow, just leave them as they were in the dressing room that I had been using. Having one dress weeded out of the selection was a big help for me. That meant that I had four dresses that I would be happy to wear to get married in to try on in front of someone to give me more feedback.

So with that in mind, I headed off to Alfred Angelo one more time that day…