Sale Alert!

When I first started looking at wedding dresses online, I fell completely head-over-heels for Rosa Clara, a Spanish designer with lots of beautiful, romantic styles. In particular, I was drooling over this dress, called Languido:























{original photo source: www.rosaclara.es, 09 Collection, jpg via: http://www.duosheng.cn/shangweb/xihun/Languido.html}

So of course I was thrilled to discover that one local bridal salon carries Rosa Clara! A few friends and I headed out to Carine's Bridal in Georgetown. It turns out the Rosa Clara dresses are not for me. What looks lovely on the tall, slender model doesn't quite work on short, curvy me. Ah, well, that's why we go try on dresses!

What I did learn from the experience is that I really like Carine's! It's a very nice store with a good selection and the staff were absolutely sweet. I've been to a few bridal shops around the area and really found this one to be the most comfortable and fun. I ended up going with a preowned dress, which I'll write more about soon, but I would definitely recommend Carine's to anyone who has the budget for it.

Today, I opened up my email to see an advertisement for the Carine's Sample Sale! This Thursday, July 23 from 6 to 9. If you're still in the dress market, I highly suggest you check it out. You should call the store to RSVP - I'm sure it will be busy!

Happy bargain shopping!

how I found my dress

While we're sort of on the topic of dresses, I'll share the story of how I found mine.

I was never against buying a used dress - in fact I was pretty sure that's the route I would go from the beginning. For one thing, in the honest words of Miss Glen Echo, I'm cheap. I could not justify spending thousands of dollars on a dress, no matter how gorgeous it was (not that you shouldn't, if you have the budget for it, I just don't). For another thing, buying a dress already used would help my mission to put on a more eco-friendly wedding. So I started hunting PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, OnceWed.com, etc., well before we were even engaged (blush).

But these other ladies are totally right - you can't (well, shouldn't) buy a used dress online without having tried something similar on so you know it's right for you. Also - why would anyone want to bypass boutique dress shopping?? When else can you have a gaggle of ladies following you around as you basically play dress-up for hours? Actually that sounds ridiculous but man, it was so much fun. Which is why I was almost disappointed that I found my dress on my 2nd shopping excursion!

The first place I went was Ellie's, in Alexandria. I only knew about it because I was a bridesmaid recently for a friend who bought her dress there, so one day when she was going in for a fitting, she made an appointment for me to try on dresses at the same time. They have a really great selection of gorgeous dresses there, and also a ton of bridesmaid dresses (and if you buy your dress from them, your bridal party gets a discount on their dresses). I fell in love with every single dress I tried on, but especially the Jim Hjelm 8763 and the Sarah Danielle 5523 (can't seem to access the Sarah Danielle website right now so that link is to a listing that I MISSED OUT ON, gahhh that was even my size). I am still pining away for that Sarah Danielle dress honestly. But! The Jim Hjelm was $3K and the SD was $2100 ish, so I sighed and passed them up.

I had already marked my calendar for the 2 Running of the Brides events I knew of that were happening this year - one was in April, at the Rockville location, the other was the one coming up this month, at Friendship Heights. I was all excited to camp out and have a group of friends go with me - and then I found out about a sample sale at Priscilla of Boston at Tysons Corner.

dun dun DUNNNN.

I showed up with my mom, and a couple friends came by, and I tried on a few dresses without loving any of them too much. Then just as I was thinking it was about time to get some lunch, my mom suggested I take one more look through the racks, since girls were constantly bringing dresses back they'd tried on and didn't like. I found one that I thought was gorgeous and it fit me nearly perfectly! As soon as I put it on, I really liked it, but when I walked out of the dressing room and my mom burst into tears.. I knew it was the one.

Also, it was marked down from $4,200 to $199. And that day they were doing an additional 20% off. So with tax, it ended up being $167.19. Strapless, full lace overlay with a beautiful chapel length train - and we found maybe 1 small snag in the lace, not even noticeable. I'm still in awe that we found it and got that price. weee!!

So right now I'm in the market for a good wedding dress cleaning service. I'm concerned because it's all lace. Anybody know a good place in the DC area I can trust? I've heard so many horror stories of dresses ruined during the cleaning/preservation.

Nicole Miller Bridal on Rue La La

FYI, everyone, there is a Nicole Miller Bridal Boutique opening on Rue La La on Monday, March 30 at 11am! If you've dreamed of bring a Nicole Miller bride and want to get a deal, you need to be there!

What's Rue La La? It's an invitation only website that offers online sample sales. "Boutiques" of particular designers and brands open for 2-3 days, allowing shoppers to score AMAZING deals.
Some current and upcoming boutiques include Badgley Mischka, Nicole Miller Dress, and Eva Franco. Past sales include Honora, Lilly Puliltzer, and Kate Spade. Rue La La also has one of their famous "Final Sale" boutiques opening tomorrow morning at 11am! Once or twice a year RLL clears out all the unsold and/or returned items. They are promising more than 30 designers to be included in this sale, so it's sure to be a good one!

Just e-mail me at fairfaxmiss@gmail.com by Sunday at 5pm and I'll send you an invitation to join the site in time for the Nicole Miller sale!

Hitched Salon Sample Sale

I signed up for e-mails from Hitched Salon in Georgetown when I first started looking for my wedding dress. The post about the sale at Carine's reminded me that I had an e-mail in my inbox from the Hitched gals about their sample sale!

This coming Thursday, June 12, from 5pm to 8pm, Hitched will be offering a selection of sample gowns at a discount. No appointments are needed, but they do recommend arriving early!

Hitched
Bridal Couture+Creative Planning Salon
1523 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007
202-333-6162

There are photos on the Hitched Website (click on Sample Sale) of some of the dresses available, but I've posted two of my favorites below.

I really love the pleated bodice on this dress. I've noticed this
use of fabric to create unique details on quite a few dresses lately.
I think it's a nice alternative to lots of beading or sparkles.

I'm a big fan of all-over lace dresses too!
And how often to do you see a non-strapless wedding gown?

Oh, and can't forget the shoes!!

Imagine these lil' cuties in baby blue with white stitching.
I tried these on the last time I was at Hitched and
they are adorable, nice low heel and comfy too.

In fact the sales lady told me that Cynthia Rowley made
the blue version specifically for Hitched.
All you brides looking for something blue, be sure to check out the sale.

All photos from www.hitchedsalon.com