The Hunt for the Dress: The Trilogy is Complete (Maybe)

I'm back from the wedding this weekend! It was beautiful and I promise to recap in a few days, but first I've got to finish up my "Hunt for the Dress" tale.

When we left off in Part Dos I had come across a number of great inexpensive dresses at Macy's, Nordstrom, Nicole Miller, etc. However, I didn't want to completely discount traditional bridal salons. Even though I was 99% sure I would find my dress elsewhere, I kind of wanted the experience of going into a salon and trying on dresses (how many times in your life do you get to shop for a wedding dress anyway??). Plus, I thought it would be a really fun mother/daughter bonding activity.

I visited two salons in Northern Virginia--a friend and I kind of went on a whim, no appointments. Making an appointment is nearly always recommended though!! I also visited two salons in Southern Virginia with my mom. Both times it was a great experience. Trying dresses on turned out to be much more fun than I ever thought, especially with my mom there!

So here are some thoughts I have on salons:

• Just because you're on a smaller budget doesn't mean you have to avoid salons (this is what I thought at the start of my search). Different salons carry inventory in different price ranges. Some salons do carry inventory starting at $3,000, but others carry dresses beginning under $1,000! Do your research and find a salon that fits you. Price ranges are often listed on salon websites (check The Knot too). If you can't find it there, call the salon and ask!
  

• In my humble opinion, one of the top advantages of salons if having a LOT of dresses in one place. Sometimes the convenience factor can trump the cost factor.
  

• Depending on the salon, the owners or management may have the ability to drop the price a little. I fell in love with a dress at one of the NoVa salons I visited, but I knew it was out of my budget. At the end of my visit, I let the sales associate know I really liked the dress, but it was a little out of my budget. She spoke with the owner and they were able to offer me a 10% discount if I decided to come back and order the dress. I can't say if this is common, but it can't hurt to let the shop know you love the dress, it's just a little out of your reach.
  

• Don't discount sample sales (haha, just a little shopping humor). If your budget allows for the purchase of a pricier dress (say in the $3,000), a sample sale with discounts of 60% can be an excellent way to save on your gown. That'd be a $3,000 dress for $1,200! Also if you really have your heart set on a specific designer, and you've made the dress a priority in your wedding budget, sample sales can make it more do-able.
  

• Ask to see the destination wedding dresses! At one salon I visited in Richmond, I saw a wedding dress I just had to try on! It was super glamorous, lots of pleats, these gorgeous roses along the neck line. It was a dress from the destination wedding line of a very expensive designer. The price? $489! Many designers these days are making lines especially for destination weddings. The fabric usually travels a little better than say, a big taffeta ball gown, but that's the main difference. Most destination gowns I've seen are perfectly at home in a garden, a church, or a beach front resort!

Does anyone have other good tips for salon shopping?

Ok, this tale of the dress is quickly becoming quite the epic. Check back tomorrow for the final installment!

Help Me Find Some Shoes!

So in two weeks Husband and I go to Michigan for the last wedding in our season of weddings this year. I'm excited b/c it's going to be a Palestinian/Chinese/American wedding so it should be a lot of fun.

I bought the below dress to wear to the reception and now I'm trying to find some shoes. I'd love to find some really fun blue shoes that go with the dress, but as that may be hard to find I'll probably have to go with silver. I'm looking for something that is 3 inches or less, has no ankle strap (i'm short, don't want to cut my legs off), and is the $100 or less range (give or take a few) has anyone seen something lately that they think would go well?


^Maggy London Cutaway Silk Chiffon Halter Dress


For the same wedding, I got this next dress for the rehearsal party the night before (OOT guests are invited). I'm kind of stumped for shoes for this one as well. What color do you think would go well and what style?

^BCBGMaxazria Cap Sleeve Jersey Dress

I've checked all the usual online places (Zappos, Endless, Nordstrom, Piperlime etc.) but still haven't really struck gold. Or maybe I missed something great?

Oh Orchids!

O.K., as much as I loved the look of classic callas for my own wedding, the next time I plan a wedding I think the below orchid bouquet would be pretty amazing. The stark simplicity is just breathtaking.

All photos below from the wedding of Malia and Jeff as captured by photographer W. Scott Chester.



As you can see the bride was perfectly accessorized with a great pair of earrings and a simple veil. And I just loved her mom's look too...the vibrant dress and sexy shoes are mom appropriate but not old lady. And how cute is that flower in her hair?

The Hunt for the Dress: Part Dos

**Ok, blogger and I made up. See the pictures below!**

My first stop on my Non-Bridal Salon Bridal Gown Search was my perennial source for all formal dress needs: Macy's!

The great thing about department stores is that most actually HAVE a bridal shop, so you can hunt through there and then you've still got the whole evening gown section to peruse. Some sites, Nordstrom comes to mind, will even allow you to search by color so you can really zero in on what you're looking for. As Miss Westend noted in her post below, there are quite a few lovely and inexpensive white dresses out there in Department Store Land.

Check this one out from Macy's, the light champagne color is really flattering. I can totally see myself in this at an intimate, candle-lit evening ceremony.

From the Macy's website I progressed to Nordstrom (tons of great finds!), I even checked out my favorite department store down home where my mama lives, Dillards. I EVEN checked Sears and JC Penney. Hey, my mama mail-ordered her dress from Penney's in 1981 for $300, how awesome would it be if I did the same? I'm an equal opportunity shopper. I discriminate against no deal.

One shoulder gowns are quite the thing right now, I've seen this
element pop on more than one bridal gown trend list.

And what's this? Does Tia Mowrey shop at Dillards?!
(From InStyle Weddings)

While I was perusing the department store websites, I was also clicking on every "How to Save Money on Your Wedding Dress" and "Brides On A Budget" article the internets had to offer. One name I kept seeing over and over in reference to inexpensive dresses was Nicole Miller. I must confess, I'm only familiar with Nicole Miller because my favorite Lilly Store over in Old Town (Hey there, Tickled Pink) carries a few of her pieces.

Boy, was I blown away the first time I went to the Nicole Miller website! I mean, just gorgeous [sigh]. Some of the dresses are pricey, but there are a several reasonable options. There's a Nicole Miller store in the Tysons Galleria.

I was really loving on this one for awhile
(from www.nicolemiller.com via partypop.com)

Some other makers that are worth checking our for lower cost white dresses are BCBG and Jessica McClintock. BCBG has quite a few unique white gowns out right now and they have outlet locations in Williamsburg, Leesburg, and Rehobeth. There is a Jessica McClintock shop in Tysons Mall and it's absolutely worth a look if you're looking for something with a lot of glamor or more of a ball-gown style dress.
BCBG

BCBG


Jessica McClintock

Jessica McClintock

Oh, and to leave no stone unturned, I checked out Target too. I'm very thorough, what can I say.

So I had all these gorgeous white dresses whirring around in my head, occupying my dreams at night and totally preventing me from being productive at work (shhh, don't tell my boss!), but I wasn't done yet. I had a few more avenues to traverse before I would meet the one. :)

The Hunt for the Dress: Part 1

In one of the comment sections in a previous post, I mentioned that I had a somewhat "alternative" dress search. I was NOT looking forward to dress shopping AT ALL. I imagined it to be some evil spawn hatched when bathing suit shopping and jeans shopping got together and procreated. Boo.

+ = :(

It didn't really help my attitude when I started reading (aka obsessing) over wedding magazines and dress maker websites and realized what the wedding industry thought they could get me to pay for a wedding dress. Well, much like Meg over at A Practical Wedding, I don't much care for being told what to do.

Like any bride, I wanted a beautiful dress, I wanted to feel like a bride, but I realized, if I was going to stick to the firm budget I set, I'd have to get a little creative. Has anyone told you yet, that the minute you tell a vendor you're searching for a wedding [insert anything here: dress, venue, cake, three-ring circus...anything!] the price doubles? I'm sure you have because I've hear it upteem times, and I've only been engaged 6 months with 16 to go. Thinking on this little tidbit, I started investigating where I could look for a white dress outside of your typical bridal salon.

To be continued...

photos via oldnavy.com and johnlewis.com

Marching To Your Own Drummer

It's been a while since I featured a BadA$$ Bride, but this lady qualifies! Pink and white dress? Seen it. Black and white? Yeah seen that too. Pink, black, and white....the hair....the shoes...awesome.

Photos credited to John Michael Cooper of alt.f from the wedding of Staysi and David

Lush from Labbancz

Now on the complete other side of the spectrum from Jenna Bush's casual soiree is this lavish wedding that Marie Labbancz had on her blog today. Even though my personal tastes learn towards the modern and subdued, it's a bit of voyeuristic fun for me to see really romantic style weddings like the one below. Hey, if you're going to go lush then you need to go all out!


^The Brides dress was a Pnina Tornai gown from Kleinfeld Bridals . I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen a white dinner jacket and tie combination (as opposed to bow tie) but I'm liking it.


^Check out that back! Silk Roses were a theme throughout the wedding


^I've often expressed my love for long tables as opposed to round...need I say more?


^Silk roses were incorporated into the invites as well


^Normally I really hate when flowergirls are dressed up as little brides (as I'm sure you can tell by my flowergirl dress) . But this dress is just so much fun I think any little girl would feel like she was in heaven in it.


^Both of the tuxes were custom made


^And of course we can't forget the cake

For more pics check out Marie's blog.

Pink Week Tribute

One of the many wedding blogs I have in my reader is, of course, Elizabeth Anne Designs. All this week over there has been "Pink Week" so if this is your wedding color it's a must read.

Personally I'm not big on pink at weddings but if you have to go pink I think you should TOTALLY embrace it. Go all out!

So since today is Friday I'd like to post the below dress I saw today on Nordstrom.com in honor of a very fun and inspiring Pink Week.

It's a Kay Unger with pleated ruching, an obi style tie at the waist, and it is made out of multiple tones of iridescent silk taffeta. I officially declare it the most perfect pink bridesmaid dress in the world.

New JCrew Dresses are In

FYI if you are still looking for bridesmaid dresses or you are going to be a guest at a summer
wedding -






^ Polka-dot Rosette Dress - $168





^Portico Wrap Dress - $150


^Jillian Strapless Dress - $295



^Strappy Florence Dress - $250 and Strapless Florence Dress - $250

Yellow Makes Me Happy

Tomorrow is April 1st, we're way into Spring, flowers and trees are blooming and budding....so why the heck is it gray, cold, and drizzly outside??

I don't know, but when I saw the below images in my blog reader today they made me happy.

All images below credited to Kristina of Vrai Photography. Check out her blog for more.

Moving On Up: Casey Templeton Photography

One photographer I've had my eye on for a little while now is central Virginia based photographer Casey Templeton. Casey won the 2005 College Photographer of the Year award and shot for National Geographic as part of an internship in 2006.


Since that time he has been shooting weddings, and even though he's a relative newbie to the whole wedding scene I can see how talented he is, and how much more talented he's becoming with each new wedding on his blog. In a few years I think he's going to be the photographer we all wish we could afford but can't!

In my opinion he's been blessed with some really beautiful and stylish brides. Below is just an example!


All photos below the work of Casey Templeton

^Is this dress not the most unique thing you've seen? (you can click to enlarge)



^Here is an up-close pic of the back (you can click to enlarge)

^I love this brides unique bouquet and those beautiful gold doors

Fresh Flower Girld Dresses from JCrew

I'm loving the modern fresh looks for flower girl outfits from JCrew. I'm not loving the prices...especially for a little girl's dress she can't wear 6 months from now, but I love that everyone is moving away from the "mini-wedding dress" look that flower girl dresses of the past have had.



^The flower details around the bottom of the Flora Dress are really beautiful. Also available in white for you purists. - $168


^Mod Abigail Dress - $98



^Jeweled Grace Dress. Also available in Bright Berry. $248.00


^These Jeweled Ballet Flats look like something mom could wear too. Also available in clover. $118 (hey that how much I'd pay for adult shoes!).

A Tale of Two Veils and Two Shops

From the beginning of my wedding planning, I was pretty sure I wanted to wear a drop veil like the one pictured below.

^Photo credited to the super talented D.C. photographer Chris Baltazar. To see more of the beautiful bride check out the wedding of Heather and Moses on his blog!

I wanted my veil to be very sheer and simple, and I knew that I would not spend big bucks on a veil. Many of the veils I tried on at the shop ranged from $300-700. I had heard good things about Occansey Design and Veil Shop so I looked at both for a cheap drop veil. They both had them, but Veil Shop allows returns and Occansey Design does not, so I ordered two different lengths from Veil Shop. Overall it took about two weeks to get the veils in.

Unfortunately, it seems I'm just not a drop veil type of girl. I was swimming in fabric, it was unwieldy, and it just looked messy on me. Maybe I wasn't putting it on right, I don't know, but I knew I'd be fussing with it all day if I kept it for the wedding. So back they went. I haven't gotten my refund yet, but it's only been about a week since I sent them back. Otherwise my experience with Veil Shop was quite good and I'd recommend them.

So it was back to the drawing board. The problem was I had always envisioned myself in a drop veil, so I had no idea what type of veil would look good. I needed to try on a lot of different veils just to see the different styles, but I didn't want the hassle of going to a normal bridal shop and getting pressured to buy one of those $500 veils. So off to David's Bridal I went! It was awesome! They had a ton of veils in all different lengths and styles and they left me alone to try on to my heart's content. No pressure! I have to say, though, even their veils were still a little expensive ($100-250). Here is what I found out:

Length
I like long veils. But not TOO long. Regal Length and Cathedral length were out. All the fabric was so difficult to manage. Chapel length was manageable but still seemed slightly bothersome to keep up with. Waltz length would have been too short, though. I needed something in between.

Blusher
I've always known I wanted to wear a blusher, but I discovered that I did not want something as long as a fingertip length blusher, but I did want the blusher to be longer then shoulder length.

Fullness
And finally, I confirmed my earlier suspicions that poof = evil. I still wanted something really simple and sheer like a drop veil but that had more structure and that would drape behind my back instead of all around me. The poof of the veil around your head/face is measured by the width of the veil fabric. The wider the fabric, the more gatherings there will be at the comb, which results in a poofier look. Standard width for most veils is 72in. Extra full is around 108in, and sheer is 54in.

So armed with this information I went back to Veil Shop to see what I could order. Sadly, their veils start at the standard width and they didn't have any veils between the waltz and chapel length. So I popped back over to Occansey Designs. Occansey Designs can customize your veil in pretty much any manor you could want. So after looking at a ton of their picture galleries I decided I wanted the below:


^ A floor length veil of 76in long. This was a great compromise b/t the chapel and waltz lengths. I got the length I wanted without the hassle (note: my veil does NOT have rhinestones!)

^ A blusher that was elbow length. Once again, the perfect compromise between fingertip and shoulder length. Average elbow length is 29in but I customized mine to 27in, cause I'm short and the model is like 5'10. If I had to change anything I would go back and get the 29in, but really it's not that important (note: my blusher does NOT have rhinestones!)

I also had the above veil specially cut to a SUPER sheer width at the top of just 25 inches while retaining the width at the bottom of 54 inches. If I had to do it again I probably would have gotten the ULTRA sheer of just 12 wide at the top. 12inches = minimal poof.

The great thing about Occansey Designs was the super cheap price of $63 with taxes and shipping, and the 1 week turnaround for delivery. The only bad thing is that you can't return anything, so you better have a pretty good idea of what you are looking for. If I had to do it again I would make small adjustments here and there, but overall I really like the veil...it's a keeper! It gives me the sheer look of the drop veil that I wanted but it also gives me the structure of a normal veil that I needed.

Merry Maids

Happy V-Day everyone! Or as my sister says "Happy Single Awareness Day!" But if you are reading this Blog you probably aren't single. Fiance and I don't have any crazy plans...just going out for a nice dinner.

Anywho, I'm happy to say a decision on bridesmaid dresses has finally been made. As I posted before, I was having trouble finding dresses. As a quick recap...I really wanted the dresses to be 1) in the right shade of a vibrant kelly green and 2) I wanted something that would be flattering and that they wouldn't feel miserable in because 2 of my 3 bridesmaids are full figured and full figured bridesmaids usually get the short end of the stick in the wedding world and 3) Didn't cost a fortune, which for me meant it had to be $200 or less and 4) I really wanted something that had a sleeve to it so my bridesmaids wouldn't feel exposed.

So these requirements basically ruled out any "typical" bridesmaid dress since 95% of these are all strapless, made for super skinny people, really expensive (usually for no apparent reason since most come in horrible fabrics and are simple designs), and none are in the right shade.

I scoured the internet daily for months, hoping to find something that fit these requirements. And in the end I didn't get exactly what I wanted but I came pretty darn close.

I saw this first dress in Macys and the color was AMAZING. So much more rich then the picture below. I decided to run it by my most fashion concious bridesmaid who is also full figured to see what she thought and she LOVED it. I knew if she loved it then we were on the right track.

^The dress is a sleeveless silk dress from Maggy London and it is in a color called "Absynthe." As we were looking at the dress we realized there were a few other dresses also from Maggy London and in the same "Absynthe" color. There were 4 dresses total so I've told my bridesmaids they can chose whichever dress they feel the best in and like the most.


^One of my bridesmaids adored this dress, ordered it, and loved it even better on. Sadly it's sold out now but she's thrilled that she actually LIKES the dress she'll be wearing.


^Another of my bridesmaids likes this silk chiffon halter dress best.


^My last bridesmaid is deciding between this surplice chiffon dress , the halter dress above and the very first sleeveless dress that I orignally liked. She's ordered all 3 to see which will look best.

I've also had a friend who was visiting Hong Kong pick up some white pashminas for the girls just in case they want to cover their arms/shoulders.

The best part of all of this? The price! Almost all the dresses were on sale. 1 dress was only $44, another is $74, another is $87, and even the most expensive one is only $140. That's not too bad!

I'm really happy that I was able to find a color that I loved, styles that they all loved and could chose themselves, and prices that wouldn't be too much of a burden on them. I also think the color will look great in photos.

In the end...it doesn't matter how cute you think a certain bridesmaid dress is...if your bridesmaids have layers of armpit fat hanging over the top of that strapless dress, have a color that washes them out and makes them look dead, have a fit that makes them so uncomfortable that they don't feel like dancing or even smiling then that super cute bridesmaid dress will just be ugly in pictures.

I know it's hard but do try to find something that everyone will be happy with even if that means you have to make some exceptions to your vision of what you think you wanted. Compromise is the best choice in the end. Your bridesmaids will thank you for it. Mine have.

Flower Girl Dress - Check!

So last month I was talking about how much I liked Dillards for unique and fun flower girl dresses, that didn't look like mini-bridal gowns. Well I went back last night to browse around and saw this PERFECT dress. The colors match my wedding colors exactly and it was only $45.00 so I went right ahead and ordered it. I think we're going to replace the belt with a white ribbon and there is a possibility it could be a little big for my flowergirl so it might need some alterations. I'm thinking white patent shoes with white tights or white ruffly socks. I can't wait to see this dress in pictures...if they had a big girl version I'd wear it too...

And The Bride Wore....Cotton??

I recently stumbled across a really unique line of bridal dresses called The Cotton Bride by designer Chris Cole. Most of us dream of silks, satins, tulle and organza (nevermind most wedding dresses are polyester blends nowadays) but the entire Cotton Bride line is made out of earth friendly natural fabrics...and the majority of the dresses really are made out of Cotton!

Looking at the dresses it's amazing what can be done with "the fabric of our lives." The cottons are from all over the world and a lot of attention is paid to details. These dresses are ideal for the "green" bride who wants to minimize the impact her wedding has on the world or even for destination brides (unlike polyester, cotton breathes in 100% humidity). The styles are modern, feminine, and flirty (say goodbye to hippie stereotypes).

The best thing is a cotton dress can easily be dyed after your wedding and turned into an entirely different dress.





I love the detail shots below.

Fun Flower Girls

I haven't started seriously looking for flower girl dresses yet, but I have been keeping an eye out. Some of the things I don't want - anything that looks like a mini-wedding dress for children, anything that's insanely priced (for me this is anything anywhere near $100 for a child's piece of clothing), and I wanted something that would make for good photos.

I've been casually browsing my usual haunts like Nordstrom.com, Macys.com, etc. and then I decided to check out Dillards.com. We don't have Dillards in this part of the country, but we do in my home state. I don't know if it's because I'm originally from the south and we southerners love dressing up little girls (early and often), but Dillards had a much wider selection, a MUCH more creative selection, and a much CHEAPER selection.

Here are some of the cutie choices I'm loving for spring -



^Rare Editions European Print Dress - $45.00

^Bonnie Jean Dot Dress - $38.00 . This one is a serious contender since it has my wedding color green in it.

^Bonnie Jean Floral Dress - $36.00

^Bonnie Jean Dot Trimmed Gingham Dress - $36.00

Vintage Accessories

If you read any wedding blogs at all then you've already heard about Stephanie James' vintage glam wedding dresses. If you love those then you should check out her blog because she just debuted a new line of vintage style wedding hair accessories. They aren't for every bride, but if you love the vintage look or just want a beautiful flower in your hair that not every bride will have then just look below. Don't forget to check out her blog for additional styles.

Adorning Your Maids

If you are looking to coordinate your bridesmaids' jewelry (notice I didn't say match...let everyone be unique!) then you should check out Chemistry Bridal. They have different styles of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings available in 16 different colors. The best part is that prices range from $25-75, so giving these as gifts will not break the bank. The necklaces and bracelets can also be monogrammed with each persons initials. Each piece is made to order. They also carry gold, silver, pearl, and crystal colored jewelry so you might find something that goes with your dress as well.

BadA$$ Brides

I love brides who are traditional enough to want the whole wedding thing but unconventional enough to not be forced into a stereotype of what a bride should be. Not everyone is a fairy princess bride and you shouldn't feel like you have to be (no matter what your mother says). Whether it's rockin a non-white dress or letting your tattoos show instead of trying to hide them, just make sure you make your day authentic to who you are.

All pics from Our Labor of Love (click to enlarge!)

^Yes the bride wore blue and it looked awesome

^I love how the girl bird cake topper had a matching blue dress and the boy bird had an eye-patch

^How great is this dress? So girly and ruffly yet it also flows well with the tattoos

^Just make sure your ear gauges match!

Tobi - For the Look You Need

Ok, you are the bride. In my, never again to be humble opinion, I think you should look fabulous during the entire planning process. Let the radiant glow of engagement be upon you. The reality is though that many of my brides are so busy frantically researching, planning, working, studying and DIY’ing that they’ve let themselves go.

Help has arrived! I need for you to head on over to Tobi.com for some really fantastic fashions and bring your man. Tobi has really fantastic items for both of you. Fall is here and what’s better than cashmere. Vince sweaters are the way to go. I especially love the babydoll sweater. Couple it with a pair of Paige jeans and have your honey grab one of these fantastic by Diesel jackets to toss in the backseat and you are ready to hit the road and negotiate with any vendor out there! While over at Tobi be sure to take a peek at the Beauty Bar, again for Him and Her.
Billy Jealousy is a must try. What better way to really get HIM into a skin regime (just don’t call it that.) Lastly, be responsible and cruise through their eco-friendly shop, Eco-Tobi, an entire green shopping area. While there peruse their neat findings from an eco-friendly visit to Costa Rica. Get on it!