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I definitely want a fabulous dress that makes me feel beautiful, but I refuse to go into debt (ok, go into further debt) for it. So when it came time for me to begin the dress shopping process, I scoured the internet for lower cost options, bound and determined to find a dress for about $500 dollars. Insert shocked and horrified gasp from wedding gown community here.
Loads of women roll the dice and order their dresses on-line either from a designer half-way across the country, at vintage boutique shops (FYI - 2000's size 6 is a 1950's size 10), etc. In fact, J. Crew Bridal doesn't even have a place for you to try on dresses, you just have to hope it fits. Buying the dress on-line sight unseen seemed foolish at best.
So I made some appointments at bridal boutique/factories to see what I could find, fully prepared to have to hold my ground on my "non-negotiables": color, price, simplicity, no bling and no poof!
http://uglydress.comThe following is a re-cap of my wedding dress adventures.
First stop: Kleinfeld's Sample Sale. Oh, before I forget, I did apply to TLC's "Say Yes to the Dress." I guess I was not what they were looking for. ;) Anyway, I had been to Kleinfeld's before. Heck, I'd been to a sample sale there with a bride who bought her dress there. I thought that it was a good way to start and it has got to be reasonably priced. Right? I arrived there at 10AM with my mother, and two of my best friends, Janette and Tami. The room was crowded with soon to be brides and their friends and family. I'll admit that I was excited and maybe even a bit nervous. Upon signing in, I was forced to give up the last remnants of my Au Bon Pain coffee (NO FOOD OR DRINK ALLOWED!). We waited for a few minutes amidst the buzzy room until Jennifer came to greet us. She brought us into her room and asked me about what I wanted. I explained and showed her two pictures.
Then she asked about how much I wanted to spend. I said around $1,000 (which was already higher than I intended to go) and she very gently explained that their most inexpensive dresses ran about that much money. We went out into the forest of white garments and rummaged through the "cheapies" and found a few numbers. I undressed, embarrassed by lack of foresight in having to get almost naked in front of strangers and friends, and put on the gowns. In true Barbara Walters style, Janette continuously asked me if I was going to cry. I didn't. There was a lot of poof, there was a lot of strapless and there was a lot of weird rhinestones. To Jennifer's credit, she told me that she did not want me to settle and that I should be happy. The last dress I tried on, hit closest to what I wanted, but was a lofty $1,500. I left with a Kleinfeld's card.
Second "on the fly" stop: Selia Yang. This is why women spend thousands of dollars on dresses. Tami called a boutique in the East Village and they were nice enough to squeeze us in. These dresses were flattering, well made and felt....good. They also came with a hefty $4,000 - %5,000 price range. Sigh.
Lovely, though.Two weeks later...
Third Stop: RK Bridal. Samia and Eugenia came with me to this mad house. You don't make appointments here. You come in and you sign up and then it is like the running of the bulls. Find a dress! The three of us searched through the many and seemingly endless racks looking for the features I wanted at the price I wanted. We found quite a few and were then told that I could only try on five of them. So then we sifted and we waited, sitting on the floor, guarding our treasured 5 dresses and getting rudely treated by snarky RK bridal workers. Finally, my name was called. Olga was my attendant. I tried on the 5 dresses that we picked out and the best I can say, is, "eh." She then ran out of the dressing room and came back with 2 more dresses. Two WONDERFUL dresses. They both looked fabulous on me and were both roughly $600! Nevertheless, I did not want to purchase them then and there, knowing I had a lot more appointments in my future, but I did promise Olga I would come back so she could get my commission. Needless to say, I stare at the images of theses dressed on-line upon occasion.
Thanksgiving weekend...
Fourth Stop: David's Bridal. My mother and Adrienne were my companions during this venture. Nicole, my attendant, was fantastic and I tried on a lot of dresses. Most of which, were NOT me. For the most part, I felt that the dresses were cheesy and looked and felt cheap. I mentioned to Nicole that I did not like the feel of one of the dresses. She said, it is called "soft satin." I said, "that's what it is called, but what is it really?" She responded, "polyester."
See. Even she isn't happy about it.
In any event, it was somewhat fun putting on the crinoline and trying on the big ole dresses, but in the long run, it's not me (at least not anymore....sixteen year old me would have just died).
Fifth Stop: The Bridal Center. It was just mom and I this time. This crazy place is a one stop shop. You can get your dress, your ring, your DJ, your photographer, your invitations, your limousine, your wedding doves and your first child's best friend here. Anyway, back to dresses. There were two that were nice, but ultimately more money than RK Bridal.
Sixth Stop: Paradise Bridal. Again, just the Podgarsky ladies. Since we had no idea where we were going and it was rainy and cold, we were 15 minutes late. They were understanding and nice and took us right away. My attendant, Cherise, was just lovely. I told her what I wanted and she did her darnedest to find me something. She even put a comb ($195!) in my hair when I said that I was not wearing a veil. There were fabulous dresses here and I fell in love with the last one. It reminded me of a 1940's Hollywood dress, soft, ivory, cowl neck, with just a bit of beading strategically placed around the hips and stomach. Tragically, it was more than I can justify spending a one time only frock.
In the end, I discovered what looks good on me and what doesn't. What we start out believing we want, may not be the best fit. I also discovered that I have will power. There were very expensive dresses that I looked freakin' awesome in, but I did not succumb to the temptation. Finally, I realized playing dress up is still a lot of fun.
