Well, Jonathan has finally twisted my arm into contributing to this blog. So… here I am! When I first started thinking about a wedding, my personal mantra was, “I don’t want anything fancy, just something simple.” In some respects, I still would like simplicity, but as I have had my life taken over by wedding planning, I am starting to see the many sides of a wedding and all the details involved. As I think about all the different details, I find myself drawn to more semi-formal aspects that I would have never thought about before. For instance, when thinking about the reception, at first I thought, “Oh, just a hall with a buffet.” But, once we started looking around, I realized I wanted something a little more fancy (although I still want buffet!). Something like the Chateau with a small, intimate setting, yet a semi-formal feel with linens and low lighting.
I found myself in a similar position when actually looking for a wedding gown. I first thought of having just a plain, white gown with not much to it. Once I started trying actual gowns on, I was drawn to lace and some bead detailing. Which brings me to my day of wedding dress shopping that happened yesterday.
In one of the bridal books I looked through, the bridal outlet store Vows in Newton, MA came up. Then, Jonathan’s co-worker suggested another little shop actually down the street called La Sposa. So, I decided to try those two places to start and found it easy to visit both on the same day, as one was walking distance from the other! I started at Vows and was completely overwhelmed with the racks and racks of dresses that greeted me when I walked in (plus the fact that I had to actually get buzzed in to begin with). The salespeople seemed very nice and explained to me where the different styles and sizes were positioned on the floor and how the policy worked. Basically, it’s like David’s Bridal in that, what you see is what you get. You walk out of the store with the sample dress you tried on. I was instructed to start picking out some dresses I liked and they would hang them up in a changing room in the back. I spent a long time looking at the different dress styles (and, yes, prices). I picked out several that I was interested in and went in the back to try them on.
Now, from what I understand and was told, wedding dresses run very small, so you should try on dresses that are a size or two above your normal size. So, I started with dresses that were a size above what I wear, however when I went to zip up the dresses I chose, none of them zipped up properly. So, I went back out on the floor to pick ANOTHER set of dresses that were a larger size (and the salesperson had to put back all the other dresses, which I felt bad about). Yet, when I tried them on, some of them STILL didn’t zip up all the way (which of course made me feel like a fat-ass). But, there were a couple that did zip up fine and that I felt comfortable coming out in. The salesperson working with me was nice, but I found her to be rather cold and withdrawn (and she was almost a spitting image of Lindsey Lohan). I felt pretty awkward as it was, but she didn’t help the matter. But, she explained every dress to me: what fabric and style it was, what the seamstress could do to make it fit better, alternative ways of sprucing up the dress, etc.
The third dress I tried on was GORGEOUS. It was all lace and moved well and I thought this was THE ONE. But, then I looked at the price tag (and cried a little inside), reminded myself that this was the first store I had been to, and decided to put it on hold. I was afraid if I put the dress back it would be gone the next day because of the “what you see is what you get” policy of the store. So, I agreed to the store’s hold policy. Basically, I put 10% down on the dress, to be turned into store credit if I decided I didn’t want it.
Next, I moved on to La Sposa that was a short walk down the street. When I walked in and met the salesperson on the floor, I immediately regretted putting a hold on that other way over-priced dress from Vows. The woman asked me what I was looking for in a dress and what my price-range was, nothing that I was asked in the other store. The salesperson pointed me to the sale rack of sample dresses and went in the back to find other dresses that fit my criteria. I tried on three dresses in La Sposa and felt very comfortable with the salesperson. She made me feel like I had brought a friend along to give input. She had a good balance of subjective input and objective input without coming off like a sleazy salesperson just wanting to sell me any dress.
Well, to make a long story short- I am fairly confident that I have found THE DRESS in La Sposa. It was the first one I tried on. The salesperson gave me a business card with the dress’s information on the back, so that I could reference it later on if I decided to return. She didn’t make me feel rushed in any way or like I HAD to get the dress then. She understood I had time to decide on it and that the dress would still be there if I decided on it.
I definitely feel stupid rushing into putting a hold on that other (did I mention way over-priced??) dress from Vows (although if it were a normal boutique where they could order the dress, I would not have placed a hold). I plan to cancel the hold and use the store credit towards something else they have like shoes, lingerie, or jewelery. As for the dress in La Sposa, I think I want one final opinion as confirmation that it is THE ONE, so I am going to take my mommy with me next weekend so she can see it and tell me it is beautiful 
. If I do get it, there will need to be alterations, obviously. One main alteration being the hem because I am “petite.” Also, the dress is strapless which I am weary about (because of support issues), but spaghetti straps come with the dress that can be added to it. I can also request that a halter strap be added instead of the spaghetti straps for more support. I will have to ask about the pricing of the alterations, as one could be more pricey then the other (and alterations alone are pricey!).
The main thing I got out of my day out shopping is that…this wedding is REAL. At both places, the salespeople put a veil on my head to give me a general picture and seeing myself in the full bride get-up really put things into perspective for me. I got a little emotional, not in the crying sense, but more in excitement. This is probably the biggest step I will take in my life so far and it is very, very real to me now.
Brimming with excitement,
Tricia the Bride
