After trying on no fewer than 25 dresses in 5 different shops and having about 18 "favorites," I finally selected a dress Saturday afternoon.
As I mentioned before, I suspected that I am not a person who would "fall in love" with a dress. And I didn't. I noticed a pattern emerging - the last dress that I tried at any particular store that I actually liked became my new favorite. And I would go back and look at the photos later, and think, "eh, that dress wasn't so great, after all." Because of this, I knew that I would have to go back and look at all of the photos of all of the "favorites" to come to my decision.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
More About Dresses
Last Friday, while my parents were in town, my mom accompanied me and my entourage on another dress shopping expedition. I suspected it from the beginning, but am now convinced that I am not the type of woman to find the ONE dress. I think I've tried on around 15 dresses so far, and almost all of them I like well enough, but I haven't had one that made me think "wow!" I think I've come to terms with that. I plan to go to a few more places this weekend with my best friend, and will make a decision before she leaves. Who knows, I may still fall in love with a dress this weekend, but I'm not going to despair if I don't.
So, last week, we went to Juliet's Bridal in Parkville, MD. It's definitely one of those places that you are not likely to just happen upon. I saw online that they were having a sale, so I wanted to check it out. They didn't have a huge selection of sale wedding gowns in my size, but the woman found several beautiful ones within my price range. The woman was very nice, and I appreciated that she immediately realized that an ivory gown would be more flattering to my complexion than a white gown. I have a viable option at that store, but considering that almost all of the gowns I'm interested in are off-the-rack, it may or may not still be there if I decide to go back for it.
We then went to Amanda Ritchey in Fallston, MD. We had a great first impression of this place - the space is beautiful and pink, with cutesy antique settees and tables. I thought for a moment that I had found the ONE hanging on the wall, but it didn't live up to its promise once I put it on. I also ended up being a little turned off by the sales person, as she tried to talk my budget up, then wouldn't tell me how much the dresses cost before I tried them on. I specifically asked, "How much is this dress?" and she answered, "Well, it's on sale, and wait to see how much you're going to save!" I sort of resent being manipulated in that way. There were two dresses there that I really liked, both out of my real price range.
She redeemed herself a few days ago, though. She emailed me to let me know that the designer of one of the dresses I really liked had recently gone out of business, so she would be able to give me the dress for $500, putting it in my price range. I'm going to take my BF there this weekend to see what she thinks, because I'm not going to let a grudge get in the way of what might be my best option for a dress.
One thing that I've discovered is that late June and early July seem to be ideal times to go wedding dress shopping. Many of the shops are clearing out the "2010 models" for the "2011 models," just like cars. And who can tell the difference between the 2010 and 2011-style dresses? It's not like they're trying to pawn off dresses from 1988 or anything. Whatever! I'm happy to benefit!
So, today we go to the Columbia Bridal Boutique, then tomorrow we're going to hit up Poor Little Rich Girl again (since I realized that all of their samples are 50% off, that puts some dresses in my range that I initially thought were not), back to Amanda Ritchey, then up to K&B Bridal in Bel Air.
If I end up with nothing, I'm considering ordering a custom dress from Ieie's Dress Boutique online. Some of her stuff is really beautiful!
So, last week, we went to Juliet's Bridal in Parkville, MD. It's definitely one of those places that you are not likely to just happen upon. I saw online that they were having a sale, so I wanted to check it out. They didn't have a huge selection of sale wedding gowns in my size, but the woman found several beautiful ones within my price range. The woman was very nice, and I appreciated that she immediately realized that an ivory gown would be more flattering to my complexion than a white gown. I have a viable option at that store, but considering that almost all of the gowns I'm interested in are off-the-rack, it may or may not still be there if I decide to go back for it.
We then went to Amanda Ritchey in Fallston, MD. We had a great first impression of this place - the space is beautiful and pink, with cutesy antique settees and tables. I thought for a moment that I had found the ONE hanging on the wall, but it didn't live up to its promise once I put it on. I also ended up being a little turned off by the sales person, as she tried to talk my budget up, then wouldn't tell me how much the dresses cost before I tried them on. I specifically asked, "How much is this dress?" and she answered, "Well, it's on sale, and wait to see how much you're going to save!" I sort of resent being manipulated in that way. There were two dresses there that I really liked, both out of my real price range.
She redeemed herself a few days ago, though. She emailed me to let me know that the designer of one of the dresses I really liked had recently gone out of business, so she would be able to give me the dress for $500, putting it in my price range. I'm going to take my BF there this weekend to see what she thinks, because I'm not going to let a grudge get in the way of what might be my best option for a dress.
One thing that I've discovered is that late June and early July seem to be ideal times to go wedding dress shopping. Many of the shops are clearing out the "2010 models" for the "2011 models," just like cars. And who can tell the difference between the 2010 and 2011-style dresses? It's not like they're trying to pawn off dresses from 1988 or anything. Whatever! I'm happy to benefit!
So, today we go to the Columbia Bridal Boutique, then tomorrow we're going to hit up Poor Little Rich Girl again (since I realized that all of their samples are 50% off, that puts some dresses in my range that I initially thought were not), back to Amanda Ritchey, then up to K&B Bridal in Bel Air.
If I end up with nothing, I'm considering ordering a custom dress from Ieie's Dress Boutique online. Some of her stuff is really beautiful!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Wedding Dresses, Take One
As I mentioned, I am interested in making our wedding as eco and socially responsible as possible, without sacrificing a beautiful wedding or breaking the budget. As such, when looking for a dress, my preference would be to find a consignment dress, or a dress that is either American-made or of eco-friendly materials, or, at least, a dress from a local boutique, not wedding mega-chain. I began my search last night at Poor Little Rich Girl in Perry Hall, MD.
I have driven past the Poor Little Rich Girl for the past couple of years, completely assuming that it was a consignment shop. With a name like Poor Little Rich Girl? How could it not be? So, I was surprised when I called about their hours the other day to find out that they are actually NOT a consignment shop, at all. But, they were having a huge moving sale, so I decided to give them a try, anyway. I at least wanted to get an idea of what styles of gowns might suit me, so if I decide to try craigslist or Recycled Bride, I would at least be able to narrow my search a little.
I found Poor Little Rich Girl to be quite reasonably priced, even more so with their moving sale. I found a dress that I would be happy getting, and the price on the tag was within my budget, then come to find out - it's an off-the-rack, so it would be an extra 50% off! SWOON! It's difficult for me to resist a bargain, but I really feel like I want to look at a few more places before buying. I am a little nervous about that dress disappearing if I don't find anything I like more, so I may go this Friday when my parents are down, rather than waiting until the following weekend when my BF visits, like I wanted to initially.
I have driven past the Poor Little Rich Girl for the past couple of years, completely assuming that it was a consignment shop. With a name like Poor Little Rich Girl? How could it not be? So, I was surprised when I called about their hours the other day to find out that they are actually NOT a consignment shop, at all. But, they were having a huge moving sale, so I decided to give them a try, anyway. I at least wanted to get an idea of what styles of gowns might suit me, so if I decide to try craigslist or Recycled Bride, I would at least be able to narrow my search a little.
I found Poor Little Rich Girl to be quite reasonably priced, even more so with their moving sale. I found a dress that I would be happy getting, and the price on the tag was within my budget, then come to find out - it's an off-the-rack, so it would be an extra 50% off! SWOON! It's difficult for me to resist a bargain, but I really feel like I want to look at a few more places before buying. I am a little nervous about that dress disappearing if I don't find anything I like more, so I may go this Friday when my parents are down, rather than waiting until the following weekend when my BF visits, like I wanted to initially.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Oh Nom Nom Nom
You know, I was thinking of a classy, DIY card box that looked like a cake or something, but this guy, featured on Offbeat Bride, is pretty cool!
What would be other creative ideas for a card box?
Friday, June 11, 2010
Wedding Blog?
Why keep a wedding blog? One, because we are really excited about this process and eager to share what is going on. I think some people will care - I hope they do! We want to get people excited about our big day. I also hope that, through recording our planning process, we can help other couples who are getting married:
1. On a short timetable,
2. on a budget,
3. while trying to be at least a little socially/eco-conscious.
If those couples are in the Baltimore metro area, then that's a bonus! I hope that we can provide some resources and helpful discussion - we'll also continue to update our favorite wedding links and blogs on the left navigation.
Warning: There may also be some philosophizing about the nature of weddings, relationships, traditions, etc. So, these may not all be seemingly-vapid posts about flowers, bows, and butterflies!
We hope you enjoy reading about our journey to our big day, and that we offer something helpful and maybe even thought-provoking. :-)
1. On a short timetable,
2. on a budget,
3. while trying to be at least a little socially/eco-conscious.
If those couples are in the Baltimore metro area, then that's a bonus! I hope that we can provide some resources and helpful discussion - we'll also continue to update our favorite wedding links and blogs on the left navigation.
Warning: There may also be some philosophizing about the nature of weddings, relationships, traditions, etc. So, these may not all be seemingly-vapid posts about flowers, bows, and butterflies!
We hope you enjoy reading about our journey to our big day, and that we offer something helpful and maybe even thought-provoking. :-)
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