When I first started thinking about the wedding, I thought I knew what I wanted: a satin gown, maybe mermaid cut, simple. I was thinking of hitting David’s Bridal or Group USA, and maybe just spending 500 bucks.
Now the more I look at dresses, the more my first view has changed. Now I want something with sparkle. Maybe lace over satin. I want to show off my waist. I want something elegant but sexy. I want Karl to look at my walking down the aisle and have him say “wow!”
Of course, my budget has gone up a bit (due to cold hard reality of how freaking expensive these gowns are!) but not enough that I can just walk into any shop and go to town.
Where does one find a dress (well, the perfect dress!) for less than $1,000? Has anyone ordered from stores online (and I don’t mean Chinese knockoff websites, I mean actual online bridal shops). What was your experience? I was thinking of trying it on at a salon, then ordering it online, but the delivery time is 12-14 weeks, which scares me…
What would you recommend?
So far, the designer that has the most number of dresses I loved, is Alfred Angelo — which is around my price range on the online shops (haven’t visited a real shop yet).
How soon should I start trying on dresses? I’m thinking of losing weight before the wedding (aren’t we all?), and with a diet and marathon training, I should have no problem dropping 10 or 15 pounds, but by then it might be too late to order anything.
Who knew shopping could be so stressful?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t stress! I had a friend that ordered her dresses. I only think one didn’t actually come in for her to try on. She was on a budget too. In fact, I think you can still read about her dress shopping on her blog: http://jewishgalwedding.blogspot.com/search/label/dress. She got married last year but I think her blog remains invaluable.
Also, there’s a reason why you have multiple fittings.
I’d check out J.Crew as another alternative to actual bridal shops. They have great dresses in lots of styles. I do love Alfred Angelo though…
HAVE FUN! Shopping shouldn’t be stressful as long as you stay in your budget and don’t get pushed into something you really aren’t crazy about.
i got engaged in January, i went to 3 dress shops tried on over 50 gowns and found a dress for under $500 that i love.
since you are in the DC area i would highly recommend Leesburg Bridal if you are up for the drive. i ended up getting my dress at Davids bridal in Springfield, i was worried they would not have anything i wanted, but i was pleasantly surprised. you should check them out too. they told me it would be 12 weeks until the dress arrived and i just got an e-mail this morning that the dress was in, it has not even been 2 weeks.
good luck
Thanks for the tips girls!
I actually ended up going to the David’s Bridal in Springfield at the spur of the moment on Tuesday, and found the PERFECT dress. It was the store sample, and the very last one they had, so it was deeply discounted — I got almost a 50% discount on it! Can’t believe I got what I was looking for, for less than $600.
I’ll write a post about the dress later — I feel that now I missed out on all the fun shopping experience though