Adventures in Wedding Dress Shopping Part One: Narrowing Down the Competition
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009 at 7:52pm
Before I arrive at the moment when I tell you about how I found ‘the dress ♥,’ I feel a little back story on my search for ‘the one’ is important. As some of you know, Mr. Knight and I have been engaged for about 1½ years. Throughout our long engagement, I’ve scoured the Internet and bridal magazines for wedding dresses telling myself I was not allowed to try on any dresses until we hit the 1-year mark (’till our wedding). I kept that promise to myself and went shopping the exact weekend of our 1 year countdown; and, just like that, I found the dress of my dreams—the dress that made my heart swoon! :-)
Here was the criteria when looking for the dress of my little Gator Bride dreams:
Sweetheart Neckline
Flow-ey
Romantic
Soft
And Mr. Knight’s Criteria? That he could be able to feel my butt through the dress. No poofy dresses. What can I say, Mr. Knight is a booty man!
The very first store I visited was the infamous (and sometimes scary) David’s Bridal. I have mixed emotions about David’s Bridal (the warehouse of all things fluffy and frilly). But I was on a mission to give the ol’ bird a chance. While there I tired on the two dresses below↓ (I apologize for no pictures, my camera battery died that day)
Galina Signature ST9637 at $800 and Oleg Classini CRL277 at $1050
Both dresses were a ‘no go’. The experience was also less than desirable. I was basically stuffed into a tiny dressing room, with no help from a consultant to help me change in-and-out of these dresses (which is not a one person job). I also was a little underwhelmed by the quality of the dresses. I expected a lot more for the price they were charging. So on to the next stop.
Next I went to The Bridal Shoppes at the Avenues (in Jacksonville, FL). After making the appointment I went online and came across several negative reviews about the store… I still decided to go and see for myself. They had a very wide selection of beautiful dresses (Watters, Mon Cheri, Casablanca etc.) and my consultant there was extremely helpful. Plus they were willing to negotiate on price—which is very rare in the wedding dress industry. Cameras were not allowed, so, below I have pictures of my top two choices ↓
Watter Geneva at $1498 and Allure 8624 at $698
So from this point I knew I wanted something with lace and a little more form fitting then before (have to show off the figure!). The dresses were absolutely beautiful and meticulously crafted…just gorgeous…but still no sweetheart neckline.
The third store I visited was Love: a Bridal Boutique in Jacksonville Beach, FL. The store was beautiful and they allowed you to take pictures (score!). Plus if you buy your gown the day of your consultation they will take 12% off. What a good deal! They have Pronovias, Nicole Miller, Essence of Australia, and other brands. Here are some of the dresses. I only have a price for the dress which was my number 1 choice from this store. Check out below↓
Essence of Australia D940
unknown (I know..I’m a terrible bride for not knowing the designer!)
Essence of Australia D959 at $1150
The last dress was the best I had encountered so far (as you can see from the big grin on this Gator Bride’s face). It was light, airy, soft, romantic… it just felt so right. Now here’s the problem with it: the whole time I had the dress on, I felt as though it would be more suitable for a church/chapel wedding and not for the outdoor garden-themed wedding Mr. Knight and I are having. It was just too elegant… which is a weird thing to say… I mean how can you ever be too elegant?
Needless to say I felt I needed to search further for ‘the dress’, which at the time, was haunting my little Gator Bride dreams…
Stay tuned for Part Two: Solutions Bridal to the Rescue!
Tags: Jacksonville, Vendors, wedding dress
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