Fairy Tale Weekend

Over the weekend I got to play dress-up. Wedding dress shopping that is!

Michael went to Texas for about a week to hang out with his dad so I booked a few appointments to go wedding dress shopping. My mom came down from Seattle for the weekend and I invited my cousin (and bridesmaid) Anna and Michael’s mom to go with us. We started the day on Saturday with lunch at Petite Provence. I’ve been craving French onion soup for awhile now and got my craving satisfied.

Anna and I also had mimosas. 🙂

The first boutique we went to was Richele Kay Bridal Consignment in NE Portland. I really liked the shop because of the selection. There were so many dresses of all sizes and I found more dresses that I loved at this place than at David’s Bridal (where we went later that day).

The place was pretty busy and there were several brides with their friends trying on dresses. They had several dressing rooms and two different areas with mirrors where you could see the dress.

I went in having a vision in my head of what I was looking for and didn’t really find that. But I definitely found other dresses that I really liked! This next dress was my second choice and it was on sale for $195! The price was definitely right and I loved the dress. But in the end, I liked another one better.

What I liked about my second choice dress was how simple it was. I also felt like it was more flattering than some of the others I tried on. Anna also helped me with various hats, tiaras and fascinators. 🙂

I don’t know what I am going to do with my hair yet. I’m pretty sure I won’t have a veil. It’s just not me. But I do like the “birdcage veil” look. I also like the idea of flowers in my hair. Choices choices!

I liked “A” line dress best. I tried a mermaid style and could barely move. I definitely disliked the super “poofy” dresses. Those just aren’t me! The above dress was actually gray with silver beading. It was a really beautiful dress but felt more like a winter wedding style.

After that we went to David’s Bridal. That was a much different experience. It wasn’t as intimate. The place was packed, the staff was short handed and dealing with several brides at one time (which was annoying). I never felt like I had their full attention. The dresses were overpriced in my opinion and a disliked a lot of the styles and fabrics. It was a lot of taffeta and prom-dress styles!

David’s Bridal was also very overwhelming. It was impossible to really see what dresses they had. In the end we looked at their catalog and tagged a few and the clerk grabbed the dresses. So at David’s Bridal you also get changed into the dresses out in front of everyone. Which wasn’t too big of a deal but I imagine more modest people would be really uncomfortable standing in the open in a bustier.

I disliked that dress above because it was shapeless and unflattering. But the lace was really pretty! Oh, another thing I didn’t like about David’s Bridal is that you could get discounts on dresses if you applied for their credit card. Um, what? How dumb is that? Is that for brides who plan on having multiple marriages? I don’t get it. Why would I EVER need to shop at David’s Bridal after the wedding??

That dress was really pretty but HEAVY. Too heavy. The similar dress I saw at the consignment shop weighed half of this dress and I felt it was more flattering. Finally, I did find a dress at David’s Bridal that I liked a lot. It was gorgeous! But it was also $800. Out of my budget!

On Sunday my mom and I went to a third location to try their dresses. It was Brides for a Cause in NE Portland (finding the place was a complete fiasco but that’s not important). It was a place that sold wedding dresses for charity. I liked the premise but unfortunately didn’t really find a dress that wowed me there.

The problem I had with Brides for a Cause was that it was really dark in there and near impossible to really get a good idea of what the dresses looked like. It was also freezing. But it seemed like they had a decent selection of dresses in the $100-500 price range. So if you’re on a budget (like me) it’s a good place to start.

I didn’t find anything I had to have and I kept thinking about the one dress I put on hold (which was the first dress I tried on!). My mom and I went back to the consignment shop and bought the dress!! Here is a picture of it:

Sorry! Not really. 🙂 But I will show you a picture of my shoes. They are actually my grandmother’s shoes that she wore on her wedding day in 1951. They are from the 1940’s and my mom says they are “boudoir shoes”–whatever that means! Anyways, her dress didn’t fit me but the shoes do and they are absolutely amazing.

It also turns out that there was a matching purse that came with the dress I bought (and I got it on clearance for $15!). It’s so fabulous I can’t believe I have to wait a year to share pictures!!!