Wedding Wednesday: Dress Shopping Take 1

When I finally decided that it was time to start dress shopping, I decided to start at a local boutique that also has a bridal department. My mom, my MOH, and BM T headed there one Thursday when they were open later in the evening.

This particular store carries 3 brands of bridal dresses, Allure, Casablanca, and Maggie Sottero. They were arranged by brand and size and the saleslady allowed us to go through the racks and pull anything in which we were interested. They also had a sale rack of sample dresses for sale. The selection was limited due to a sample sale they had had a week before, but we were able to find several dresses to try.

We got a spacious fitting room and got to work. The saleslady left us alone for the most part, so we were able to sneak pictures of the dresses. (I am unsure what their actual photo policy is and I was too chicken to ask, so we were sneaky.) One bonus for this shop was that the tags on the dresses had the designer, style, color, and price on them, so we were able to get all the information we needed.

Here's what I tried on...

First up, Casablanca 1930. (Forgive the lack of a head in these pictures...the dressing room wasn't quite spacious enough for pictures.) This is a halter a-line dress with a semi-cathedral train. The sample was in ivory and I loved the color. This dress was from the sale rack. If I bought the sample, I could save $300.

Dress #2 is Maggie Sottero's Mirabella. This was also from the sale rack. I am trying to avoid strapless dresses, but I tried this on just to try it. I didn't care for the asymmetrical bottom of the skirt. I did like the corset back because it made the dress fit well.

Dress #3 was Casablanca 1905. Loved the lace on the top, but the skirt was too plain for me. Also, the sash and bow were velvet, which was an odd choice, I felt.

Dress #4 was Casablanca 1937. I liked the style and the lace. (Can you tell I love lace yet?) But, I hated the beading under the bust on this dress. The saleslady thought it would be possible to get the dress without the large beaded flower that I objected to on the front.

Dress #5 was Casablanca 1899 (hmm, can you tell I liked Casablanca's dresses?) This sample was a little big, so it was hard for me to get a good idea of what it really looked like on me. You'll notice my mom is behind me holding the dress tight. I thought this one had some potential.

Dress #6 - Allure 8634 Again, I liked this style and the lace. However, the lace on my shoulders was itchy. It bothered me for the few minutes I had the dress on and I feared it would be worse if I had to wear the dress for a whole day.

Dress #7 - Maggie Sottero Reyna My MOH picked out this dress. It was too plain for my taste. I loved what it did for my waist. It also had a ruffle on the side, which I'm hiding in the picture because I thought it was ugly.

That's all the dresses I tried on for my first shopping trip. I had a great time and got some good ideas of what I did and did not like in a dress.

How was your first dress shopping trip?