The search begins...

So, this weekend me and Steph went dress-shopping for the first time. We didn't make appointments anywhere, which is a big no-no (at least to some places) apparently. Oooopsie. Next time!

We started by downing a couple of small glasses of Zin at Portillo's (classsay!), then went across the parking lot to House of Brides. Back up -- there are a ton of bridal shops all within .5 miles on a stretch of Golf Rd in Schaumburg, which is where we went. SO -- House of Brides literally would not even let us past the front desk without an appointment. Not even to just look at dresses, without being assigned a consultant or a dressing room or anything. They were snippy, rude, and mean, and then asked what time I would be available to come in. I said no thanks, and we walked right back out.

We drove to LJM Bridal (right on the other side of Portillos, ha), and they were super-nice! As I was registering (note: all bridal shops make you fill out forms with all of your personal info... need to make fake email, stat! I wonder if idonotwantyourshittyweddingoffers@gmail is taken? maybe thats a little aggro. I WILL end up buying something from one of these places, after all. ) , some other bride who had just bought her dress was complaining about HoB. And , she had an appointment! So, that was sorta good to hear,,, at least I know where not to waste my time. Filled out paperwork, friendly lady told us to look at dresses, then some other lady gave us a fitting room, and pretty much left us alone. We picked out 3, and I started trying them on. A few points about that...

1 -- I really was not looking forward to a stranger seeing me naked and helping me into dresses. Thankfully, the stranger left us alone, and steph did that. (thanks!).
1a -- wedding dresses are mofo heavy!!! holy god, i was not even taking that into consideration. you do need multiple people to try them on.

2 -- I was also dreading the fact that the stores carry a small selection of sample sizes, which is too small for me. i had read that if you are big, some places/salespeople will hold the dress in front of you, and tell you to "ok, imagine what this would look like on you. Gorgeous!" i was prepared to cry and have a breakdown. BUT no! The samples were generously sized, and although i wasnt able to zip any of them up, I could get them over my waist, so they were sorta in place. this was good... big confidence-booster for going to other stores, thats for sure.

So, we tried on 3 dresses at LJM.... their style is not my style... a lot of beading, kinda fancy, eh. I did learn that I do not work in a halter. we gathered our things, and went to grab another dress or two, and the consultant came up, gave us her business card, and said goodbye. ....... hm. yeah, i guess we were done anyway. huh.

Then, 0n a whim, we went to Davids. I previously held some contempt for Davids... they are fairly cookie-cutter, cheap, etc. I want something unique, that is me. But, I wanted to see if we could at least look at dresses there... there is one that i've mentioned in a previous post that I wanted to see, and hey, if i could try a couple on to get ideas of what shapes look good on me, great. They were super-packed, but friendly! they put me on some waiting list, said that they would probably not be able to get me in today , but that we could look around. And we did. for over an hour. SO MANY DRESSES! rows and rows and rows of dresses.

To my surprise (and a little dismay), I found that I liked their selection. Some dresses I like, a lot. Like, I want to make an appointment and try these bad girls on. So, I think I will. I'm also going to start booking appointments at smaller boutiques as well, just to see. My budget is fairly modest, so I know that will be limiting, but that's ok. I really need something just to get me through the day, that makes me look good. Nothing jaw-dropping, or luxurious or over-the-top.

Thanks again to Steph, she is awesome at shopping. (except for her aversion to ivory dresses... I will have to go with someone else to try those on :) ). This was a super, super successful first dress outing. I have now switched over from dismay to excitement, where I am really looking forward to doing this again, and especially bringing other people along,,,, It's going to be fun!!

Wow, that last month flew by! Now we only have 11 more. Yikes.

Check these out -- I love the feminine spin on a regular tissue poms. I wonder if I could make these myself though,,, dye and assemble the doilies.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/59831255/string-a-ling-paper-doily-garland

this (where i found this at ) is a pretty awesome bridal site. i like the marketplace section a lot.

I contacted the photographer I want (Willow Lane photography) tonight, and I am right on target with my pre-dress-shopping weight loss goal, so some progress has been made. I also bought and perused what will probably be my last bridal magazine... you can only look at so many, and the internets is full of ideas too.