Have you ever put a piece of clothing on, and it made you feel a certain way? Say for instance, you put on a little black dress...did you feel sexy? Or how about a floral summer dress, did it make you feel pretty? And maybe wearing jeans and a tee makes you feel comfortable.
A couple weeks ago, I tried on some wedding dresses for the very first time. The feeling you get when you slip into one, even if it's not "the one", is much like what you would feel if you were in a fairy tale. It brought such confidence and love into my heart. It's an emotional feeling rather than a physical feeling...it's truly amazing.
Speaking of fairy tales, I tried on a dress from the "Disney Princess Collection" by Alfred Angelo. Although it's not the style I was looking for, it was still fun to play a dress up.
You can't see it much in the picture, but the whole skirt was sparkly.
The top was my favorite part of the dress. It was also very sparkly, but I loved the overlapping textures of the fabric.
Here's a picture of the dress on a manacan. If you are going for a ball gown look, I would definitely recommend trying this one on. :)
The style dress I'm looking for is actually a mermaid cut. I thought I would share with you guys a couple that I played with.
This dress here is also by Alfred Angelo. It's made out of Italian silk so you know this baby was expensive. I love the train of this dress. It was beautifully embroidered on the edges. Very, very classic.
In my opinion, if you are getting married in a church but don't want a puffy ball gown, this dress will totally fit your style.
This next dress had a little too much going on at the bottom for my taste. Not that you shouldn't or can't have a dramatic skirt, I just didn't like the design. However, the top was pretty. The bling was there up top but it was done tastefully...still not really what I was looking for though.
This next dress is the VERY FIRST wedding dress I tried on, so it holds a special place in my heart. When I looked in the mirror, I actually was very pleased. Although it was a little plain and wasn't exactly the cut I wanted, I was excited to continue!!!
I tried on a good 20 dresses on that day. Not because I wasn't satisfied with any of them, but just for fun. I actually think I may have found "the one".
My consultant at one of the shops was so awesome. She's the one who played dress up with me. If she wasn't so willing, I don't know if I would ever have tried on all those different dresses...especially the styles that didn't fit my criteria. But I am sure glad I had that chance.
MY ADVICE:
1. BE OPEN MINDED: I know many brides go in a store knowing EXACTLY what they want. I thought I did too. But remember, keep an open mind. Don't get so caught up in "THE PERFECT DRESS" you have in your head that you totally stress yourself out if you can't find it.
The dress I ended up liking the most (which I didn't post) was something I would have never tried. I didn't like it on the hanger. With that said...
2. DON'T JUDGE A DRESS ON THE HANGER: It just looks so different on. When my consultant unzipped that big, plastic bag...took the dress out, my very first thought was "EW, I'm not going to like this." As I walked out of the dressing room, I got nothing but happy faces from my sisters. I turned to look in the mirror and I COULDN'T BELIEVE how much I absolutely loved it! I couldn't believe it was the same dress!!! So as you all heard before, "don't judge a book by it's cover." You will truly be amazed.
3. TRY TRY TRY: I suppose this kind of goes with #2. But the main reason why I say to try is because not only does a dress look different on a hanger, but a dress also looks different in pictures that we see online or even in magazines. I know I have searched online and saved pictures of dresses I like but don't depend on that.
After seeing that dress (my favorite) on me, my sisters mentioned that they didn't see that particular dress in the catalog. The consultant mentioned that it was actually in there. After going through the catalog again, they realized that it was in there...it just looked so different on a real person in real life.
Your body is different than the model that has the dress on. It doesn't matter if you are bigger or smaller than the model, the dress will look different on everyone. So make sure you TRY TRY TRY ON! :)
4. TAKE PICTURES: Your wedding day is going to be one of the most, if not the most, photographed day of your life. As I said with the first dress I tried on, I was actually impressed with it. But after reviewing the pictures, I didn't like the dress. It was just too plain and the elegance it had in person wasn't there in the pictures. So not only do you have to make sure your dress looks good in person, you have to make sure it looks just as good if pictures.
5. PLAY: Not so you can open up your selection, but really just for FUN! This is a once in a life time experience. When else are you going to try on all these different, fancy gowns? I'm glad I did. Originally I wasn't going to. I just wanted to focus on "my dress"...I was on a mission! lol...but it was so fun. However, I started trying on all the "fun dresses" AFTER I tried on my real potential wedding dresses.
(some lace)
This is a once in a life time dress...YOUR once in a life time dress. Yes, make sure you are completely satisfied with what you wear on your special day, but don't kill yourself over it. Every dress is beautiful in it's own way, and every dress may look great on you, but it's finding the one that makes you have "that feeling". Everyone's definition of how you should feel when you find "the one" is different... so what's your's?
