wedding dress woes
Posted
Thursday, January 03, 2008 8:26 AM
So I scoped out the dress sale at David's Bridal today. The game plan was to go in, and try on all the dress styles to see which one best fit my body type. I already knew what I wanted. I've known for a year. I wanted mermaid/trumpet style that hugged my curves all the way down. I did not want ruffles, tulle, princess, or anything that would be considered a "gown" over a dress. I basically designed my own dress in my head and was not budging from that style.
So I started with the biggest, ugliest dress I could find. One I had to wear a petticoat under. Snort. A petticoat is so not me. Just like I thought: it was ugly. Then I went down the line, getting closer and closer to my ideal style: A-line, sheath, tea-length, and finally, trumpet, mermaid.
I looked horrible. I was fat and buldging where I shouldn't have been. You could see the outline of my belly poof. I hated it right away. And I was devastated. My friend (she's so awesome) kept trying to tell me that the style just wasn't right for my body. But I knew I was right. So I kept trying on that style, convinced I could make it work with the right dress. I had done my research. Curvy girls look good in mermaid dresses, I just knew it!
I was so wrong. So I started trying on the dresses my friend picked out. Second one in, and Bingo! I think I found my dress. Just to be sure, I tried on 10 more. The dress I like is empire cut, with a band of beading around my bust that from far, looks like snow. It's a gown. But not a princess gown. It makes my waist look tiny. It's simple, with no beading or design on the skirt. It's on sale for $99.
So, by this time, we had narrowed it down to two dresses. The cheap one. And one for $500 that did hug my figure but had a lot of ruching or bustles or whatever they're called on it that hid my figure flaws. I tried on the last two dresses with adornments: veil, tiara, and fur wrap.
Then I reviewed my game plan. It was not to buy a dress today. A dress should be bought with your mother and MOH crying softly in the corner because you are so beautiful. It should be bought because once you try it on, there would be no question about what you will be wearing on your big day. That did not happen. I looked pragmatically at my two choices. I weighed the pros and cons. I mentally reviewed my dress budget.
I just could not get over the $99 price tag. $99 would make my life so much easier. I'm buying a dress for one day. There is nothing wrong with the dress. In fact, I look great in it. My friend thinks so. The saleslady admitted I looked better in the cheaper dress. It matches my theme. And it's so cheap. Since our venue is eating up half our budget, I really have to cut back in other areas. This would be a great cut-back.
So I took a million pictures. And I put the dress on a 24 hour hold. I took my friend out to dinner ($60 dinner, almost as much as my damn dress) and then I raced home to post the pictures on the internet. I immediatley called my mom, and she got out of bed to look at the photos. Then I called my sister (MOH) and she did the same thing. Both said "yeah, buy it. It's only $99." My sister explained that most of her friends bought two dresses. If I find a better one, I can sell this one.
So tomorrow before work I'm going to buy my wedding gown. For $99. I don't sound very happy about it. But the more I look at the photos and the more I think about this dress, the more I love it. I think I'm just upset that it wasn't my dream style. So here it is, girls...what do you think?
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc313/mattandjen2009/IMG_0128.jpg