District Weddings

It’s all about the dress…Today, Bride Blogger Kerry tells us about how she found her dress for the big day! As usual, it is great advice!

Chris and I had been engaged for nine months and had most of our wedding planning complete, but I had not yet shopped for a wedding dress!  Considering it takes four to five months for a dress to come in after being ordered, I knew I had to get on the ball and pick out a gown!

I researched bridal salons and dress boutiques extensively and read countless reviews from other brides on theknot.com and weddingwire.com.   I knew I didn’t want to be overwhelmed by choices at a giant dress superstore; I wanted a more intimate shopping experience.  I also love designer Maggie Sottero and wanted to be sure to try on some of her gowns.  So for my first Saturday of appointments, I made sure to visit Rosalin’s Bridal in Falls Church, Virginia.

I had done some research about how to prepare for my dress appointments, and I’m so glad I did.  I bought a new flesh-colored strapless bra.  I made sure to wear nice, conservative underwear, since I knew that my mom, fiancé’s mom, aunt, and maid of honor would be seeing me in a state of undress.  (After a few dress appointments, I realized that the dress consultants themselves sometimes need to actually help you in and out the dress, so best to leave your thong at home!)

I wore heels that would be the same heel height I’ll wear on the big day.  I went for a spray tan the day before so that my skin would not be the same color as the dresses.  Also, despite it being an early Saturday morning, I curled my hair and wore makeup so that the rest of me matched the formality of the amazing dresses I was trying on.  I wanted to get the full picture!

I had heard so many times that brides walk into a bridal salon thinking they know exactly what looks best on them and know the precise style they want.  Then the shop consultant picks out something radically different that looks perfect and the bride falls in love with it.  But I figured I knew my body pretty well, so before my first dress appointment, I ripped out a dozen pages from magazines of halter neckline sheath dresses.

Not long after I showed the dress consultant my photos of what I had in mind, she had looked me up and down and decided on something completely different for me.  Before I knew it, I was in an A-line strapless dress with a sweetheart neckline…and it looked amazing.  She seemed to instinctively pick the perfect cut for me.  I soon discovered that an asymmetrical ruche along my waist really gave the perfect hourglass figure.  And a built-in lace-up corset closure took off a shocking amount of inches from my waist.

Finding the perfect style is one thing, but finding the right dress in that style is difficult!  When you’re trying on beautiful dress after beautiful dress, it’s hard to find the ONE.  For me, it came down to eliminating one at a time and thinking, “Which fabric do I like more? Do I like this beading over that beading?”  I also pictured myself in each dress at our wedding venue, River Farm, and thought about which felt right.  And of course, I considered the price.

I didn’t have too much time to weigh my decisions (given that I had to order a dress within a week or two for it arrive in time for alterations before wedding.) So after a week of letting everything sink in, I tried on my top three again and it was like I instantly knew which one was THE one. I decided on a beautiful Maggie Sottero gown and I can hardly wait to see it again in four months!