The Dress: Part 1

I tried on my first ever wedding dress on July 15 at David's Bridal in Madison, TN. I posted about the dress I hoped would be the one here.

It wasn't.

Nor were any of the other half dozen or more dresses I tried on that day. I hated them all ... except one that I felt mildly interested in and when I got the snap shots home, I almost cried. It's not that the sales associate was bad or that anything was wrong with the dresses, per se, but I felt very foolish in most of them ... and fat. The florescent lights are not flattering and to say the least, I came home quite discouraged that day.

Fast forward to today ... I planned an entire day of dress shopping with my parents. I made two appointments and planned to visit four shops. We began our second shopping excursion at the White Room in Lebanon, TN. The consultants there were lovely, attentive and intuitive. I liked almost everything I tried on.

Yes, the opposite problem than I had had previously. To make matters more confusing, I liked two different styles in Lebanon - this ethereal, beaded beauty and a lovely, minimally embellished A-line.

After stopping in at a consignment bridal shop and having lunch, we realized that the third store had already closed for the day. We called to get directions to the White Room's sister store in Murfreesboro.

Another great experience, the consultants were again attentive and helpful. I walked in without an appointment and they saw me right away. I tried on a few more dresses before realizing that they had this one in a much much larger size. I tried it on and did the clamps in the back to help me see how it would actually look on me. I even tried on two birdcage veils and a "bubble" veil with the dress, both of which look fine.

I then tried this dress. Now I was torn again. Three dresses, all equally flattering - and all different. In total, I've had on the first dress five times today.

At this point, it was time to wrap up our shopping for the day and I headed over to David's Bridal with my parents. I had set up the appointment several weeks ago after discussing with a sales associate that I was looking for specific style numbers that the Madison store did not have in stock. She assured me that they would have anything I wanted from the Fall 2009 line.

They had two. Out of six dresses on my list (that Madison did not have), they had TWO.

So I tried on the Galina dress again. I felt more comfortable in it this time, but I'm still very undecided. I think it will be best for me to actually secure the venue we have been "penciled in" at and then make a decision.

PS. I forgot to mention that I ran into Little Miss Southern trying on wedding dresses at the White Room on Saturday morning. Check out her lovely blog! I can't wait to see what dress she picks!