Searching for the Dress, Part I

Before getting engaged, when I watched shows like Say Yes to the Dress, I always imagined dress shopping with at least a bit of an entourage. I thought I’d bring along my mom and a few of my friends and have a lovely girls’ day out. Sounds fun, right?

Isn't everyone's wedding planning just like in Bridesmaids? (source)

But when Brendan and I got engaged, it was time for a reality check. I’m pretty much all alone out here near Boston, and with my family and friends scattered everywhere, it just wasn’t practical to get everyone together for dress shopping. Rather than try to wrangle everyone, I thought it best to start out on my own.

Like many brides before me, my first stop was at Davids Bridal. I’ve never exactly been on the small side, and I wanted to be able to try on a lot of styles – in sizes that actually fit – to see what looked best. So a few weeks after we got engaged, I made an appointment at Davids.

Going in to my first dress appointment, I had a few criteria for a dress I wanted. I knew I wanted a full-length ivory gown, and I had fallen in love with big, poufy dresses. My Pinterest board was full of lace bodices and pick-ups:

Something a little like this (via OneWed)

My first appointment was actually a lot of fun, even if I was all by myself. The consultant was friendly, and I tried on a bunch of styles, from poufy ball gown to A-line to fit-and-flare.

Not quite right, but pretty good!

I found that my favorite style on me was actually fit-and-flare. This was a huge surprise to me – I’m not always proud of my figure, and I expected a fuller silhouette to be more flattering. But somehow, the full ball gowns felt like they swallowed me up, while the fit-and-flare dresses accentuated my waist and made me look slimmer. I was sold!

Another contender - this one I tried on at least three times

I wasn’t really expecting to find the one at Davids, but I ended up leaving that first appointment with a clear front-runner. I sent pics of this one to my parents and bridesmaids – something that I’ll come back to next time – and they all loved it! I tried to hold back my excitement, though, since I wanted to make sure to try out a few other places.

The top contender – cute and simple fit-and-flare

Next up: I try on a few other dresses, find the one, and experience dress regret!