My Wedding Dress

Besides the venue, my wedding dress is one of my next biggest decisions. We are in the middle of choosing our wedding favours and centerpieces. Today I made a decision on my dress.

The other week my maid of honour and I went dress shopping. We went to New West where there is tonnes of bridal shops. I thought there was only 3 or 4 stores. But really there is about 10 of them. One of the shops we went into was the Bridal Gallery. I think it is supposed to be one of the higher end shops. You are supposed to make an appointment and you get a personal consultant to help you. I didn't make an appointment. It was a Monday afternoon and we just walked in. If they turned us away because we didn't make an appointment, we would've just checked out the other stores. We were lucky because they slotted us in. It reminded me of the store at the TLC show 'Say Yes to the Dress'. It is very bright, you get a personal consultant and you get to stand on the little platform with a three way mirror. The consultant, I forgot her name already, asked me many questions so she can the dresses for me to try one. She had to find out my budget and style to find the right dress for me. I was there for about an hour and tried on many types of dresses. I wanted to try on the many styles to see how I feel and look in them. I don't want a strapless gown. It was almost impossible to find a non strapless gown at the Bridal Gallery. I tried on a 'princess' gown which was strapless and form fitting at the bodice and puffy. It was heavy and it wasn't flattering on me. I tried on many dresses and it was so heavy. I am looking for a light dress that is easy to put on and off. Many of the dresses had the corset back. Man, what a pain in the ass to put on and off. I knew I wanted a zipper back. I tried on a short dress. I would never know if that was for me or not unless I tried on one. After I tried it on, I felt that a longer dress would be more appropriate. I didn't want alot of rhinestones or flowers. I didn't want a long train. Because it will be a spring wedding, it would be easier for me to get around in a dress with a short train. I originally wanted a white dress but the consultant at the Bridal Gallery suggested an ivory dress because it would complement my skin. I finally tried on a dress that I really liked. It was a strapless dress. It was a pretty typical bridal dress, kinda mermaid and flares out that bottom. It was way over my budget. The saleslady was really pushing for me to make another appointment to come back and try the dress again to purchase the dress. I told her I would call her to make an appointment. I never did. I thought the dress was too expensive and wasn't totally what I wanted.

I found and bought my dress today. It was totally by accident. Last night my fiance told me about a sale at Sandra Sung which was on today. Today at work I did a quick search to find out more about the sale. The sale was only on till 5 pm today. I get off work at 4pm. I couldn't ask my cousin because it was super last minute and she had her son's birthday party to prepare for. I asked my co worker to come shopping with me. Sandra Sung has been in the business for 25 years and is wanting to retire from running her bridal shop. The sale was actually on from yesterday to today. All proceeds go to support the Breast Care Program at Mount Saint Joseph Hospital (TAPESTRY FOUNDATION FOR HEALTH CARE, http://www.tapestryfoundation.com). There are no price tags. I had a sales lady help me out. She suggested that I pick and try on the dresses that I like. Then if I want to purchase one, then suggest a price for Sandra to approve. My co worker and I chose a few dresses. Some were pretty standard wedding magazine styles. There was a ground floor level and an upstairs level. We started off downstairs and I didn't see anything that really caught my eye. There was a dress on a mannequin that I thought was ok. We then went upstairs to see the other styles available. I saw a dress on another mannequin that caught my eye. I tried on a few dresses and didn't really felt anything was right. The dress on the mannequin was the one for me. I ended up purchasing it. I realized that it fits most of my criteria in a dress. It isn't a strapless dress. It doesn't have a lot of sequins or flowers on it. It has a mini train. It is super easy to get in and out of because it has a zipper back. It is ivory. It is a bit different than all the other typical wedding magazine dresses. It doesn't fit me perfectly but the alterations that has to be done are very minimal. It was a bit over what I budgeted to spend on a wedding dress. It is ok because it is an unique dress and proceeds go to a good cause.