Progress?
So, some of you may remember me from earlier this year, but things are all kinds of up in the air since I last posted.
- Unless there's some new, earth-shattering change, we're not getting married upstate any longer, but rather than near our home in Brooklyn. This was done for several reasons, including infrastructure (bathrooms, parking and the lack of indoor space were starting to appear more problematic than they did at the outset). Guest list issues were also a factor, as I was told an additional 50 people had to be added to our list, which just barely topped 100. Several arguments later, the idea to split into two parties was floated and accepted. Another party for extended family will be thrown at some point, but for now, our main shindig will be in Brooklyn. Venue t/k when we put the deposit down, because I'm superstitious that way. I nearly posted twice with angry rants about exactly what went down, but my fiancee begged me to keep it off of the internet (at least for now), so I am respecting his wishes. Still, parts of it continue to boggle and exasperate me, and I give my bridal party of awesome a lot of credit for holding my hand and listening to me bitch and keeping me sane.
- My colors are now cobalt and red. I had my first minor meltdown related to the wedding when I realized I couldn't stand the purple I was originally convinced that I wanted. So, after some consideration, I chose a lovely deep blue and a red, which everyone (myself and my bridal party) are much happier with.
- We booked a photographer! It wasn't an easy choice, as we had some wonderful people to choose from. But in the end, the package and deal that Alex offered were just too good to pass up, especially given his talent level.
- And then, there was the first round of dress shopping. I went with two of my most trusted shopping advisors, my mom and my sister (who is my MOH). I took Friday off of work and we hit the two big places I wanted to check out when it wasn't a weekend. I also had two venues of attack - actual bridal gowns, and bridesmaid gowns that come in ivory. The places I planned to check out had both of these options.
We arrived at RK Bridal about 15 minutes after opening. It's a huge, but bright and airy space, immaculately clean. People immediately popped up to ask if we needed help, but not in a pushy way. We signed in, and were immediately paired with a woman named Nicola who wanted to know all about what I was looking for. I told her (lace, either trumpet, mermaid or a-line, and $1k or under). She nodded, at first I thought she looked annoyed but realized quickly that she was running an inventory in her mind of what she had and set off to find it. She ran back with 7 dresses, all flattering in one way or another. Not all of them fit, but she assured me that bridal sizing is weird, and that I'd look beautiful in a dress in my size. (nice.) And she listened. Actually listened. Not one dress she brought out was over $900. Not one. And they were all lovely. I was between a dress from Dessy's destination line (I liked it, but my mom pointed out that the lace reminded her of a tablecloth) and another from another line I forgot but have written down that was strapless lace, with a nice a-line skirt, and a satin sash with a sparkly pin on it. Both were lovely for different reasons. You're only allowed to try on 7 at a time, and Nicola gave me her info and told me I was welcome back whenever I decided. (it took 45 minutes, I swear).
Then, we walked over to the Bridesmaid section where we spent a LOT of time looking. The woman I worked with, Mary, was also very nice, and was happy to offer suggestions. She also dug up this dress by Dessy, which I've been obsessed with since I started looking for something to wear when I get hitched. That was the dress my mom kept talking about, despite the sample being in an electric blue color and it not quite being able to close in the back. We also found a couple others I liked but didn't try on for reasons I don't remember why (including this lovely Bill Levikoff number). I also found (while waiting for my sister to use the bathroom) this bridal gown by Allure, which is even prettier in person.
I will totally and 100% be going back, and am very likely to buy my dress here. I was able to walk around unmolested, but help was simply a hand wave away. They are super organized, and the selection is just staggering.
Then we had a delicious lunch at Lazarra's, which I highly recommend if you're in the area.
Then off to Macy's. In the main Herald Square location, there's a salon run by Demetrios. I was really only interested in Demetrios because of their destination line, as destination dresses tend to be less voluminous and easier to manuever in. We got there a few minutes before my 2pm appointment.
Oh my God. Bridal hell. I got assigned to a pushy, pushy woman who made diet jokes when I couldn't fit into the bridal sample. The sample bridal gowns were actually dirty. And I'm not talking about a little grey around the hem - one dress had a HUGE black smudge directly across the bodice.
None of the dresses I liked were cheaper than $2500, and every one of them was huge, heavy and awful. After a couple of disasters, Pushy ran out to get a couple of bridesmaid dresses (also by Dessy) and had me try those on. I loved both of them, but everyone liked the second one more than the first (although the neckline on the first was amazing). The one good thing Pushy did in the entire appointment was show me how I could modify dress #2 to have a neckline more like dress #1. After much discussion, I went to change back into my street clothes, and Pushy started scare-tacticing me about how I should order NOW because it might get discontinued! I wasn't about to do this, and even if I was going to buy the dress ASAP, I wasn't going to buy it there.
What also annoyed me is that when I was outside looking into the mirror, she said, "Oh, you're the princess!" and I said, "Um, I'm 30 years old. I'm not a princess." She was horrified, and protested this assertion. "Can't I be a royal with more authority?" (My sister suggested duchess, which caused my mom to crack up.) I'm sure other people have had good experiences at this place (there was another girl a few mirrors over who seemed to be), but I am never going back there, nor will I reccommend it to anyone.
So, has any one of you gone the ivory-bridesmaid dress route? I'm heavily considering it, especially since I'd much rather pay $150-200 for my dress than $600+ for it.
And thank you to anyone who read this far!