Our wedding may still be over a year away (May 14th of 2016) but I could hardly wait to start searching for a dress. Mostly because I know myself well, and I am going to be one picky lady when it comes to finding The One. My search began in New York with the adorable Liz (who is also newly engaged!) by my side and it was definitely an eye opening experience. Also, it's worth mentioning that the only thing I came close to actually purchasing that day was a vintage mint green sequined cardigan trimmed with marabou. Shocking, I know.
We went to four spots: Alexandra Grecco's studio (of course), the Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show (home of the sequined cardigan I sadly did not buy), Stone Fox Bride, and Lovely Bride. Alexandra's dresses and studio were just as expected: perfectly amazing. The dove grey silk number in the second and third photos was my favorite and made me feel like I was wearing the lightest, softest nightgown. The vintage show was overwhelming but fun, and I did see a lot of wedding-worthy frocks but they were mostly from the 1920's and 1930's and built for a 12 year old's body.
I was really excited about the next stop, Stone Fox Bride, but my experience lasted all of ten minutes because the samples were incredibly tiny (mostly size 2's) and the selection (although very pretty) was surprisingly small and beyond my budget. Also, the woman assisting me had a slightly cold demeanor that made me feel as though I was being hurried through the experience, which is not pleasant when you're standing there half naked wearing some unflattering high waisted nude underwear and struggling to pull complicated garments on and off. I only tried three dresses on, felt terrible about myself, and quickly got dressed so that I could cheer on Liz (who was only having slightly more luck than I did). I imagine a tiny lady would be in heaven here, but it wasn't for me.
Fortunately our last stop, Lovely Bride, made up for this awkward experience. The woman assisting me was a total doll (whew) and made me feel comfortable despite the aforementioned weird trying-on-white-dresses underwear situation. Liz and I both had one main reason for going to Lovely and that was the selection of Rue de Seine dresses (I'm wearing my favorite in the last photo). I tried on about ten different dresses and really liked three of them but none of them were quite perfect, although it did help me rule out certain things that probably don't look too flattering on me.
I would love to find a vintage dress but I'm still open to something new. I like the idea of finding a dress by a designer I love (Honor? Erdem, perhaps?) that isn't technically a wedding dress, since the thought of wearing something really bridal-y turns me off. In the meantime I will be trolling the internet for options like a madwoman. Wish me luck, and let me know in the comments if you have any wedding dress hunting advice (or horror stories) of your own!
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