Dress Shopping, Part 3

So, after a full weekend of shopping and head spinning and family and friends, I was ready for some alone time to think it all over. I had a picture of myself in the Alfred Angelo dress, and a picture from the website of the dress I liked at Ann’s. In my head, I knew it was between these two dresses. I loved the dress from Ann’s, but it was over my budget. I liked the dress from Alfred’s, but it was $800 cheaper. What were my priorities?

I took the next week to just think. I looked at more dresses online, and considered going to more shops. But I knew I didn’t want to keep shopping. I’m glad I had the experience, but I didn’t want to repeat it. Once was enough for me thank-you-very-much.

A few days later, I got an email from Dan’s mom, Lorraine. She had a lot of very good advice, and I’m glad I got to hear her feedback about the weekend. One of her pieces of advice, as you saw yesterday, was “If in doubt, don’t.” That pretty much sealed the deal on the Alfred Angelo dress… I didn’t love it, knew I wouldn’t be thrilled with it, so it was out of the running. Another thing she said she thought was a good idea was for me to go check out the dresses at David’s Bridal, which I hadn’t been planning on doing. That way, if I found something there, great! It would likely be much cheaper. If I didn’t find something there, at least I know I tried most of my options.

That ended up being great advice. If you’re not sure the type of dress you want, definitely go to David’s Bridal. They have such a huge selection that even if you don’t buy from there, you can get a really great idea of the style that you’re interested in.

The following Saturday, my sister Jennie and I went to David’s Bridal, list of dresses from the website in hand, and once again had a totally different experience. The attendant pulled the dresses for us, but that was about it. She wasn’t in the room helping me get dressed, or helping me pull other designs she thought I would like. Very hands off, which was fine. I tried on close to 15 dresses here, and just didn’t really see myself in any of them. So, at the end of the day, we made our way back to Ann’s, where I asked if I could try on the dress I loved from there one more time.

And then I bought it.

The end.

Just kidding! I mean, no, I did buy it. But that’s not all you get. I tried it on again (with my cowboy boots that were the topic of much debate the previous weekend), and in my own little way, I finally got my “moment”. It wasn’t a tears flowing, heart swelling kind of moment that people expect to have when finding “the” dress; but as Dan so kindly put it, I’m “too calculating” for that kind of response. (For a reminder of what that means, see the first part of the dress series.) But, it was my own little internal nod. It was me looking in the mirror and telling myself, “You’ve tried countless dresses. You’ve compared them all to this one. You love this dress. This is your dress.”

And then I bought it.

So, don’t let the wedding industry media get in the way of your shopping experience. You might have a “moment”, and just know, like my best friend Katie did. You might have a calculated over-thought experience like I did. You might not even find a dress you love, and that’s okay. The dress doesn’t have to be a priority. As long as you’re happy, feel confident, and are married at the end of the day (if that’s what you want), things will be okay.

The end.