Playing Dress Up: Part I

My sister, my brother in law, and my itty bitty niece were visiting this weekend. When my sister got married, we all (I have two sisters,) went to Vera Wang in New York and she tried on a few drop-dead gorgeous gowns to get an idea of what she wanted. It was a fun sister experience. So, since I wouldn't have the opportunity to spend quality sister time for awhile, I said "screw it!" to the budget and made an appointment at an incredibly cute boutique that sells designer wedding gowns in Del Mar called Bliss Bride. Budget? What budget?

I was a little nervous since I'm not exactly a Park Avenue kind of girl, but Anne at Bliss Bride made me feel so comfortable. The shop was gorgeous, and they close the entire store down for each bride. I got to try on as many dresses as I wanted and take pictures. Anne even added accessories to me (a necklace and a veil) so I could see the entire ensemble.

After trying on many dresses, I came to some fashion conclusions: 1) I look best in a long dress. I did try on some short dresses, but they just made me look shorter. Long was more flattering. 2) I want something unique, but I found that the simpler designs just looked more flattering. I certainly don't want anything too...boring. 3) How am I ever going to stick to a reasonable budget for a wedding dress? After trying on these beautiful gowns, do I have any more money to carve out of my savings for a dress like this? Is it worth it?

I'll stop babbling now. Here are some pictures we took at Bliss Bride:

[Me wearing Amy Kuschel's "Parfait" with the big sister. This was the favorite out of the 10 or so dresses I tried on. I will probably look for a similar silhouette, even though it seems to be a pretty conventional silhouette for brides these days. It was definitely the most flattering. What you can't see in the picture is the absolutely gorgeous bead work and embroidery on the bodice. I was surprised by the stunning details.]

[Amy Kuschel's "Parfait" on the model, image from Amy Kuschel]

[Me wearing Amy Kuschel's "Margherita" and sporting a veil. I must say, I have been pretty anti-veil and will probably end up wearing a flower or nothing at all in my hair. But I did have a moment of "oooooooh I feel perty" right when she put it on me. Wow, now I REALLY look like a bride! Holy cow! It looks like I'm ready to go to the altar in this photo.]

[Amy Kuschel's "Margherita" on the model, image from Amy Kuschel]

[Me in Christos. I like this dress! No one else did because of the "weird strap" but I felt like the strap and rosettes gave it a bit more punch than the Margherita]

[Dress from Christos' 2009 Spring Collection, image from brides.com]

[Oh, Claire Pettibone. How I love your bohemian stlye. At the shop I LOVED this dress and proceeded to twirl around and admire the ginormous rose at my chest. I thought, wow! This looks different than all of the other hundred strapless dresses! This is what I would want to break the bank for! This is what a designer dress should feel like!
But when I got home, I realized that it was a bit too funky for my taste and would probably suit someone taller. And then the boy got a look at it and referred to it as "The Tree Dress". ...Hilarious, isn't he?]

[Claire Pettibone's "Lalique", image from brides.com]