Wedding Dress Cardinal Rule #2

Once you found your dress, STOP looking.

I emailed a picture of a Vera Wang White dress to my friend Lisa. She responds with the above as wedding dress rule #1. I respond back, "I thought rule #1 was: Don't buy a dress you without trying it on."

She responds.

well the#1 rule is don't try on a dress you can't afford....really.

but yes, in your case rule #1 is don't buy a dress without trying it on.

your rule #2 is don't try another dress on when you have one.

I think I'm in love with the layers of hand-cut organza flange.

What is a girl to do? She loves too many dresses. She has two hanging in her closet right now.

The Dresses...For Now

It's official. I have two wedding dresses. Shh...no one knows yet. I think all my girl friends will yell at me if they found out but I couldn't help it. I love wedding dresses way too much.

The Sorella was the first dress purchase made earlier this week. I still have to lose a few more pounds but miraculously, by cutting out the Blue Bell ice cream, I was able to fit into this sample dress. I tried it on the previous Friday and it wouldn't zip up at the bust and when I returned on Tuesday, it zipped. The girls in the shop were amazed because just a few days prior, one girl said I could buy the sample and get a corset put in. I'm not into corset dresses.

Since it was a sample I got 50% off. This dress was still pretty much brand new. It's from the Spring 2011 collection so it hasn't been tried on by very many girls. Plus this bridal shop takes great care of their dresses. All of their dresses are in great shape. I did find the dress online for a great price but I wanted to support the local wedding dress shop.

The bottom does need to be straightened a little bit.

I just love the tiers. The dress does not have a bow in the back. That's the rhinestone belt that they had me try on for some bling.

Here's a picture of the sparkly buttons on the back. I'm not sure if I like it with the rhinestone belt.

The second dress I bought is the Watters and Watters Lasara. I couldn't help it. It is such a pretty dress. I'm still not 100% sure I will wear it but as of right now, the plan is to wear the Lasara for the ceremony and then change into the Sorella (above, pictured).

Wedding Dress Shopping Day II

We did a little more dress shopping on Saturday. The first shop was Priscilla of Boston. I really liked every single dressed I tried on at Priscilla. Most of the dresses were Priscilla of Boston but I did try on one Melissa Sweet. My consultant was so nice and helpful.

Here are the top two choices from Priscilla of Boston.

This first one is Style 4307. It's covered in huge Swavorski crystals.
http://www.priscillaofboston.com/Designer-2009-Collection-Priscilla-of-Boston-Style-50896

The second one is Style #4716. The consultant said it just came in and I was the first to try it on. The great thing about this dress is the sequined under layer. It is so pretty.

http://www.priscillaofboston.com/Designer-Bridal-Gowns-Priscilla-of-Boston-Style-51470

The great thing about Priscilla of Boston is the fact that their dresses are custom fitted so for a short girl like me, I would not lose any special detailing by getting the dress shortened. Priscilla dresses are really beautiful up close because of the extra detailing. I tried on some dresses covered with hand beading. The dresses were so heavy, it was very difficult for me to walk to sit. The two dresses above were very detailed but not heavy.

The second shop of the day was Anna Be. Anna Be is a very trendy dress shop with a urban loft feeling. It's located in the hip neighborhood of LoHi (Lower Highlands). I was really excited about this shop because they carried so many great designers. I was excited to try on a Monique Lhuillier and a Vera Wang. I didn't see any Vera's that I liked but did try on a Monique Lhuillier. It was nice but not a top dress. None of the dresses I tried on were my favorite. The shop carried a large variety of designers but only a few dresses from each designer. They didn't have many of the Watters dresses that I wanted to try on.

Dress Shopping Day I

I had my first real day of dress shopping yesterday. (We're not counting that quick stop to try on the Watters & Watters Lasara as dress shopping.) I had a great experience at Felice Bridal Shop. I was a bit skeptical because it was located in the Cherry Creek neighborhood. I would say Cherry Creek is home of the high end shops for pretty much the entire Rocky Mountain region. I work about 4 blocks from the bridal shop so it was a plus.

I've had a vision of my wedding for as long as I can remember. Doesn't every girl? I think as I have gotten older, I have become more realistic. The vision for the dress came when in the form of a magazine with Avril Lavigne and Derek Whilby's wedding on the cover. I held on to the magazine through the years, hoping that I would be able to find Avril's Vera Wang dress. But unfortunately, Vera Wang dresses available for us commoners to purchase look nothing like the dresses custom designed for the Avrils, Jessicas, and Mariahs of the world. I tried looking for the dress and found it on one of those Chinese dressmaker sites. I really didn't want to risk purchasing a dress from an unknown dressmaker, so I started looking for sweetheart neckline dresses and dresses with scalloped details.

I then fell in love with a Watters & Watters dress in the Lasara style. I almost bought it without trying it on. I tried it on and liked it but didn't love it. A-line dresses don't do anything for me. But the dress is gorgeous. I also didn't like the ivory color with my skin tone. The bridal shop I tried it on at had it for $3,090.

A friend convinced me to not buy the first dress I try on so I scheduled at appointment at Felice Bridal Shop. I had a really pleasant experience with the girls there. We walked in and I showed her some photos of the Watters dresses I wanted to try on. Before we walked the entire store, she asked if there was a price range that I wanted to stay within. Obviously the consultant did not want to pick out a dress for me that was too expensive for me. She told me the range and I told her that I wanted to try them all on. Nothing was off limits. If I really liked a dress, I will find a way to pay for it. I even joked about serving popcorn and pretzels at the reception so that I could buy my dream dress.

She brought out the dresses I picked out and brought a few others that she thought would look good on me. Surprisingly, many of the dresses that I ended up liking were the ones that I had picked out online. The only dress that I probably would not pick to try on was the Amsale dress. I think it looks awful on the designer's website.

So the results of the day:

This is the Watters WTOO line in the Delphine style. I really liked it. The lace was really pretty. I keep on thinking I want lace but I also want plain taffeta. I think it was under $1,100.

The dress below is something I would never even think about trying on but my friend said to be open-minded about dresses so I printed a picture of it. I figured I was in the store, I might as well see how terrible a mermaid or trumpet dress looked on me. I tried it on and it ended up being the most flattering on my body. I'm a short girl and I'm not thin. But because of my lack of hips and a butt, the dress really worked. It's a Watters WTOO in the Sorella style. The best part? It's the cheapest dress I tried on so far. $898.

The last dress I tried on was by Amsale in the Serena style. I think the dress looks awful on the model but is gorgeous in person. It is made out of the most luxurious silk taffeta. It was also very flattering on me but not as flattering as the Sorella above. It does hide the body a bit so I don't think it's not a good option for women who want to show off their bodies. It did make me feel like a fairy tale bride.

I think we left day 1 with some good options. My experience with Felice Bridal Shop was great I would definitely buy a dress from them. Today we have appointments at two other bridal shops: Priscilla's of Boston and Anna Be.

Venues

We looked at several venues for the wedding. First we started looking at venues in San Diego. All of my favorites were not large enough.

I've always wanted to get married at Tom Ham's Lighthouse on Harbor Island. The venue comes with chiviari chairs!

The other place was The Prado in Balboa Park. I've had many good meals at the Prado. Balboa Park is also such a great backdrop for a wedding.


Then we found Kona Kai resort on Shelter Island. It was large enough to fit 500 for a sit down dinner reception.

I then thought about how difficult it would be to do everything from Denver, especially a wedding for 500+. I started considering Denver. The pros? I would be able to get a competitive quote with Denver's top caterers. I know which bakeries make yummy cake and which ones do not. I would be able to do a lot of the decorations ahead of time and not worry about shipping it.

We spent several weekends looking at wedding venues. I wanted to avoid a hotel wedding. Hotels are great but I wanted something more unique. We found unique and we found large but we couldn't find unique and large together.

We thought we found the place when I came across the Denver Athletic Club but when we met with the events director, it wasn't large enough.

The DAC has this gorgeous rooftop.

So in Denver we looked at:

- Noah's Event Center: The main room only held 250 but the entire place held 600. We thought about doing a smaller ceremony and dinner and then a larger reception. The catering for the food station reception was actually more than a sit down dinner. We really liked Noah's. We thought all the rooms were great and the DIY lighting, sound system, and lower to you ceiling grids were awesome. This was our top choice in Colorado.

- Stonebrook Manor: They specialize in weddings but it was a bad sign with Jerami asked if he was coming to pick out a casket as we drove up. It was nice but just not our style. The gardens were really pretty. In the end we didn't like how restrictive they were with food and beverage. If I wanted those restrictions, I would just book the Westin Tabor Center (at least the Westin was more in line with our style.)

- Lionsgate: The place held 370 if we used the patio as additional seating. The place was beautiful but the room looked smaller than the room at Noah's.

- El Jebel Temple: This building has potential but it's just very dated. It needs a little TLC to make it very grand.

- The Pines at Genesee was beautiful. It was very Colorado with the Pine trees but we didn't like the fact that in order to accomodate 500, we would have to seat everyone in five different rooms on two different levels.

- Exdo Events Center: We were considering Exdo because it had a nice urban night club vibe but in the end, the feedback about the area made us change our mind.

We also considered but did not visit:

- The Sewall Ballroom at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts but I didn't like the fact that they now restrict the catering to Epicurean. They used to have a longer list of approved caterers.

- The Denver Art Museum was too small.

- The Denver Botanic Gardens was also too small.

- The Denver Nature & Science Museum. We like the museum but we didn't like the fact that we were restricted to their in house catering. The food is not bad but we used to do our annual work event there and I wanted to separate work from wedding.

- The History Colorado Center's atrium holds 400 and was a choice but it is still under construction and they just announced their exclusive catering partnership with Continental Divide. Nothing against Continental Divide but I have other caterers in mind.

- The Wings Over the Rockies Museum. We live next to the Wings museum and Jerami loves the idea of getting married with old planes surrounding us but the events person was just not very responsive to us. I know they are doing a lot of renovations but she should still check her emails and respond to them.

- Sherman Street Event Center was the old location for the El Jebel Shriners and the two buildings look very similar. The pricing at Sherman Street was a little expensive for what you were getting.

I then convinced Jerami to get married in Vegas. Vegas would mean less stress for me. Most venues had nice all inclusive packages. My family and friends love Vegas. There's just something for everyone to do. Vegas is also relatively cheap to get to (those from California can drive) and hotel rooms can range from $30 to $$$$$ and many of my family and friends get comped rooms and meals in Vegas. Who doens't love Vegas?

As of now, we do not have a venue but I think we're getting closer.