The First Dresses of Many

I have been trying to resist the urge for a long time, but on a spur of the moment decision I went dress shopping yesterday! My best friend Lova is getting married in August and so it is time for us to find something for her to wear. She told me that a friend of her's had visited a bridal boutique in the Riverwoods and really liked it, and so we decided to go take a look and get something to eat at Bajio's while we were there.

We stopped in at Abella Bridal and were lucky enough to drop by when they didn't have any appointments scheduled so she let us go in the back and look around, and was even nice enough to let us try some dresses on! Heather started, and then I just couldn't help myself, she was just having too much fun (and the sales girl wasn't all over us, actually giving us some free reign try try on whatever dresses we wanted, and try them on ourselves). Their gowns run from $300-$3000, and I loved that they had a large selection of modest, yet unique gowns. Adding sleeves costs enough that it might be worth the difference to buy a beautiful $600 gown that already has natual-looking sleeves attached.
I LOVED this dress on the hanger. But I never tried it on, and I am not really loving it on the model in this picture either. It just has the three quarter length sleeves with buttons at the cuff that I have been dreaming of lately. However, if I am going to go short, I want something from Stephanie James!

I really loved this dress, the Monqiue. I have a huge chest, which makes my waist look small, so I looked super curvy in this silhouette, something I really liked! I love how simple it is, with a split train down the back that is lined with pleats that match the pleats around the neckline. A dress like this would call for some really amazing hair!
Maybe a chignon with a bouffant like knottie jerseybride2006?

After Abella, we headed over to David's Bridal just to check things out. I was not impressed, and have no intention of ever going back when I really begin shopping for my dress. The entire experience is such a marketing ploy, and all of the gowns look exactly the same to me. They force you to look at EVERY possible gown in your size, even the designer gowns that you have no intention of buying. They make you choose shoes, look at veils, and even consider the overpriced bridal jewlrey and hair accessories they have on display. She kept repeating over and over "If you buy today you will save $50!", even though we had explicitly stated that we had no intention of buying that nght. The designers there seem to think that adding sparkles or beading to a dress is the key to getting women to fall in love with their gowns. I can't knock them too much though because Lova did find 2 really beautiful gowns that looked really good on her. I think the price was a little high for both (especially considering the costs for ordering extra length and adding sleeves), so we are going to keep looking.

She laughed when I kept saying that dress was really "sweet". It looked adorable on her, and it would go well with the Tiffany blue, peach, chocolate brown color scheme she is considering, modeled after this cake by Papillon Cakes.

I think that this ended up being her favorite, in Ivory. This one is a lot more romantic and dramatic, roses and candlelight and waltzes are what I picture when I look at this gown. We had created a color scheme a few weeks ago that would work well with a statement gown like this.
I want to do some wedding boutique research and find some places that carry consignment gowns or are having sample sales in the next few weeks, and somehow find the time to find the perfect dress at that magical price.

I learned a few things about my own tastes in gowns while on this little adventure, which I will be posting about soon! My Mom got so excited when I told her I tried on some dresses, if only I had that dang ring on my finger :) That Boy will be here on Thursday and should be staying through sometime next week, don't be expecting any big announcements from me though. I can be patient for a little bit longer.