Dress shopping made me miserable. The thought of having to make that decision made me more miserable. You watch shows like "Say Yes to the Dress" and you see girls saying they "just KNOW" it's the one, and everyone's crying and happy. This did not happen to me. I went to 4 different appointments at 3 different stores and just felt an immense amount of pressure and confusion. The sales people kept saying "you only get ONE so it has to be the most perfect one" which made me want to have a full-on panic attack and/or chug some vodka.
I took other brides' advice of going in with an open mind, trying on lots of different styles, etc. When I finally chose a dress (because I felt like I had to, even though realistically I had plenty of time still) it wasn't a joyful crying moment like on TV. It was just "ok, I guess I'll buy this one." Don't get me wrong, it's an absolutely beautiful dress. But I didn't "fall in love" and "know it was the one" as if it were my FI.
The more I hear other brides talking about their dress buying experience the more I think I'm totally weird. Normally I love shopping, and I never have trouble making decisions. When I went with my FI to buy a new couch, for example, I walked in, pointed at the first one I saw, and never regretted it. So why was it so awful, confusing, and not fun to buy my wedding dress?
Re: Did anyone else HATE dress shopping?
I think these consultants also suck - holy crap, care more about your bride and less about making the sale. I think the biggest thing that helped me was I tried to have fun with it. My sisters made me try on ridiculous dresses I would never wear just to see what they'd look like. We played mean girls with the dresses and basically just picked them apart (think SYTTD live action role playing).
I'm the fuck out.
I'm not looking forward to going. So far, I haven't found anything in my budget that I like in pictures. I think shopping is going to be an epic failure. I'd rather wear a maxi dress and some sandals to my wedding, so I skip the shopping part.
My wedding is November 15, so I need to get over it and start trying on stuff. Ugh
I think if I could just try some stuff on alone I'd have enjoyed it more.
I couldn't stomach the thought of going into one more store and being made to feel ugly, fat, and undeserving to be a bride. Long story short, my aunt (who is a dress designer) made me a beautiful version of a dress from Anna Campbell's Gossamer collection, which I absolutely loved when I saw the pictures online (the designer doesn't sell them in the U.S.). I don't know what I would have done without her.