YAY!!!!! I have had a CRAZY week! I flew out to LA on Thursday to visit one of my best friends from college. We had a lot of fun, but it was also majorly emotional since it was exactly 3 years since she was diagnosed with brain tumors, so she was glad to have me there to get through the tough moments when she was remembering how scary it all was (she's okay now, not 100% but it's a condition she can live with indefinitely with little effects).
Then I took the red eye back on Sunday, arriving Monday morning at 6am. Waited at the airport until 11am, curled up in a corner sleeping on my suitcase, when my Mom arrived. We hung out on Monday, had a lot of fun, went out for a great dinner and then...
Today we went dress shopping!!!!!
So, first salon we had an appointment at 10am. Showed up, it was still locked until 10:15am. We went in and told them we had an appointment, and they said, "Oh, okay." Never checked the book or asked my name. Then the consultant asked me (in Spanish) if I spoke Spanish. And I replied (in Spanish) that yes, I do speak fluent Spanish, but my Mom does not and so I would prefer to speak in English. And she said her English wasn't very good, so I said that was fine, just try and when necessary I'd translate. She refused to try, so she found another consultant to help me. Fine, whatever. The other consultant was fine, nothing special. Helped me put on the dresses, helped me take them off. We selected our own gowns off the racks. Found one that I could totally wear (my Mom even cried, and I got teary), but the train was GIGANTIC and I don't want much of a train at all, and I wasn't a fan of the straps and neckline - would have remade those. Not a big deal, but the dress was $400 out of our budget, so I feel like if you're going to go with a more expensive splurge of a dress, you might as well make sure it's nearly perfect! But at least I knew there was a dress out there that I would be happy wearing (with alterations) as my wedding dress.
Second store we didn't have an appointment, but they were so welcoming and so nice. They picked some, they let us pick some. Very friendly! They did tear the labels out of dresses, which I wasn't a fan of, but whatever. We found 3 dresses we liked, and one was definitely our favorite up to that point. It was totally different and not at all what I pictured, but I liked it a lot. It was also 1/2 our budget (yay!). So now I knew that there was a dress in my budget that I could wear. Yay!!!
Now I feel like this is the story of the 3 bears.... too hot, too cold... just right!
So we ate lunch and then went to the third store (all of these are on the same street, by the way. It's a cool street but a bit freakishly bridal-focused). This one was the prettiest store and had the best reviews online. I tell the receptionist we're there for an appointment, and my Mom tells me this was more what she pictured when we wanted a bridal salon - that was about to go horribly wrong. The receptionist tells me I'm with this girl, let's call her Victoria (cuz I never really remembered her name). The girl visibly SNEERED at us! It was like in Pretty Woman! We clearly weren't dressed up expensively enough for her taste. So then she says hi and before even asking our names, asks me for our budget. So I tell her that I'd like to stay around $1300. And she sneers again and says, "I don't think I have anything to show you." And I said, "Excuse me? You don't have anything in that price range?" And she said, "Well, a few, but not much." And I said, "Well, show me what you have." At that point, I was PISSED, but I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of leaving. She takes me to one section and goes, "This is all you can look at." Um, when you shop for a car, do they ask you the budget and steer you to a row or cars? No, they ask if you want an SUV or a sedan, what color you want, hatchback or convertible, etc.!!! She didn't care if I wanted lace or whatever. I was really annoyed. So I said, "What is the price range for the rest of your dresses?" And she said, "Oh, they go up to 17 to 18." And I said, "17 to 18 hundred or 17 to 18 thousand?" And she said, "Hundred." Oh, um, NOT THAT BIG OF A DIFFERENCE LADY! So I told her that was acceptible and if it was the right dress I'd consider it. So we picked out one dress that was around $1500, and she went off and grabbed another. My Mom tried to convince me to walk out the door, but I felt like that was letting this brat win. I wanted to force her to treat us as customers. So I tried both on.
Now I'd really like to say we wasted lots of this woman's time, but the problem is the dress she picked was PERFECT!!! I mean, it just was perfect. The sample fit so well I could have walked out of the store and down the runway, not a single alteration (okay, well maybe shorten the length a bit). It even matched my SHOES!! Yes, I bought my shoes before the dress. It's a lace bodice slightly rouched with a sweetheart neckline, beautiful lace like Kate Middleton's dress. Then it goes into a rouched dropped waist made of chiffon, which has a flower on the left side, and then layers of gently draped chiffon. Though I really wanted straps, they'd be too much on this gown and it's SO incredible! I mean, I just didn't want to take it off!!!
Best part? No reason for that lady to be such a snot - it was in our budget after all! Once she realized I quite possibly was going to buy that gown, she got a lot nicer. She even found a pink flower to replace the white flower on the dress so it matched my shoes perfectly! I loved it! But I'm still annoyed and don't want to give her the commission so I'm waiting to see if I can buy it somewhere else.
The first 2 bridal salons did not allow pictures, and I only tried on 2 dresses at the last salon (the snotty one) and I didn't like one of the dresses...
But the good news is that you get pictures of the dress I am absolutely in love with!!!!!
And without further ado....
My shoes!
Me in the dress!!!
