I would LOVE to say yes to a dress, but... (PIP)

firemedicrr

I am just so frustrated. I have gone to 8 different stores now; I can't even tell you how many dresses I have tried on, but I have not tried on but ONE that even came CLOSE to halfway fitting me. 

I'm beginning to wonder if I'm the first person my size to EVER get married, seriously.... 

I am just not crazy about anything I have tried on so far. I'll like the bust/bodice of one dress but not the rest of it, or I'll like the back but not the front, etc. 

Anyone else had/having the same problem?!  I feel like an anomale; everyone I know has found "their" dress within the first 2 or 3 stores they tried...

I'm thinking about ordering offline, but I've liked some of the dresses on the mannequin but not on me, so that freaks me out. 

Anywhere else I go will be over an hour's worth of driving one way...

sigh. 

FTL- I did try on a lace dress, I'll put up some of those pics here. I loved the top half of this dress, but I detested the rest (really, the lace at the bottom is longer than the other fabric? awkward if you ask me, especially on the train). 

ughhhhhhhhhh

okay, here are the ones I liked some aspect of, and what I liked/disliked about them. 

I'd love to hear your dress stories.. how long did it take you to find your dress? where did you find it? anyone have experience ordering offline? 

David's Bridal

I really liked this dress; the back was plan which I was okay with, but... this dress was discontinued. This was the last one they had and it was about 4-6 sizes too big. Even as a discounted dress it was 400 some dollars, and I would have to buy -this- one and have it altered down to size ($$$). meh

I loved this dress. The front is awesome. They can order it closer to my size (they can get a 0 but it would still need some alterations). I think I like the train, too. I just can't get over the fact that there's a girl who spent the same amount altering the dress to fit (sides taken in, hemmed to length, bustle) as she did on the dress. 

back of the dress. I'm just not sure if it's too much for me or not...especially considering an outdoor wedding..

This dress I LOVE the train on; I like the bodice, too. Not sure about the placement of the knot at the bottom of the drop waist though (I almost think it makes the bottom of the dress look too poofy); not crazy about the beading on the bust.

train

What do you ladies think of this one? Love the bodice and the look of the dress, but the bottom is very plain and it doesn't have a train.

detail on the back of the above dress

lace dress I love this, except for the bottom/hemline and the longer lace for the train looks weird IMO. 

train

okay, I will put the other pics in a reply to this thread; this is a lot of pics for this post. lol

CAB1217

I am in loveeee with the first one!

kyrgyzstan

I love how the drop waist one looks on you!

Are some of those Maggie Sotteros? I used to be a bridal consultant with MS, and I think Bernadette (similar to my DB dress, but I preferred the DB version), Karena Royale, Claire, Rosalyn, Anniston (which is sort of drop waist), Paigely, Caprice, or Ireland could work for you.

If you're not interested in MS, then ignore me!

firemedicrr

I love the fabric on this dress. I think I'd really like this one if it actually fit me now that I look at it; I'm not crazy about that much of a sweetheart neckline though

back of above dress

I love the cut of this dress and the drop waist. 

back of above dress

I think the cut of the previous dress was more flattering on me..

\

firemedicrr

CAB- I really liked that first one too, but it was soooo huge and they only had the one size. I just can't imagine how much it would cost to alter it down; david's has pretty high alterations prices anyway.

wish- yes, a few were Maggies.... I will have to look up those styles. I wonder where I could find them? 

calindi

I really like the first one, too!  And the one with the dropped waist, though I see what you mean about the bunching/poofing.

I went to 7 stores and tried on... oh man... dozens of dresses!  So you're not the only one!

There are definitely other dresses on the market that resemble the first dress, or you could do something similar and have the flower added.

firsttimersluck

I think the point of the longer lace train is to show of the lace... I actually like it.. haha
I still love that drop wasted gown on you. Of all these it's my favorite.

I have a story!!
 The first place we went to was DB and I went with my aunt, grandma, and H. My grandma seemed kinda impatient so I felt badly that she was there, my aunt kept joking around about the dresses and liked the worst ones, and H is sooooooo picky with me in gowns so he was saying noppe nope nope nope except to this hideous one.


 You can tell I'm not pleased there (and also 20 pounds heavier there.. don't mind that lol) 
The consultant from the START was bitching the whole time that H was there. She kept saying "you guys are never going to agree" " I can kick him out for you" "why do you even want him here that's not tradition" We had come with an entire list of dress names/collections and style numbers to make it easier on the consultant and she pulled ONE that was on the list. ONE. All the rest were her choices... you can tell I wasn't caring that much with this appointment..


 
I was so overwhelmed and frustrated by the consultant and the fact that no one liked the couple dresses I KINDA liked that when we found one that everyone was ok with I just was like. OK THAT'S IT. BOUGHT. DONE.
Big mistake.
I ended up hating it. It was nothing that I wanted.
H finally was like "ok. We're going to go buy you a new dress. I want you feeling the best on our wedding day and you won't in this gown"
So a little less than 4 weeks before the wedding we gown MY gown in a bridal outlet store. It was amazing. The first fit, a drop waste, we had it altered to my sweetheart, and I was the happiest bride on Earth in that gown.

My point is, even if you are freaking out and the wedding keeps getting closer and closer, it'll work itself out. Promise. Even if it's 3.5 weeks before the wedding.

kyrgyzstan

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_military-brides_would-love-say-yes-dress-but-pip?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special%20Topic%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:13Discussion:c5fd8971-c6f6-485e-bb72-3aff3acfae2dPost:d0be341d-cff3-47a3-bac9-69c2403fa85c">Re: I would LOVE to say yes to a dress, but... (PIP)</a>:
[QUOTE]CAB- I really liked that first one too, but it was soooo huge and they only had the one size. I just can't imagine how much it would cost to alter it down; david's has pretty high alterations prices anyway. wish- yes, a few were Maggies.... I will have to look up those styles. I wonder where I could find them? 
Posted by firemedicrr[/QUOTE]

<div>2 things, you can look for an authorized Maggie dealer and just call them. We had calls like that all the time. Secondly do not, do not, do not pay for alterations at DB. They'll try and scare you by saying they have experience with DB dresses and only DB dresses, and that once you take it out, you cannot bring it back, but that doesn't matter. Find someone on yelp with good reviews and experience with wedding dresses, and you'll be fine.</div>

Irishcurls

Yeah FTL is a good example of it taking awhile. You're not trying to buy samples are you? So I don't understand why a smaller size can't be ordered. None of the dresses I tried on fit and it IS hard to know what it will look like when it actually fits. It's just part of the process.

AmandaSC1988

One thing you have to accept before you go any further....being a smaller bride, you will NEVER be able to fit into a dress straight off the rack. If you go around only looking for dresses that fit your body now you will be looking over some great dresses!!  Most places don't sell the rack dresses anyway. (they are too abused)  Just FYI, alterations at Davids Bridal, Alfred Angelo, and like places are the money makers. Most places don't charge that much to alter. My lady is doing it for free.. another place said it wouldn't be more than $100...Stay away from the chain places for alterations if you can!

I think they all look beautiful on you and which ever you choose will be a great choice.

firemedicrr

Irish- I'm not trying to buy samples, but I'm not trying to spend a ton of money, either. I'm trying to look at dresses that cost between 450-500 initially.. that'd bring the total with alterations to about 10 percent of our budget. 

Rethany

I really love that last lace one on you (in the first post).  But I agree I'm not a huge fan of the lace being longer than the rest of the fabric in the train.  I bought a lace dress with a scalloped edging from Davids Bridal but it has the sweetheart neckline that you said you weren't a fan of. clicky Just a suggestion!

I also love the second dress in your second post.

Like PP said you probably won't find a single dress that fits you so try not to look at it that way.  I tried on so many dresses before I found the one I ended up buying.  Don't force yourself to buying something if you're not 100% sure.

prettyirishgirl

i love the first one and really like the first one in your second post. If you tried it on and loved it I'd also recommend looking up that specific dress if it is discontinued and ordering it in a size close to yours and getting it altered locally. I wouldn't use DB either. I haven't done my dress for the wedding yet , butI've had to get a lot of ball gowns for mardi gras and such and its similar. Find a good person in your area and take the dress to them to alter.

They were all great on you though and whichever you pick I'm sure will look great!!

shayNnik

I absolutely LOVE that drop waist on you, I think it's very flattering so that's my vote. I agree with PP to try to find it online, maybe even recycledbride or something like that. The bridal store I went to was very overpriced, so I planned on looking online for one once I found one I liked. 

As for trying on a million dresses, that's a common problem for most brides your size. I guess I'm greatful in the sense that my few extra pounds helped me score a resale dress that fit perfectly from head to toe. That's a first that anything fit me perfect though. If it helps, I'm unproportionate so it takes me a million pairs of jeans before I can find a pair that fits. Good luck!