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Not Engaged Yet
So I guess I'm a bride now (lengthy, some vent, mostly woohoos)
As some of you girls know, I made an appointment last week at David's Bridal to start looking into (duh) wedding dresses. I knew it wouldn't be like the way they portray bridal fittings in "Say Yes to the Dress" or similar shows, but I had no idea it would be as different as it was.
For those of you who enjoy a novel-sized post, here's a basic rundown of everything that happened.
I made my appointment for 1PM. Since the store is in Hoover (a good hour plus from here), I decided that we should leave no later than 11:30, that way we could accomodate for anything stops along the way or traffic. Of course, we end up leaving about 10 minutes later than that, and my grandmother is the one to drive (since my mom and I both drive sports cars and there's no way all three of us could fit into either of them). Needless to say, grandmother drives like, well, a grandmother. We get there about 5 minutes before my appointment.
It was absolute crazy in that store!
Of course, we were told to expect that, it being a Saturday and all. But we made our way up to the welcome desk (read: folding table) and signed in. The woman was very friendly, and told us we could go ahead and start browsing the racks. I was told to pick three dresses to start out with, and that they would call my name when my consultant was available. We browsed the racks, picked out three dresses, and waited.
At 1:38, my name is called, and my consultant walked me and another girl to the back, giving us a little bit of a tour on the way (this is where our shoes are, bridesmaid dresses, etc. etc.). When we got back to where the "changing" rooms were, I started feeling queasy. The dressing rooms were sort of in square patterns, with four doors and four pedestals on each side. As we walked by, we saw four different brides with four different families, all standing within 2 feet of each other. Some brides' families had to stand, because another bride may have had more than 4 people with her and they would take chairs from either side to accomodate them. I was hoping for at least SOME kind of privacy.
After I get changed into my first gown, I came out rather reluctantly and let my mom and grandmother (as well as God and everyone else) look it over and tell me what they thought. It was a bit of a mermaid gown, nothing fancy, but with a little bit of texture and some beading. It really was pretty. After we finished looking it over, I went back into the fitting room, and waited about 10 minutes before [consultant] helped me out of that one and into my second one.
HERES WHERE THE VENT STARTS
The woman beside me was another bride of my consultant. I was told a couple of things when I made an appointment:
1. Nine times out of a ten, a consultant is working with 2 brides at the same time, but no more than two.
2. Your consultation lasts an hour and a half. If you need more time than that, they will schedule you an additional appointment for a later date at no additional charge.
At this point, the whole thing starts turning into a nightmare. There were kids. EVERYWHERE. I'm talking between the ages of 2 and 6. Many of them. Running all over the place, jumping up on the pedestals, jumping back down, sitting on them, rolling all over the floor, putting their hands all over the mirrors.
No joke, I came out of my room at one point with another dress on, and there were two girls under the age of 6 laying on the pedestal in front of my dressing room, scribbling on a catalog with pens. [Consultant] actually had to say "Excuse me, sweety, is it alright if I get right there?" This girl just looks at her, looks over to where her family is (to my right with a girl trying on dresses), then back to her scribbling.
The time between dresses started getting longer, and longer. Waited 15 minutes for one. 25 minutes for the next. 20 minutes for the next. If I could've taken them off myself, I would have.
This is when [consultant] ended up spreading herself too thin. I tried on a total of 6 dresses. I was heavily set on dress #5, so I tried it on one last time. At the same time, the girls on either side of me also had their dresses, and they went through the whole (Attention David's Bridal guests! This is (so-n-so) and she has found her dress!) thing where everyone whoops and hollers and they ring a loud bell. After she finished, she asked me about my dress (and she actually did the "Are you saying "yes" to this dress? thing, lol) and I told her I had found it. She said "Okay, give me just a couple of minutes to help my other bride [which was actually her 3rd] into her next dress, and I'll be back to celebrate.
I stayed in that dress for 45 minutes. I wanted to just change out of it, and into my regular clothes and just be done with it. But the one I chose had such a massive train that there was no way I was getting out of it by myself.
50 minutes in this dress, and [consultant] comes back, does the celebration things (yay, bell, woo), and tells me she'll be right back to help me out of the dress, just as soon as she gives some alteration paperwork to bride #4. I only lasted an additional 10 minutes before we said "forget it" and my mom helped me out of the dress. I have no idea how we managed, but we did.
Long story short, by the time we got me back in my regular clothes, got my paperwork and information from [consultant], stood in a long line to pay for everything, it was 5 o'clock. I was just ready to get home.
HERE'S WHERE THE WOOHOOs START
Bright side, I found my dress! We took some pictures, but they're on my mom's phone and we haven't uploaded them yet, but I found the dress on DB's website, so I'll post those for now.
Train details:
It's got a Cathedral train with lace details around the trim. I haven't decided on if I want to make it strapless, keep it the way it is, or add some sort of something to it. 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: So I guess I'm a bride now (lengthy, some vent, mostly woohoos)
Sorry your DB experience wasn't so good though. I went there once with one of my girlfriend's when she was getting married and it was similar. It was a weekday so it wasn't TOO crazy but there were kids all over the place. One had chocolate all over his hands and face and got into the dresses. The other thing I remember was that the consultant seemed to just be there to help the bride into the dresses - she never gave suggestions or even really asked opinions or anything like that.
Motolyn's House Remodel Blog Starting anew Nov. 2012.
I love the detail, especially the train. Congrats on finding THE ONES (the man and the dress)!
My only advice is that when you go to pick up your dress, call ahead to make sure they have a room for you to try it on. I had to wait a bit and they seemed a little annoyed that I wanted to try on my dress, but I'd be damned if I was going to sign the release that my dress was fine without trying it on and looking over everything.
On the plus side, YAY! for finding your dress! It's a beautiful dress and I can't wait to see pics of you in it! : )
Married!
That does sound like a stressful dress excersion, but I can't say I'm surprised. It was like that when my mom and I went there with my sister for her dress - busy, distracting, not as private as you would like. The kids would have made me out of my mind though - I'd have side-eyed the shiit out of their parents when they didn't tell them to knock it off.
I'm so glad you found the dress though! I can't wait to see pics of it on you!
Oh wow...well you have just decided one thing for me. When the time comes I'm going shopping on a weekday.
I'm glad you found your dress!! It's beautiful and I can't wait to see pics of YOU in it!
"His farts smell like Satan's asshole mixed with a skunk's vagina. But it's okay, because I love him." -CSousa
Married! May 27th, 2012
[QUOTE]I love your dress!! I am sorry your experience sucked but please make sure you post pictures of YOU in it!!!
Posted by ravenray[/QUOTE]
<div>Lol, oh I will. :) Mom's at work right now, and I'll be leaving for work here shortly, so it may be tomorrow or later before I can get them off her phone.</div><div>
</div><div>I'm hesitant about going there for BMs dresses. I don't need anything incredibly spectacular or in bulk (I only have 1 BM, lol), so we'll probably just settle for some department stores downtown for that. Glad you girls love it though! :)</div>
Still here and still fabulous!