I just bought my dress (yay!) and found it at Marie Antoinette Bridal. This was a place I hadn't read anything about on tk; actually my mom had heard good things about it and suggested we take a look. It looks dated from the outside and not in an area of town you'd expect to find a tidal shop, but I felt taken care of as soon as I walked in. Cammie was my consultant and was very low key, no pressure, but also very knowledgable. They've been in business for over 30 years and the owner and her daughter are still there doing measurements and alterations. Since I can't come back from the southwest multiple times for fittings, someone who knows what they are doing with alterations is a must! Also, they are the only store I've been to that doesn't put those clamps on the backs of the dresses when you try them on so the samples they sell are not worn on the back from clamping. I found a dress and veil in my budget ($1000) that are exactly what I was looking for!
I went to Harold's just to make sure that dress was "the one" before purchasing, and the difference was night and day. After reading great reviews of Harold's I was very disappointed to find that the few dresses they had in my budget were flimsy and cheap-looking. The consultant was kind and helpful but the place overall just had an impersonal "factory" feel.
I found my BM dresses at Classic Brides by Eva. They had a great selection and also came highly recommended by friends and by TK posters. Although I'd found my dress by that point, I did have a look at a few dresses with my sister who just got engaged and they also had much nicer dresses than Harold's in the 1000-1200 range.
Hope everyone's planning is going well, and thanks for all the advice on here thus far!