Dresses and Family

Last weekend I headed to New York to see my sister/MOH starring in HMS Pinafore and spend some quality time with la familia.  This was actually the first time I'd seen my family since Christmas, so they hadn't even seen my engagement ring yet! 

Family and extended family congratulating my sister after her show
(From left) Me, Mom, Dad, and Sister

I didn't really have any plans except for seeing MOH's show, so when I had some free time with my parents on Saturday I was really surprised when they suggested looking at wedding dresses.  See, I had this whole schedule for my planning process in mind, and that included not shopping for dresses until 9 months before the wedding (September-ish).  I've heard too many stories about dress-regret, and wanted the chance to tone up a bit before I picked out a dress and had to worry about alterations.

But I could tell my mom was eager to share this experience with her little girl, and since I don't get to see her as often as I'd like, of course I said yes!

Who could resist her mom looking like this?  [src]

 

 

Continue to read more, if you're not M!



We went to RK Bridal, where my sister bought her dress off the clearance rack for the amazing super unbelievable price of $125.  If you're in New York and want to look for a specific dress, I'd say this is the place to do it.  They had hundreds of designer and name-brand dresses, organized by brand and silhouette.  In fact they're so popular that when we got there on Saturday afternoon, they had already filled up their first-come, first-serve list and I wasn't able to try any on.  That didn't stop us from looking, and it was really exciting to get to see some of the dresses I'd been ogling online in actual fabric - even if they were encased in plastic bags.  I made a mental note of which dresses I wanted to try on, and we decided to come back first thing on Sunday.

We made sure to arrive about 20 minutes before they opened on Saturday and there were already a few girls wandering around the lobby.  When the doors opened we were first on the list (#winning!) and there were already ten or so names after ours before the store even opened.

Since I wasn't looking to buy that day, I mostly avoided the clearance section and instead looked around for some of the dream dresses I'd been clipping out.  They had a rather strict procedure, probably since the store is so popular, so I was only allowed to try on seven dresses.  I found three that I really wanted, then to round out my selection, I picked a few different styles just for fun

Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but here are some of the dresses I pulled just to see:

Mori Lee Style 1601

 

 

 

The first one I tried on was a big, huge princess-y ballgown.  Go big or go home, right?  I had a feeling I wasn't a princess kind of girl, but it never hurts to try.  I loved the flower details, they felt soft and romantic and perfect for our outdoor wedding.  The voluminous skirt felt overpowering though and I could barely walk around in it - I couldn't imagine trying to sit or dance!  My mom loved the sweetheart neckline and organza and these ended up being trends in all the dresses we liked the best.

Casablanca 2016

Now here's where I have a bad blogger moment and admit I can't remember what the next few dresses I tried on were.  I think this one was a Casablanca, and I know it was a mermaid style, and it looked awfully similar to the picture above, but I have no idea if that was it or not.  Regardless, I wanted to try on a mermaid dress because I thought they looked oh-so-elegant.  Mom was not on board, but thought maybe if she saw it in person, she'd change her mind.  Well, she didn't.  Turns out this style is not for me.  I liked the curve-accentuating waistline, but we later realized that could be easily achieved with a dropped waistline dress.  I did not like the feeling of not being able to move my knees, and worrying that one small gust would blow me over.  Onward.

The third and fourth dresses didn't even make it out of the dressing room.  One had gorgeous beading that mom and I both loved, but it was off-the-shoulder, and our consultant pointed out that I wouldn't be able to lift my arms to hug M that night!  Big no-no.  The next one was a pretty silk gown with gold thread that I loved because it would match our color scheme so well.  But it was clearly meant to be a winter dress, with heavy fabric and a cathedral length train.  I would swelter in it at our outdoor summer wedding.

In the end, the ones we loved the best were the three I'd picked out in advance, which I'll show off in my next post...

So, what was your first dress experience like?  Did you find a winner right away, or have to sort through a bunch?  Did you end up picking a style that surprised you?