The deed is done.
The dress that I’ll walk down the aisle in come next July
has been purchased and I can’t quite believe it myself. Only a few days ago, I
thought about writing this blog post but with a completely different angle in
mind. Having ventured out on my first day of dress shopping with my full bridal
squad (sans one) I was ready to declare that my wedding shopping experience had
‘just begun’. Little did I know at that point that my dress was waiting for me
in somewhat of a familiar setting, ready to purchase just a few days later. Oh, how quickly things can change.
So, before I get onto the juicy stuff let me rewind it here
a little for you, going back to my first day of dress shopping with the girls and
my mum last weekend.
With the date in the diary for a few weeks, I made sure to
make most of having (almost) everyone with me. I scheduled four appointments 1.
Anne Priscilla 2. Susanne Christyne 3. June Bride 4. Melle Cloche with just
enough time in the middle to cheers with a prosecco and grab a bite to eat.
Here’s a rundown of my experience with each.
- The staff in the store were incredibly
welcoming, helpful and seemed to really listen to what I was looking for. They
let us have fun – asking each of the girls to choose one dress for me to try
on. My stylist also picked out a few crackers and it was her choice that was
the front-runner for me. At the end of the day, the Watters gown that I tried
on in Anne Priscilla was current front runner.
- If I’m honest, we weren’t overly impressed with
the experience at Susanne Christyne. Although the girl who worked there was
very friendly, the dresses she pulled for me to try on were completely wrong,
despite showing images of what I liked. Having only tried on two gowns, we
decided this store wasn’t for me and didn’t want to waste the girls time so
politely departed. I do think however if
you have a set visual in your mind of the style of dress you’re looking for and
you can’t find it – this shop may be for you. Customised dresses are their
thing. It just so happens I didn’t know what I was looking for at that time.
- I’m very familiar with this store after my
sister found her gown here back in 2013. Since we last visited the store has had
a revamp and looks great. As soon as I walked into the store I was excitedly
impressed by the styles of dresses they had on display. Although I didn’t find
the one for me I’d highly recommend June Brides for the girl who’s looking for
something modern with ‘glam’ in mind.
Last but not least was Melle Cloche. Funny
story, I actually pass by this store every day on my way in to work but up until
this point I hadn’t taken much notice of the stock they had on display. On first
impressions it looks like a relatively small shop but don’t be deceived – they
have a really lovely space downstairs that’s perfect for a catwalk show.
After the day ended, knowing that I probably hadn’t found
‘the one’ just yet made me feel a little deflated. It’s silly really – I actually
had a feeling before the day even started that I wouldn’t find my dress – but knowing
that this was true made me feel a little disheartened. Essentially, what I’m
trying to say is don’t feel stupid for feeling sad if you don’t find your dress
right away – it’s natural.
Fast forward a few days to when I received multiple text
messages from my cousin Naomi telling me that I MUST attend the Martina Liana
trunk show that was running at
Eleganza that weekend. After popping in store
for her own dress fitting, my cousin got a sneak peek of the dresses that would
be on display and was in complete awe. After seeing a 4-second Snapchat of what
the gowns looked like I too was in awe and before I knew it, I was booked in
for 9:15am that Saturday. The excitement was real and immediately had the
feeling that I was going to find my gown.
A trunk show event offers a completely different experience to
a normal shopping day at a bridal store. I’m going to save the details of this
for my next blog post as I fear this post will be ten pages long otherwise so
do stick around 😊
But my dress, let’s talk about that. Like most other brides,
I’d like to keep the detail of this to a minimum as, let’s face it, it takes
away some of the excitement of a bride walking down the aisle. What I will say
though is that my dress isn’t super-fitted, or big and puffy – it’s somewhere
in between. It fits absolutely perfectly with my venue and is romantic,
whimsical and effortless. I think it’s the perfect balance between being sweet
and under-stated sexy but I’ll let you guys be the judge come next July. It’s
also not too heavy which is ideal for an abroad wedding. I hope that gives you
a little feel of what I’ve went for 😊
Although I left with just one dress, every single one I
tried on was absolutely stunning and I’m the designers new big fan. As Anna,
the store manager at Eleganza said, “She just knows what a girl wants,” and I
couldn’t agree more.
xoxo
