Say Yes to the Dress!

Well, I’m very happy to report that I have found my wedding dress!!!  SQUEE.

I have to start off by saying that my experience at Bliss Bridal Boutique was unlike any of the other bridal gown shopping experiences I have had through this whole process.  Every single great thing I have heard about this place was right on.  When I first walked into their shop, I was immediately in love with their contemporary décor and relaxed atmosphere.  You get the feeling right away that it’s not just any old dress shop, which is perfect because you don’t want just any old dress!

 

 

Love the accents of shocking pink!

 

Frances met me for my appointment, and told me to go through the gowns and mark the ones I wanted, and she would gather them all up for me to try on.  Then I was left with MOB and MOH to go through the racks at our leisure.  I loved that, because there is nothing worse than a pushy salesperson who walks behind you and tries to tell you what gowns you will like and which ones you should pick.  I am really an independent shopper, so this was really nice.  I was so happy with the selection they had, and the fact that the gowns weren’t so jam packed into the racks that you can’t even see what the dress looks like.  They even have pictures attached to the sample so you can see the whole dress, which makes shopping even easier.  I found so many dresses that I wanted to try on, which was surprising compared to how many racks they had (as opposed to a place like David’s Bridal, where I went through their million racks and only liked 4 gowns, all from the Vera Wang line).  Especially since my list of requirements was so specific (strapless, sweetheart, sparkly, dramatic, edgy, no shiny white satin, no flowers, no lace, no ugly appliqués....) I was growing increasingly worried with each dress shopping trip that I wasn’t going to find my ideal dress.  But here it was a breeze!   I easily picked about 10 gowns and away we went!

 

 

Racks of gorgeous bridal gowns....

 

We were taken upstairs to a private area to try on the dresses.  MOB and MOH were sat in one room, and I was taken to another room to change.  I can’t even describe in words how awesome this was.  It was such a relaxed environment with NO pressure and there was tons of space.  Putting on a 50 pound dress isn’t easy, especially in a confined dressing room where the dress takes up so much of the space you can’t even see the floor.  My dressing room was huge and had a couch and full rack for the gowns, and also had a big mirror where I could see myself first.  Then I went into the next room to show the dress in front of another big mirror.  There were no other appointments booked at the same time as mine (a policy of theirs) so I got personalized attention, didn’t have to share mirrors, didn’t have to shout to communicate with my people, didn't have to wait around for the consultant to come back, and there were no strangers staring at me while I tried to pick a gown.  It was seriously pure bliss, so I can see why they are named as such!

 

 

Huge mirror.  Such a must.

 

Another thing I loved about Frances was she took the time to tie up the gown properly.  It’s impossible to see how a dress is going to look on you unless it is done up the way it is supposed to be worn.  A lot of places I have been to just cinch up the back with binder clips and close enough, because they want to get you in and out of there as fast as possible.  But she took the time to make sure that the sample dress fit me the way it was supposed to fit and even if it was a giant set of laces back there, cinched every single one and tied it up properly.  It definitely made a huge difference.

There was absolutely no pressure at all.  She didn't try to sway me one way or another, didn't make any comments about what she thought, just asked me my opinions and what I liked and didn't like about the dresses.  VERY unlike my first dress shopping experience, where the saleswoman said, "You're not going to find a dress that's better than this.  You should just buy it today."  So as I was trying on the dresses, I could just enjoy the experience and it was very clear when I had the a-ha moment.  I came across one gown that had a beautiful top that I wanted, and one gown that had a dramatic bottom I wanted.  We narrowed it down between the two and there was a clear winner!  I found the gown!  I am so unbelievably happy with this dress, it is absolutely gorgeous and I am so excited for Eric to see it, I know he will love it as much as I do. 

 

 

I said yes to the (mystery) dress!

 

My experience at Bliss was amazing and I would recommend it in a heartbeat to any bride out there!

 

Now, onto shoe shopping!

 

Happy Wedding Wednesday!!!

 

~M