Getting The Dress... Part 2

I started my dress shopping at Edmonton’s Pure Bridal (read more on that here) but even after trying on twelve dresses, I couldn’t find the right one. But all that trying on did result in one positive thing; I now had a strong idea of what I wanted: something with a big, eye-catching, tulle skirt; a fitted bodice that ideally had a sweetheart neckline and then just a touch of silver beading all over the dress.

Haven given up on Pure Bridal, we headed over to an odd little shop called Career GirlBridal, a store opened in the ‘50s and appears not been renovated since. It had pink carpeting, less-than-great lighting and the change rooms are about the same size as what you would find in H&M. In other words, it was very unlike the first shop. But as a result, dresses are cheaper here; the next day my mother and I would see the exact same dresses for $200 in “fancier” stores in West Edmonton Mall.

The shop was being manned by an older woman who skillfully split her time between me and the other customer. Like at Pure Bridal there was wasn’t much chit-chat but at least I understood why that was.

This store carries several lines that aren’t available at the first store and one of these lines, Mori Lee, is one that my mother is quite familiar with. She gave the clerk a list of a few Mori Lee dresses that she thought I might like and pleasantly, the store carried most of those dresses. So those were pulled along with a couple others that the clerk thought I might like.

I think I tried six or seven dresses on at Career Girl Bridal. Again, I was running the issue of most of the dresses looking great on me but none of them feeling quite right. By about dress four I was feeling more than a little annoyed at this whole process and I was wondering if I had the energy to visit a third store that day or whether it would be better to call it quits.

But then I tried on the second last dress and while it wasn’t quite right (the neckline had tulle on it that looked odd) it was very, very close. Energy renewed, I tried on the last one and happily, it turned out to be the one. It had most of the elements I was looking for and it was very well-priced. It also felt very comfortable to wear and I could see myself wearing that dress eight or nine hours without any issues. So I decided to get it.

In all honestly, it isn’t my “dream” dress but then I never actually saw my dream dress so… I wanted something a bit more unique but at the same time, I wanted a wedding dress that was also timeless looking. Like I said in my last post, I’m sure such a dress exists out there, somewhere, I just couldn’t find it.

But while my dress won’t be the most memorable dress out there, I like it and it does look really, really good on me. I’ll post pictures, but after the wedding, since I want it to be a surprise for Shawn.