Shopping for a Wedding Gown

What a process! Most brides say shopping for a gown is their favorite part of planning a wedding. I'm not so sure. I enjoyed it, but it's tiring. Playing dress-up like a princess is awesome! Trying to find exactly what you are looking for is a bit challenging.

I decided to start looking for my gown before picking a date and a venue for various reasons.....I've heard a dress can take @ 6 months to come in (and we are still planning a fall 09 wedding)....and I am completely undecisive at times. I figured I had a better shot at finding a dress I love if I started early.

So I set out to start my gown shopping on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I figured an all day shopping trip would be best. Also Saturdays are outrageously busy at salons, and I don't like chaos.

Big props to my girl Karen for coming along for the fun. She was a huge help! Karen is the type of friend everyone needs, honest and matter-of-fact. She is the girl who will tell you...."yes, your butt looks big in those jeans." And since I'm purchasing the most important outfit I will ever wear, I needed a frank opinion.

So with our schedule set, I picked Karen up at Suburban Station and we set out for a day of fun!

Bridal Shop #1 - Irma's Bridal Cherry Hill, NJ - 11:00am
This bridal shop does not take appointments. We were the second customers in the door when the shop opened. The ladies that work there were putting dresses away from the night before so we had to wait about 15 minutes or so for them to finish. Irma was not in yet and things were a bit chaotic. By the time we left, the store was packed! Whitney was my consultant. She has a wonderful personality and was very patient. I tried on various dresses, all of which were well under my budget. For any brides looking for a nice dress with a small budget, this is definitely a place to consider. I did find 2 lovely dresses. One dress had a beautiful top and the other a beautiful bottom. Some designers offer custom work and Whitney offered this as an option. Of course I wanted to shop more, but did keep this info in mind.

Bridal Shop #2 - Jay West Haddonfield, NJ - 1:00pm
I've heard really great things about Jay West so I definitely wanted to look for dresses at the shop. I have to say the inside didn't look how I expected. I thought it would be a bit more upscale based on what other brides say. The bathroom was in a stockroom which I thought was odd. And some of their prom and MOB dresses are pretty hideous. However, their bridal selection is lovely. The shop was busy when we arrived, but we were greeted and taken downstairs right on time. I worked with Pegi who is very sweet. I did find one dress that was really nice but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. I decided to consider it as a strong option.

Bridal Shop #3 - Bridals by Danielle Philadelphia, PA - 3:30pm
We arrived just on time. The shop is beautiful on the inside with hard wood floors and bright lighting. It's obvious from the minute you walk in the door that it's very high-end. My consultant was Carlene, who came highly recommended from another bride. It bothered me a bit that she called me the wrong name and I had to correct her. I'm in sales and I'm very sensitive to customer needs. However, by the end of the consultation, I really enjoyed working with her. I found a dress that I liked and a Lazaro sash that I loved. However, the sash was so expensive - $1500! Their dresses start @ $1800. And a lot of them are absolutely hideous! Very few were in my price range (under $2500). The other girls that work in the store were "Facebooking" when they weren't waiting on customers. They also talked openly aloud in a very unpleasant matter about another customer. All of this weighed on me and by the time I left I knew I would not buy a dress from this shop.

Karen and I planned on heading out for a cocktail after this, but we were both tired. We decided to head back to my house to have a cup of tea made by "nons" aka Paul and relax.