Wedding Dress Shopping

Shopping for wedding dresses was stressful! I thought it would be fun...but it was a little overwhelming! So much WHITE! And I felt so "pose-y", like I was trying to be something I am not. As you all know, I am not especially girly....so putting me in a white frilly dress just made me feel out of place. haha

The first store we went to was called Leven's. They had a lot of very pretty dresses, but nothing that really stood out. Well, I did like one dress...but I had to keep looking. My friend Steph went with me that morning. I made her take pictures of every dang dress...even though they were not all good at all. In fact, some were just BAD! But I didn't want to deprive everyone of the experience of dress shopping just because they are far away...So feast your eyes on these:

This one makes me look like a circus tent! :( I swear my body is disproportionate or something. Look at how the chest fits me...am I already getting saggy? :) haha

This was actually strapless....those are my wonderful bra straps your witnessing :)

POLKA DOTS!!! I loved the bottom and back of this dress...the top, not so much! The stitching, the sleeves...just say no!

Second store, Belle's Bridal. This store was an adventure. Dresses EVERYWHERE! With no sense of organization. All sizes, all styles, just crammed, and I mean CRAMMED onto racks. It was more than overwhelming. We did find a few to try on...just weren't thrilled once again. Here are the few I tried...

(Again, this dress was strapless, hello bra straps) :)

This one I did like. The sleeves were cute from the back. I wished they were like that in the front. But once again, apparently my chest is not where it is supposed to be. You can see where the dress thinks they should be :)

I really did like this dress. It was pretty, and modest, and I did like it. However, it needed a lot of alterations, and they charged per alteration...so it was adding up quickly...

After the fairly unsuccessful morning, I made a last minute decision that I wanted to go to David's Bridal in Layton (about an hour from here). So I got my shift covered at Sunstop and called Jamie and Holly, and they were totally up for going, kids in tow and all. It was a much funner experience than that morning. I don't know if it was the road trip factor, or that we are all closer than I am with Steph, or simply the fact that David's Bridal is just...David's Bridal, but we had fun.

We picked out TONS of dresses to try on.

Marlee was so excited to help Resa pick out "pretty dresses" for the wedding. She likes the idea of this wedding business very much, even at 2 1/2! She keeps telling Jamie, "I get married too, k?" and tells Brian (her dad) "I a marry Tadd". She is adorable!

This is Marlee at the BEGINNING of trying dresses on, happy and snacking on Olivia's treats. Every time I came out of the fitting room, she would say, "OH, Pretty!" And yes, this was good for my ego!

And now for the dresses....We didn't do so good at taking pictures of EVERY dress at David's Bridal. There were just TOO many that I tried on...But there were lots more here that I liked a little at least.

Mermaid dress....just say no! Everyone thought it was beautiful, but I felt like I had to waddle like a penguin! Far too GIRLY and just not me...

This one I did like. I guess I lied when I said no dresses at Leven's I liked. This was pretty much identical to the one I did like at Leven's, and almost bought. But we decided although gorgeous, it was a little mature for what I wanted..






This was the result of an hour and a half of trying on dresses. Holly looking exhausted, Livy SO ready to run around, and Marlee, doesn't she just look thrilled to be there? I'm telling you, they were all amazing. Past dinner time, past the kids bedtimes, and they were still happy to be there and be helping. I have some GREAT friends!!

This is Marlee TRYING to be happy...she just wants food I'm pretty sure. :)


Good news is, after ALL of these dresses, I did find the perfect dress! Actually it was about the third dress I tried on at David's Bridal. I LOVE it! It's perfect. Every dress I tried on after that we just kept going back to THE one. I didn't even finish trying on all of the ridiculous amounts of dresses we had picked off the rack. And my dress fit perfect! The only alteration I need done is a bustle. At the store, they said $35 and takes 3 weeks...plus I would have to go down there for an appointment and blah blah blah. I called around up here and found a lady that does it out of her house, she charges $8 and said it will take 5 minutes, and she'll do it while I wait! Uhm, YES PLEASE!! Score!!