Well, last month, I did.
I found a shop near my home which a) sold the dress I wanted, and b) was conveniently having a sale (yaaay!) This shop is amazing - UK brides, I highly recommend Eternal Bride, in Warwick. I went there at the start of my dress shopping saga (8 stores, roughly forty dresses) and the service was great, so I had been hoping to if possible buy from them.
Tragically, they did not stock a sample of The Dress, but I figured that I'd tried it on 3 times now, so I knew what I looked like in it and it ticked off everything on my list:
- Sweetheart Neckline
- Strapless
- Dropped-waist a-line
- Lace edging on hem (ideally)
- Point d'esprit lace overlay
- A bit of tulle for some floof
- Empire line detailing
- Buttons
SPOILERS: This is not the dress I bought in the end.
I KNOW RIGHT. After all that fuss, after so nearly buying it from London, I picked a totally different dress.
Bear with me.
The dress I thought I loved, for reference, was the amazing Pronovias Berta:
If I am strictly honest with myself, I was still doubting it. The model pictures weren't speaking to me, and I'd been losing enthusiasm and found myself doubting if I would bite the bullet and buy it in the sale or if I'd leave it and just see if I could try it on again, one more time, to see. I had a nagging feeling that something was missing from it, something wasn't quite right, but couldn't quite work it out.
When I went to the shop I was there to be convinced that there was nothing else out there more perfect for me, and that this was the dress. If it had been, I would have been very happy! But it transpires, it wasn't the case.
I tried on a number of other dresses during this appointment - all different from the Berta, although one had a very similar skirt, which proved handy when it came to decision-time.
The dress I bought was the first one I tried on this appointment, and I was stunned. I looked really good in it, and it fit perfectly!
It looked so elegant, and classy, and it had sleeves - something I'd been avoiding after trying on a few dresses with them at the start of the process which just all looked wrong, sat wrong on my boobs, scratched at my arms... as far as I had been concerned, no good things came with sleeves.
Until this dress.
But as I am prone to overthinking, and believe in nothing so much as the inherent changeability of human nature, I still did not commit. I tried on another dress, and another, and another. Each one a slightly different style.
In the end, we came back to two - one that was close enough to the Berta to use for comparison, but with sleeves (we tucked those in), and the Elegant and Classy dress. (not that the Berta isn't elegant and classy, this is just for differentiation).
And. Man. Goshdarnit. The Elegant and Classy dress made me look super tall and super slim and super elegant. I'd done my hair and makeup properly, and looking in the mirror I got a pretty good idea of what I'd look like for the day.
I didn't get a 'moment', like a flash of knowledge that this was THE ONE dress. But I looked very good in it. And it was light, and so easy to move in compared to the other dresses I'd tried on (including one incredibly weighty Sophia Tolli dress, with an underlayer of silver threads that I couldn't stop thinking about slug trails when I looked at it). All my family there - it was a 21st birthday party for one of my cousins that weekend, so we had a bit of a Family Outing to the dress shop - agreed it was the best dress. And I did hesitate to make a decision, but in the end I bought it.
Looking at it again, this dress is closer to the one I drew years ago, when I was idly pondering what sort of wedding dress I'd want, and also to a number of dresses I pinned on pinterest even though they totally weren't anything like my ticklist, but the pictures spoke to me anyway. I think I got a bit wrapped up in elaborate dresses, a bit distracted by detailing and photos in magazines. Whilst comparatively, what I'd been looking at was simple when held against some of the stuff out there, it was more than what was really 'me'.
From my tick list from above, this is what I walked out with:
- Sweetheart Neckline
- Dropped-waist a-line (sooort of?)
- A bit of tulle for some floof
I am VERY EXCITED about this though. I'm surprised I bought it so early (my plan had been to buy in September at the very earliest), but I think it will work out for the best.
SO MANY people say you get the 'wow' moment though and guys, I really really didn't. I know I'm over-analytical, I know I overthink more than other people, but honestly I don't think you have to start crying when you've found your dress - and panic that you've made the wrong choice if you don't. I am doing everything in my power to discourage ANYONE crying for ANY reason at wedding related things, because frankly I find the whole thing really really awkward.
Unfortunately this perhaps means I might not be the most demure and elegant bride...
Besides, I'm not sure expressing the VERY REAL concern that with long hair, when you're dancing and get hot and sweaty, it can get stuck under your arms if it's not put up, really deserved the intense recoiling that it got when I mentioned it in the dress shop. THIS IS A REALITY FOR LADIES WITH LONG HAIR. IT CAN'T JUST BE ME THIS HAPPENS TO. IT IS A PRACTICALITY WE HAVE TO THINK OF. I AM JUST SAYING.
Yes, maybe, I could have just said that "I'm having it up because I get too hot with it on the back of my neck", but that would have required thinking before speaking.
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