Wedding Wednesday: The Dress

I've been asked a few times over the last few months to share more about my wedding and my planning experience. I had thought that I would write about it as it happened, but it turned out that I was too busy and that I kind of wanted most of it to be a surprise on the big day. Now that all is said and done, I'm going to resume my Wedding Wednesday posts and share a bit more about the road to my big day.

First up, saying yes to the dress!

When Sean and I first got engaged, I figured I'd fly home to Utah to dress shop with my mom and sister. But when we bumped up the wedding date from Summer 2013 to August 2012, there was no longer time for that. I had to find a dress in California. Being a transplant to the Bay Area, I didn't have the faintest idea where to start with dress shopping. The bridal shop that was recommended to me time and again was Trudy's in Campbell, CA. So I quickly made an appointment.

Going into this, I was hopelessly naive. I had never been involved with planning a wedding for anyone before so my only insight into what it takes to plan a wedding has come from the movies and television (Say Yes To The Dress, anyone?).  To make it worse, I wasn't going to have my mom, my sister, or my best friend around to help me pick a dress. I invited a handful of my closest Bay Area friends and only Angie was able to join (thanks babe!).

I read a few posts on "what to bring to your dress shopping appointment," but they pretty much only said things like "wear your hair up if you think you'll have an updo on your big day," "Wear nude undergarments; make sure your bra is strapless" and "bring the heels you plan to wear that day." You know, really basic stuff that most people could probably think of on their own. Turns out, the most helpful thing I brought was my iPad preloaded with photos of all the dresses I liked in my web search.

The gal who assisted me was very polite and efficient. She listened exactly to the things I said I was looking for and pull a spot-on selection of dresses. Although, I do know I helped her out by specifying that I didn't want anything strapless (for the life of me, I can't figure out why any women would want that awful armpit fat hanging over their dress in every photo of their big day).

Throughout my whole life, I always thought I would wear a big princess ball gown, but as I tried on dresses that day, I fell in love with a more form-fitting frock.

With the racks and racks of gorgeous gowns in that shop, I could have easily spent hours trying on dozens and dozens of lace, tulle, and chiffon creations. However, it was clear that I only had an hour to enjoy my cinderella moment before I turned back into a pumpkin. I felt super rushed and pressured to buy my dress that day. The gal helping me try on dresses kept telling me how she hoped she could get me a dress and that I wouldn't have to pay any rush fees given that I only gave them five months notice.  Now maybe I'm crazy, but where I grew up, most people were lucky if their engagements were even a few months long... and they always managed to get the dress they wanted. What am I missing here? But lucky for me, the stars aligned and I fell in love with a dress that day and was able to get it without rush fees!

When I purchased the dress, they were nervous that it would arrive in time for me to get it altered before leaving for Utah. I kept calling Trudy's for updates and each time I was told that they would call me when they had an update. So I channeled my inner bridechillah and waited for them to call. But at a certain point (a month before the wedding), I couldn't wait any longer so I called. And when I did, I found out my dress had been in for THREE WEEKS and they had only tried to reach me once. That's when things started to go sour for me.

Trying to move past it, I made an appointment at Trudy's for what I thought was to be my first dress fitting, after all, the entire first appointment, the gal helping me kept telling me how their alterations department could change whatever I wanted on my dress to make it fit perfectly. Despite the fact that no one was able to join me, I excitedly went in for my appointment. After putting on the dress, I came out and fell in love with it all over again, but the lady helping me out pointed out several places where it would need to be altered. And then she proceeded to put veils on me while I wished my mom and sister could be there with me. When those emotions became too much, I asked the store associate what the next steps were for alterations. Her reaction was to give me a list of their preferred vendors for alterations all over the South Bay. Confused, I inquired about the in-house alterations I had been told about. She told me they didn't do in-house alterations.

Blindsided, I stumbled over to the closest alterations place on their list. After waiting fifteen minutes for the lady there to address me, I find out that place is by appointment only and was booked a ways out. Upset and stressed out with my flight to Utah not too far off, I decided to find somewhere to get it altered in Utah. To pour salt in the wound, I later found out through a mutual friend that someone she knew plans weddings and always has in-house alterations done at Trudy's. The fact that they told me they don't do in-house alterations doesn't necessarily upset me, it's that they led me to believe it would all be taken care of at Trudy's so I didn't seek out another place that I could trust to have my dress done right in short turnaround time.

But despite my less than perfect shopping experience with Trudy's dress shop, I ended up with my absolutely dream dress!

Last three photos by Michelle Andersen Photography

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