Vera Wang... Love her, but SERIOUSLY?

So, I don't DARE disrespect Vera Wang. I mean, lets be honest - she is a bridal God. Okay, well not God, but you get my drift . She continually works her fashion magic and has created some of the best gowns of our time. She's well respected, well known and she's what most little girls dream of... wouldn't everyone love a Vera Wang gown? (Fine, now on to the story...) So yesterday I was all pumped to sit down, and finally watch the MARTHA Show that I had DVR-ed. I couldn't wait to see new dresses by Vera, and hopefully learn a tip or two. The show was fun, had some great ideas and over all seemed to be a huge success. UNTIL an audience member (another bride-to-be) asked Vera about how long you should wait until you order your wedding dress? Now keep in mind the normal response here should be umm, maybe 6-8 months (if not MORE!). So anyway, Vera responded... "2 MONTHS!" I mean, no disrespect, but SERIOUSLY Vera? I mean, have you tried ordering one of your OWN dresses? I was practically cheering when Darcy Miller (ED of Martha Stewart Weddings) and of The Bride's Guide, laughed and said.... umm... maybe more like 6 months. I was SO glad she set the record straight. So brides beware, while Vera might think two months is enough... I would in NO way recommend it.

Lesson learned? Don't believe everything you hear (or read:: wink wink::) ...but it's always better to plan ahead than to be cramming things in at the end. Enjoy the experience!

Heard any other wack-a-doole wedding advice? While we don't dare FOLLOW IT.. it's always fun to laugh about ;)

Guilty as charged - I'm a two dress kind of bride!

So, the verdict's in and I'm SO guilty. I'm definitely a two-dress kind of bride. Before I get comments about how wasteful I am in this poor economy - let me explain ;)

So, in my endless search for everything fabulous in the wedding world. I came across a few dressed that exactly fit what I was looking for... romantic and perfect for a garden wedding. With my magazine photos in hand, I went to Priscilla of Boston with one of my bridesmaids (little shout out to LB), and there I found what I thought was 'the' dress. Keep in mind, I was aware that there were similar, maybe even more fabulous, Monique Lhuillier styles - but her dresses were MORE expensive and pretty similar. To be sure, I even went to a different shop and tried on a gown similiar to the one I was looking at at Priscilla of Boston. While Monique's gowns seemed to be silkier and made out of better fabric, it was hard to justify paying almost DOUBLE for a gown that was SO similar. So, with my budget in mind, I decided to purchase the gown at Priscilla of Boston.

Ten months later, my dress arrived, it was pretty, and all was 'okay.' However, in the back of my mind I always had a nagging feeling that I wasn't 100 percent happy with the dress. I am so excited about all of the details of our wedding... but I was still unsettled about my dress. Regardless, I tried to logic that the cost savings was well worth it - and you only wear the dress once, right?

Now, fast forward to last week. I go back to the shop where I tried on the Monique gown (Hannelore's) to pick up my mom's dress that she ordered. Standing there amongst all the fabulous-ness around me, it hit me ... I absolutely was not happy with my dress. It sounds SO silly - I mean, it sounds silly even as I type it- but right there and then I knew I couldn't wear the Priscilla dress. So I spoke with Pamela at Hannelore's - she told me that she could either help me fix my current dress, or work on ordering me a new one, should we need to resort to such drastic measures. I was excited about the idea of altering my dress ... maybe there was something I could do to it to make it more 'me'. So, needless to say, I met her back at her store the VERY NEXT DAY to figure out once and for all.. WHAT was the right dress for me. Long story short... it definitely wasn't my first dress. Despite my attempts, I decided it best to just CONSIDER trying on new dresses.. with the hopes that it would help sway me, finally, one way or the other. And that's when I met my dress. Once I put the dress on, I instantly knew there was no going back...not the Priscilla dress, nor any dress I'd seen could even come close to my new dress. And with that I closed my eyes and PRAYED that Pamela would work some price-voo-doo so that the dress was in my price range. And guess what? It was!!!

As luck would have it, I fit perfectly into the sample, which not only means I have the dress NOW but, I also got the most fabulous deal on the dress! So, while I'm not happy that through this process I've actually purchased two gowns, what I can say is that the pain was well worth the effort. In fact, had I bought my Hannelore's dress originally, I don't think I would have been able to afford it... the 'deal' I got on the sample dress was so fantastic that it made the impossible, possible!

So, what's the moral of the story?

• Take your time to shop for your wedding dress! Don't be rushed into buying something because it's 10 percent off. (PS: they can offer those 'trunk sale deals' anytime - so don't be persuaded by a measly 10 percent!)
• Don't shop for your dress during the weekend. Think bridal madness! When you're buying your dress you want to take your time, enjoy the experience and not feel like bridal road-kill (yes, I said bridal road-kill)
• NEGOTIATE! No prices are 'final' ... work your negotiating magic!
• Take it from me, wedding dresses can't be returned - so think long and hard before you 'show them the money' - it's harder to take it back then to just wait to make the purchase!
• In the end, it's YOUR day. Do what makes you happy and to heck with the rest!

Anyone else have any wedding dress stories???

PS: Anyone in the market for a brand-new, never been worn Priscilla of Boston Nora dress?? Email me! :)

Oh No.... am I a two-dress kind of bride??

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So I've got to be brutally honest... I've been second guessing my dress. (AGH!). I've tried to rationalize that you only wear the dress once - and well, why go 'nutsy' buying a crazy expensive gown when I found a perfectly good gown at a great price. Enter:: Alexis' doubt. So yesterday I went to go pick up my mom's gown at another bridal store. (Big mistake) I was instantly overcome by a massive tidal wave of dress envy. That's right. I panicked and quickly realized... am I planning the wedding of my dreams only to be in an 'average' kind of dress?? AGH! So in my currently completely perplexed state I realized quiet simply that my dress isn't 100% what I am looking for. So I decided yesterday to take a hold of my fears and get this 'dress debacle' figured out once and for all.

The woman at the dress shop offered to have me bring in my current dress to see if there is something we can alter to have it fit what I'm looking for. (truth be told - I never considered that my current dress could be modified - eureka, is this the answer?). Anyway, fingers crossed... today back to the dress store I go... old dress in hand. Will I come back with a new dress, or will we find a way to make my old dress work?

More to come...

Anyone else a two-dress bride? Any words of encouragement would be GREATLY appreciated!