The dress. So many girls dream about their perfect wedding and the first thing they think about is finding the dress. There are so many shows on TV about the bride's search for her perfect dress and the drama surrounding the search. For me, that wasn't the case. It took me one trip and I tried on less than ten dresses. When I put my dress on, I knew I would end up choosing it. I still tried on others, but my mind kept thinking back to the same one. I didn't have a huge entourage with me, just my mom, mother-in-law and sister-in-law. No one had crazy opinions about what dress I should pick and no one caused any drama like you so often see on the TV shows. We did however, all agree that the dress I chose, was the dress. So in one shot, in less than an hour, I found my dress.
As I mentioned before, I was a budget bride. I had a very small budget that I allowed myself to spend on a dress. I stayed within that budget and I didn't have to sacrifice quality and I was able to shop local. Most brides look to one of the large chains to find their dress thinking it'll save them money. That's not always the case. I worked with a shop in my hometown, Always Elegant, and found them to not only have high quality dresses, but worked well with my budget. I think the assumption with most new brides is that a local bridal salon will be out of their price range, but it's not! I used Always Elegant (AE) to dress my entire wedding party; the tuxes, the bridesmaids gowns, the flower girl dresses and my accessories. Aside from the attire for the wedding, the bridal shop offered something the big chains can't offer: personalized attention. You aren't just another bride, or another sale, you're special and you're treated as such. From picking out the dress to local vendor recommendation to all your dress fittings and general wedding drama advice help, Bree and her staff were there for me.
the guys in their tuxes
I have a friend who is getting married this summer. She too is working on a budget and decided to go to a large bridal chain to try on dresses. She ended up finding a dress she liked and put a down payment on it. As a bridesmaid in my wedding, she got to hear about my experiences at AE and how my dress fittings were going. One day at dinner she told me that she didn't feel that she was getting the same attention and experience where she bought her dress. She felt like she was missing out on a huge part of the wedding planning process and the experiences that a bride should get to enjoy. She ended up trying on dresses at AE and found one that she fell in love with and ended up buying. She will now get to experience that personalized attention in planning her wedding that the big chain store just can't offer.
the girls in their dresses
So now that I've sung the praises of the bridal shop I used, I understand that not all brides live near my hometown. I do however, recommend that brides shop around to other stores in their area . Make sure wherever you decide to buy your dress and wedding party attire makes you feel like a bride and that your day is special to them. As far as finding the dress, as soon as you put it on and see yourself in the mirror, you'll know.
the wedding party
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