adventures in dress shopping (part I)

Starting a wedding blog once the wedding planning process is already in full swing can be difficult. On one hand, there are so many fun details that I want to share with you all (cake tables, striped straws, skeleton key escort cards, etc). On the other hand, I feel like many of you don't know the stories behind some of the really important decisions that have been made already (the photographer, the dress, wedding weekend events, etc). So, I am going to try to catch everyone up to speed on the big ticket items starting with the dress (which I am OBSESSED with by the way!) but don't be surprised if I'm back to sharing random pictures from a wedding I stumbled across later today! Clearly focus is not my strong point...wait, what was I saying? Ha, I kid, I kid.

So...the dress. It all started before a ring was even purchased (which, FYI, was in April. Yes, that's right, April. Zpao is a sneakster. I had no idea.) I, like many other women, was obsessed with Say Yes To The Dress and watched the marathons on TLC like it was my job. This led to a few things: 

1. I became increasingly annoyed that zpao and I weren't engaged yet (it had been 5+ years people!) 
2. I started to get an idea of what I liked and what I didn't like in terms of silhouettes, fabric, and detailing

Before even stepping foot in a bridal salon I knew that I really liked....

Strapless sweetheart necklines:

a-line silhouettes:

mermaid silhouettes: 

ruching (the gathering of the fabric) and some sort of beaded belt or sash: 

Before actually trying dresses on, I did some research (ok, A LOT of research) and these were some of my favorites:

 

I realized pretty quickly that I was drawn to dresses that were romantic yet modern and elegant but not stuffy. I liked dresses that had a bit of bling (i.e. a sparkly belt) but wasn't a fan of excessive beading or lace. Also, ball gowns were most definitely out. A casual, rustic outdoor wedding + a poofy princess ball gown just didn't seem like a great combination (not to mention I'm not a poofy princess dress kinda girl...) 

 

With my top picks in mind, I headed to my first bridal salon to try on my very first wedding dress! (eeep!!!!) So which dress did I end up choosing? Psh, I'm not going to give it away that easily. You'll have to check back for Adventures in Dress Shopping (Part II)!

xoxo, 

zar