Dress Try-outs: Shopping Around

As someone who just purchased her wedding dress from a local boutique after visiting David's Bridal, I really really encourage you to visit multiple bridal boutiques.

First off, David's Bridal on a busy day feels like a dairy farm. We felt as though we were being herded through pens like cattle. And there constantly seems to be something that goes wrong, whether it is a forgotten appointment or a consultant doing double duty or teenagers shopping for their prom dresses.

All three happened Saturday morning. Seriously.

The consultant we had was much ruder than the other two times I have been to DB. I brought a list with me of dresses and she kept bringing out shit not on the list. I brought a list with me for a reason and I finally had to have my MOH look up the one dress on the list I wanted to show to my bridal party and my momma so we could demand it. It took forever, and then because she was doing double duty I ended up in dresses for sometimes 15-20 minutes. Are you kidding me?

I was not treated like one of a kind and made a come back appointment against my will. But it's not like I'll be keeping it anyway!

For the second stop, I had made an appointment at a local boutique that I have heard amazing things about and I was so very glad to have a spot after a mishap with another boutique that shall remain nameless.

Vera's House of Bridal is located maybe 5 minutes from my apartment and practically next door to the movie theater the fiance and I frequent. Unlike many local places, you can view the collections they have dresses from on their website, and even save a favorites list to take in with you. And perhaps the best thing - Vera, who began the business in 1964, is in her 80s and still comes to work every single day and manages the boutique very well.

Another thing I loved about their place is that there are actual rooms where you can try on your dresses with abundant seating, a special mirror to see the back of your dress - and they have plenty of bottles of water, which is great with my Sjogren's acting up lately.

After about 2 hours there, I walked back to the car having paid for half of a dress that will end up being probably two and a half times more than I was expecting to pay... but I'm also shopping local and getting amazing service, including free storage so I don't have to worry about wrecking my dress trying it on every day haha.

And now everything seems so much more real. I have a year and a half to go until the big day, and part of me feels like it isn't enough time - but another big part of me is ready to get this done and be Mrs. Schultz.

My precioussssss