About a month after our Charleston vacation, John and I were scheduled to be in Connecticut for our engagement party and a weekend of wedding vendor meetings. Exciting! Since my two sisters were going to be in town for the festivities, I decided to take an appointment at The White Dress by the Shore, a bridal boutique down the road from my hometown. I had heard great things about the shop, and so even though none of their designers were high on my priority list (Amy Kuschel, Anne Barge, Augusta Jones, Coren Moore, David Fielden, Ivy and Aster, Jenny Yoo, Modern Trousseau, Rivini, and Amsale, who I do love), I went in with an open mind.

Our appointment was late on Saturday morning, and the small shop was bustling. After a short wait we were matched with our consultant and led to a prime fitting room (score!). Our gal was very nice, though I did feel the environment was slightly more formal/stuffy than Maddison Row. My sisters and mom and I looked through the racks and pulled a few dresses, and our consultant pulled a few as well. Here are a few I tried:

Let’s start with my least two favorites. I did not want anything with sparkles, which the gown on the left had (interestingly, it was also too plain for my taste). The skirt of the gown on the right, by Anne Barge, didn’t feel very refined.

This one I kind of wanted to like, but it was wayyyy too big for me, and since it was Priscilla of Boston, only the sample was available.

The one on the left was too black-tie, not enough wedding for me. The one on the right was quite pretty, but lacked oomph. The top was also not soft enough for my taste.

Now this one, the “Lauren” by Amsale, I quite liked. Ultimately, though, it didn’t feel like me (though it did remind me of my friend Katharine’s gorgeous Amsale gown!).

In the end I guess you could say it came down to these two, but I honestly wasn’t seriously considering either of them (by Augusta Jones on the left, and the “Melina” by Amsale on the right). In fact, I left the White Dress surprisingly disheartened about my dress search. (If we’re being honest, I might even have shed a tear or two in the car — the frustrating kind, because you really don’t want to be crying, and you know there’s no reason you should be crying, but you can’t help it. Yuck.)

I think the pressure of our whirlwind weekend (five vendor appointments in a row on Friday!) and of making important decisions got to me in that moment. Since I thought this was my only chance to buy a dress with my mom at my side, I was also sad that I hadn’t found “the one” on this trip. Speaking of “the one,” I think I was also disappointed because I hadn’t even come close to feeling strongly about any of the dresses I had tried on thus far, and I had assumed picking a gown would be fairly easy for me. Ah well. Things look up from here!

Tell me: Did your dress shopping experience turn out how you thought it would? How many shops did you visit before finding your gown?

No matter what the color of the rest of the decor, I love black trim on a staircase. Five of my favorites:

Top to bottom: Donna Griffith via Desire to Inspire | via Young House Love | unknown | Southern Living | Joe Schmelzer

For not too much effort (not even as much effort as painting a full room), I think black handrails can make a huge impact, especially if your staircase is open to the room. Have a favorite?

My first wedding dress shopping experience was actually not with my family — or at least, my family by blood! While on vacation in Charleston in August, about a month after we were engaged, I went with the ladies of John’s family to try on dresses at Maddison Row. One of his sisters was also engaged, so we both got to try on gowns — very fun! Lindsey and the ladies were super sweet and patient, and I loved that they let us take pictures and that they were happy to share the designer, name, and price of any dress (I think it’s so annoying when stores try to keep the style or designer a secret!!). Plus, their salon is adorable!

I tried on fewer than ten dresses, but they ran the gamut from fairly ridiculous to thiscouldbetheone. I was committed to trying on anything they stuck in front of me, though, so I didn’t mind the duds! Speaking of which, these two were the funniest:

The one on the left is only funny because it’s so not me, but it could be lovely on another gal. The one on the right, by Fancy Bridal NY, is actually supposed to be tea-length. Apparently I have really short legs??

This one, the L251 from Romona Keveza Legends, was lovely (with quite the sweep train!), but a little too glam for my style.

I liked how the “Bellflower” by Monique Lhuillier looked on me (left), but the skirt was way too wide for me to actually wear at my wedding. L257 by RK Legends was, again, beautiful, but too sleek for me.

At the end of our visit it came down to two dresses, neither of which won out over the other. (And, speaking honestly, both were wayyy outside of my price range!) Even so, I can definitely see now that they both have similarities to the gown I eventually chose.

This one is the “Bailey” by Monique Lhuillier. I loved the sleeve, the interesting (sweetheart) neckline, and the beautiful natural waist. I also liked the shape of the skirt, and some of the texture, but all of the layers and fluffs and pieces together were a bit too much.

And this one is the “Emmeline” by Vera Wang. Again, I loved the sleeves, the natural waist, and the big old bow. I felt neutrally about the hand-painted skirt (loved the softness, though). The biggest issue was the top — it was even more corset-y than it appears in this photo, which is just not my style.

So — no winner in SC. But a little experience in my pocket, and a fun morning with some of my favorite ladies!

Up next: We travel to Connecticut!

I wasn’t kidding when I said we still had lots of wedding goodness to discuss! Let’s start with the gown, a topic I’ve been dying to talk about for almost a year but that has been off limits because someone special just happens to read this blog.

Clearly, the suspense is over, since y’all saw the gown I ended up with last week. So there’ll be no surprise ending to this series, but we will have the extra richness of hindsight as we go through the journey, so that’s something.

Let’s start with inspiration! I gathered many photos of dresses I loved, and they all had a few things in common. Here are some of the pretties I printed out and brought to salons with me. In a binder. I was thorough.

I kid you not, the Brisa was one of my inspiration pics from the beginning! Even though Christos is clearly a favorite brand of mine (always has been), Brisa didn’t stand out as a top contender until I tried it on.

From top to bottom, we have Christos “Julianna” and “Arabella,” Christos “Maribel” and “Brisa,” a Liancarlo design with added sleeves (photo by A Bryan Photo), Priscilla of Boston No. 4709 and Melissa Sweet “Dora,” Jewel by Priscilla of Boston No. 307 and Pronovias, Watters “Sydney” and “Carins,” and Oscar de la Renta (photo by Meg Smith) and Reem Acra.

Of course, there are several more dresses that have caught my eye since I was looking in summer 2011, but this gives you a good idea of what I like: natural waists; soft, full skirts; soft and flowing fabrics like silk gazar, tulle, and organza; bows; sweetheart necklines; tiny or gauzy sleeves; point d’esprit or swiss dot fabrics; matte fabrics; and draped bodices.

Of all these dresses, I would say my favorite before visiting any stores was the “Maribel.” Oh my goodness, I loved (and still love!) those sweet swiss dots! But, as you know, she is not the one I took home in the end, so stay tuned to see where we go from here!