On the hunt: The White Dress by the Shore

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?