Hey Dolls! I’ve been dying to share with you my wedding dress shopping journey and offer any future brides my recommendations. I decided today would be the perfect day to do it since it is “Throwback Thursday”! Now I have to be honest and tell you that my bridal gown shopping experience was amazing! I believe shopping for my wedding gown was probably one of best memories I had throughout the entire wedding planning process. Once you’ve picked a date or season you’d like to get married and booked a venue its time to have some bridal gown shopping fun! I have 3 rules for any future brides that are dress shopping:
- Research ~ Before booking appointments at bridal salons I would highly suggest you research bridal dresses online. Go onto websites like Pinterest and Instagram to research silhouettes, color, fabrications and designers. When I initially started gown research I was obsessed with Sofia Vergara’s wedding gown. Her gown was designed by Zuhair Murad. I loved her gown because it was like two gowns in one. It was a trumpet dress with detachable ball skirt. I really loved this concept because I was stuck on what kind of silhouette I wanted… “a princess ball dress or a fitted mermaid dress”. So from there I researched on Pinterest, “Detachable Skirt Wedding Gowns”.
It also led me to learn more and more about designers who were known for their mermaid and detachable gowns like bridal designer Berta. This research really helped when I went shopping. It helped the stylists see what I had in mind and also saved time at the appointment. Most appointments are about 45-60 minutes. Even though that might seem like a lot of time it really ISN’T. Your 1 hour appointment will fly by so try to go into each appointment with inspiration pictures or designers in mind. It’ll help you not waste time trying on dresses that aren’t really your style. - Try Everything On ~ My biggest fashion rule in life is to give everything a try. Even pieces you don’t initial like on the hanger try it on anyway. Kill any sort of doubt by trying on every silhouette, color and fabrication. Keep an open mind and you may surprise yourself!
- Bahgain ~ If you’re anything like me you like a good deal. A lot of designers have trunk shows and offer a discount to any bride who makes a purchase that day so try to keep your eyes peeled for when any of the bridal designers you like have a trunk show in your area. Also, there are bridal stores like Glamour Closet, Vow and Bridal Garden who sell wedding gown samples or past season gowns for a fraction of the cost if you’re a “bahgain” hunter like me!
So now that the rules are out the way here is my raw footage from bridal gown shopping 🙂
Some of my favorite detachable skirt gowns are:
`Designer or store is mentioned under picture.
L’fay Bridal, Designer Berta
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset, Designer Pallas Couture Oh how I LOVED this gown! (secret: this gown was my 1st runner up. Yes, that’s right folks this dress is the initial dress I said yes too! But I chose against it because I figured it would be too hard to travel with for a destination wedding)
Designer, Leah Da Gloria (I loved that sparkle veil!)
Glamour Closet, Carolina Herrera
Here ye! Here ye! Now for some ball gowns
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset, Designer Mira Zwillinger
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset
Kleinfeld Bridal, Designer Hayley Paige
L’fay Bridal, Designer Berta
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset
Now onto the sexiest bridal gown for gals who dare show off their body shape… Mermaids and Trumpets!
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset, Designer Mira Zwillinger
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset, Designer Inbal Dror
L’fay Bridal, Designer Berta
Designer, Leah Da Gloria
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset, I don’t remember the designer for this dress but she’s a beauty!
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset, Designer Pallas Couture
Blossom Brides (here I asked my stylist Jeneane to play around with the idea of adding off-shoulder straps. Don’t be afraid to have fun and play with trims for a unique look!)
Kleinfeld Bridal, Designer Hayley Paige
Designer, Leah Da Gloria
*DRUM ROOOOLL* NOW FOR THE FINAL DRESS THAT MADE IT DOWN THE AISLE….
This is the moment I fell in love. Out of all the dresses I tried on this one was so striking. Between the blush nude color and appliqué details. OH MY GOSH! I need another reason to wear her. Maybe I’ll strut around the house or take her on a trip to the supermarket. 
The Wedding Salon Of Manhasset, Designer Pallas Couture
I hope this blog post was helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions.
XO,
Erin 🙂
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