Gown vote-off!

I did like Pnina Tornai but truthfully, I did not want to travel all the way to NYC to get one of her gowns since she's exclusive to Kleinfeld, especially as I am in California. I think her gowns are very pretty for sure, but they can be pretty pricey (the gown that I liked the most was over $7,000). I know she has her "LOVE" collection, but still. I was also posting some Lazaro gowns as well, but only a select few. I love most of HP's gowns because they are so girlie, pretty, and unique. The bridal salon that I'm going to in May does carry some other designers that I've taken a liking to and I'm not opposed to trying some on outside of HP, but I just admire beautiful gowns in general. A lot of them just happen to be HP.

OP - you seem like a sweet and genuine person, and I feel like I can relate to you because I don't have a lot of close female friends who I can talk wedding stuff either. I love your enthusiasm and you take feedback really well.

I think what you've got going on is a stage in wedding planning when you have a long engagement where there isn't really a lot you can actually do to plan. You need an outlet for your excitement, which is WW. That's what we're here for!

I think where people struggle a bit is that you've posted dozens of threads asking what we think about a particular gown or asking which one we like better based on photos of other people. I want to clarify that I LOVE looking at dress pictures. I would try on 100 more dresses if I could. But I think people struggle with these threads sometimes because there isn't much to say beyond "that's pretty".

For me, when you post things like "gown vote-off" it makes me nervous for you because I think two things could happen to you.... 1. You narrow your search too much before you go and don't go with an open mind, thus missing out on some potentially great gowns, and 2. You do pick a gown but then the fall 2021/spring 2022 collections come out and you fall in love with another dress after you've already picked one.

Something you might want to do is ask this community to share photos of their dresses, maybe what they wanted vs. what they got, etc. whether you ask specifically for beach weddings, HP, etc. You may find fewer brides who wore HP gowns because her dresses tend to skew more $$$, I think, than the average budget of this forum...but certainly there are some people who did!

I spent a LOT of time browsing secondhand websites so that may be a good place to get your fix too!

Please don't feel like you are not wanted in this community. You absolutely are. I think some of us just a little overwhelmed by these posts.

And that’s a really good point and great advice as well. I went dress shopping with a vision of what silhouette and style I liked and quickly changed my mind as I didn’t like them as much when I tried them on, so that is a possibility.

I love the second dress! I think it will really work with your venue too! Especially if you guys walked over to the boardwalk at night for some fun photos. It would look amazing! But it really comes down to what you like most when you try dresses on. Good luck!

I love Lumi Its beautiful when is the wedding?