I've tried on over 50 dresses. Everyone keeps telling me I'll know when its the one. Did that happen for you?

Dude I didn’t get the omg this is the one feeling either. It’s actually really common that not every bride feels overwhelming confidence And emotion in the dress they ended up with. I love my gown but I still had dress envy cause I recognized OTHER gowns were very beautiful too. I think in the end if you like the way you look and feel in it, that’s what is important.

I had a hard time getting that feeling. I ended up with a dress that didn’t exist in the stores. I tried on probably 40 dresses at 4 different shops, I was able to narrow down the dresses I liked best, and the designer I liked best for look and comfort. I started looking at all of her dresses online and found one I thought looked perfect. Luckily the bridal shop was able to borrow a dress from the designer for me to try and it was finally the one. I did have that moment. It was perfect, after 4 months of looking!

I say try on some more dresses, and be open to trying styles you never imagined trying. 😊

I didn’t get the feeling either lol. I love my dress and when I compare it to others I always like mine better, but I didn’t cry or have this feeling of knowing. It was more so that it checked off everything I wanted and my mom and brother who were there with me said I was glowing when I had it on and that it was so me and all this stuff that I was like “okay, I’ll get it” 😂 I did have a laugh attack, but idk if it was my version of crying or just being nervous with all the attention or what haha. It did happen to be the 2nd dress I tried on, but maybe I’ll get emotional at the fitting or maybe not until the day of? I think we’re also told and shown on tv shows that we’re “supposed to” have this emotional, dramatic reaction and I just don’t think that’s realistic for everyone.


Also don’t feel bad about being frustrated over a dress. It’s an important dress for an important day and your feelings are valid. Maybe try on some more. It can’t hurt. But take the pressure off of yourself of thinking you need to have this grand reaction in order to know which is your dress. Sometimes it’s just the one you like best!

Preface this with I hate shopping.


I tried dresses on at David's bridal once and went to a boutique to try on with my FMiL and FSiL. I really didn't enjoy the experience, but I wanted the time with FHs family, so it was worth it to have that 😉 I didn't have an "omg this is the one" moment with any dress. I shopped online, though, and found one I thought was beautiful and, being honest about my body type, I knew what would hug my curves the way I wanted it to. I'm not "girly" in most senses of the word and I don't get excited about clothes of any kind...I do get excited about boots lol...anyway, I don't think "that feeling" is all it is cracked up to be.

When I went dress shopping the first and only time, I had no thoughts in my head I was leaving with a dress that day. I picked a few I liked and tried on four dresses that were beautiful but not exactly what I had in mind. The 5th dress I tried on I wasn’t expecting to love, but as soon as I walked out onto the platform in David’s Bridal, even the other bridal parties couldn’t stop staring. It fit me perfectly, and it was way below my budget. Didn’t get that ‘WOW’ feeling but then again I’m not someone who is into fashion or wanted something too flashy. At the end of the day I loved the dress, and when I took it home and tried it on again I was even more in love with it.
Don’t be upset you haven’t found the dress yet, when you know you’ll know!

I got that feeling over a dress and then like within a week had the most dress regret lol. I canceled it and ended up with my current dress. I absolutely love it and I got the feeling over again but for real this time lol.


A lot of brides don't ever get that feeling even when they know it's the one. Don't feel bad. You're not in the wrong. You might not get that feeling of "i can't stop thinking about it" but you'll definitely know when its the one.

You’ll know even if you don’t cry. I had to go to 8-10 stores and I knew when I smiled BIG. Try another few stores and try a few gowns out of your comfort zone.

It took me 14 stores and 70+ dresses until I found "the one" and had the feeling and everything. I was similar to you where I liked the dresses but they were just "pretty". If the 2nd dress that everyone else likes didn't speak to you then don't settle! Take a break for a while to clear your head and then try on more! Good luck and I know you'll find it! ❤️

I tried on gowns the way I wanted to, by myself, in a big salon where I knew they were very helpful about searching inventory for dresses with specific features. Found 2 very different Maggie Sottero's, either of which I would have been happy with. That store only had a few Casablanca samples in my size, and no Jasmine, so I went to another place, miles away, with several specific dresses, and one type request. Really liked a Casablanca dress, but none my size to try for fit. Since neitger had the right Casa. dress, I asked the first shop, and they got one in my size to try. I would have been happy with any of them. Before going in, we chose the Inn venue, an older , elegant Inn, and began to think one dress would be nicest there, could picture myself in it by the fireplace, dancing on the stone patio. I said nothing, Invited my mom and FI to help me choose, saying I would wear any of them. Very positive loved dress one, loved dress two, no help. Dress 3, my FI had a big smile, then tears down his face, and my mom was sniffling. Okay. Special order to have a detachable train made, and floor length hem not train. When it came in, no alterations needed, and I put it on, THEN it felt like my dress, the one FI loved, and I looked great in. But while shopping, no. And 2 relatives wore it in their weddings in the coming year, and a third used just the detachable train. People said, how can you stand to see someone wear your dress, not like a daughter in 20 years? It's a nice dress, not a magic wand. After 3 wearings, it went to a group that gives them to young women raised in forster care/ group homes. At the time I thought it was because I had worked making, and mostly doing beading and embellishments, on bridal gowns and theatrical costumes. But now I simply thing that TV, movies, media are trying to sell us a fairy tale. Some get a wonderful feeling. To many, it may be the nicest or priciest dress they have ever had. But being special is in wearing it when getting married, or seeing a look from FI. No thunderstruck Aha!, no My dress! feeling. If it had been damaged travelling to our wedding, I would have sprnt the day before my wedding buying one off the rack, and not been upset ( except over the time it took.) Don't feel you ought to feel a certain way, and just keep shopping forever. Do make sure that at some point you not only tried a couple types, but in fact try one of each common silhouette. Often people are surprised to find a cut or feature that they did not care for in pictures, is exceptionally flattering. Then they are glad they did not settle. Some people like their dress, but are uncertain until the veil, and maybe evening full arm gloves are on. And the whole package, that strikes them.
Good luck

I thought I liked one in first try but I think it’s more what was in my head as the dress. The price didn’t work so I passed. And then went to 5 more places. I thrift I would never find it, I like pieces of one, but other pieces I hated, so I sort of saw it my head but didn’t know it existed. I liked 2 at last salon and decided on the one that was out of price range a bit. I cried in dressing room talking about marrying the love of my life but not about dress. Then I thought oh no. I think I bought wrong dress. What was I thinking? But honestly once I tried it on in my size I was in love with it. You’ll find what you like. Hang in there.

When i knew, i realized that there was nothing u didn’t like about that dress. It was hard for me to love it because i always saw myself in something different but i have gained a lot of weight and the dress i wanted just didn’t work for me. But i love my dress, i just had to accept that i love it as much as i do

I think I felt the urgency to pick a dress that I bought dresses out of anxiety. I'm stuck with one that I'm trying to sell and returned another. I wish I would have known better to just say no to the wrong dresses and wait for the right dress. And no, I'm glad I didn't go with the second or third dresses I tried on. They looked awful on me lol I found on through trying on dresses that what I thought I liked on models or on the rack, I didn't like on me. At least now you know what silhouette(s) you like and you can go from there. Keep looking!

I would pick one you already tried on. I loved my dress but it’s just a dress. You’ll wear it for a day. Pick something that looks nice for pictures and that you want to say your vows in. Maybe some women get a magical feeling but I think a lot of it is just hype.

I am not a dress person at all so it was hard. But, I tried on 2 dresses at David’s Bridal and the 2nd one I had that moment. I almost started to cry, it only took me that day to pick out my dress. Mine is a chiffon dress with a corset back. I can’t wait for my FH to see me in this dress.

I think the whole “omg” moments happens for some people but not everyone. I definitely wasn’t in tears (Say Yes to the Dress style) like I expected to be. I tried on about 10 dresses across 3 different stores. When I tried mine on I really liked it and like felt myself. I pretty much instantly started referring to as my dress. If you can, I would take a break from even thinking about dresses. You will find something you love but try to avoid getting too in your head about the shopping and decision process.

I didn't get the "This is my dress!" feeling when I bought my dress. I tried it on at the first store I looked at and liked the dress, but put it back on the rack. Tried on different dresses at three other dress shops throughout the next week. At the end of that week, my mind kept going back to the one at the first store, so I made an appointment to try it on again, and ended up buying it. Having that week helped me to really see which dress I thought about most when I wasn't at the store.


You will find a dress you like! There is no rule that you have to find your dress in the first few you try on. Be patient, and keep looking! If you find a dress that you mostly like, but wish a part of the dress were different, ask if the dress can be custom ordered to change what you don't like. My dress is typically made with an open back, but I ended up covering the back.
Happy dress shopping!!

I didn't get the feeling but I think I will when I'm wearing everything on the day of. I prioritized figure flattery and comfort, so it helps to know what silhouette looks best on your frame. A lot of dresses I tried on were incredibly heavy, so I went for chiffon and it's very comfortable!

I think you should look in the mirror and see yourself looking and feeling more beautiful than you ever have. Not look in the mirror and see the dress, and then yourself. Hard to explain but it should look cohesive and like you IN the dress is one complete package, if that makes sense.

I didn't have that big "its the one" moment. It was the last of my dress they had, and it was on sale because the store was getting new dresses in, we added some accessories a new belt and straps and it really grew on me. The girl helping me shop asked me if I would be sad if I went home without it and then I wasn't able to get it later. (I would have been) Recently I started my alterations and I seriously love it. So go get what you like and feel beautiful in! GOOD LUCK!

I have perhaps tried on more than you. It got exhausting. I was so close to getting a rouched dress with a flowy skirt. I went to David's Bridal one last time, and found a beauty with more lace than I thought I'd want and a gorgeous blush underlay. I didn't feel happy with it until I tried on the right tiara.


I was the same way with rings.
Some of us take longer. It's ok. If you have a hard time committing, I'd get a dress from a place with a full refund policy.
My dress wasn't perfect, but it hid my upper arms and had such a nice color I couldn't let it go. There is really no such thing as the perfect dress.

Don't feel bad!! I also tried on literally like 65 dresses. I didn't get some big, overwhelming YES feeling, but I did feel settled about the dress. So in a sense, I did get "the one" feeling, just not in the way people described/said I would. I ended up choosing different elements from different dresses to have one custom made so I've never tried on the exact dress I'll be wearing on my wedding day. I've worn the right shape and then a different dress that had the right details/color and another with the right train and waist shape. It took some imagination to say yes to it, but I've gotten more and more excited about it since I chose it. I 100% understand feeling a like you're giving it too much attention, but it's your one wedding day. Wait til you love something. It REALLY helped me to make everyone stop talking to me, look in the mirror, and imagine walking down the aisle and standing at the altar in each dress. Made the narrowing-down go much faster.