Wedding dress- How did you know you found the "one"??

I went to two shops with my parents and FMIL a few Saturdays ago. The first place had hundreds of dresses and not only was it completely overwhelming, I felt as if I didn't even see anything that looked like me. The second shop was an amazing little boutique that had maybe 50 dresses. As soon as we walked in I felt like it was more my style and I'd find something there. I was all over the place as far as what I wanted in a dress, but soon after about 25 dresses that day I found her. When the consultant jacked me up with a veil it wasn't me and didn't feel right...but as soon as I took that off and went to the back room with the floor to ceiling mirrors I looked around to see everyone crying! Tears started flowing as I heard my dad say "yep! That's the one I can see me walking you down the aisle in!". It was a perfect moment.

I knew the style I want, so I found the dress online first, and when I went to try it on, it fit perfectly and was my style - shorter, fun, and not annoying. I tried on 3 or 4 other dresses, and they just didn't feel right to me. I spent less than an hour total dress shopping.

I thought wedding dress shopping was going to be so stressful. I didn't have a specific dress I liked but I did have a vision of what I wanted to look like. But, it turned out to be a stress-free and really great experience! My sister (MOH) lives in NYC so I booked 3 appointments in one weekend when she was going to be home, so that hopefully she would be part of finding "the dress". On Saturday, 5 of my 8 BM (including my sister) and my mom came to 2 appointments. The first we found a "favorite" dress, and then the next appt we found a dress we liked even better! Everyone was crying but I just wasn't getting emotional. It was a beautiful dress but not what I had pictured myself in. I just thought I wasn't going to be emotional because I'm such a logical person, and I have been thinking about my wedding for so long.

The next day just my mom, sister and I went to the last appt. The first round, I didn't find anything I liked. The next round of dresses, as soon as I put on my dress I immediately liked it, it was exactly the look I had been going for, but I still hadn't had my "moment". I realized the day before that I (surprisingly) like the cathedral-length veils with a blusher, so the consultant brought one in for me. She had me close my eyes, put on the veil and blusher, and open them, and I immediately got all choked up!! I felt like I looked like bridal Barbie!! To me, that's what I always dreamed of looking like on my big day

I know I made the right choice because I love looking at pictures of myself in the dress too Its Halona by Enzoani. I can't wait til it comes in and I can wear it on our wedding day!

I had no idea what I wanted. I bought a dress I regret because I felt pretty in it and the price was below my budget. For a couple of months I just kept second guessing it so a few girls in my BP took me out to 2 more shops. When I tried on "the one", the consultant stepped back and asked if I could see myself walking down the aisle to FH in this, everyone started crying. I am not one to cry. Especially in public. Now I want to wear it even day around the house lol. I have zero questions and I couldn't be happier!

Ha! I'd been waiting *my whole* life (it felt like) for a chance to try on big, fancy dresses-- I thought I was going to LOVE that part! After about 2 days of shopping and 20 dresses at 3 stores, only one stood out in my mind-- the rest just blurred into 'big, white dress'-- so I went back and bougt that one and was completely happy with it.

I was dreading dress shopping--I just don't like the whole process of trying on dresses and agonizing over every detail. I had a picture of the dress I wanted in my mind, and I tried on only those dresses that fit that image at the first store I went to. The second one, the consultant convinced me to try on a completely different style. Everyone there starting fussing over me and telling me that it was "the dress" (even people from a different bridal party) but I just knew something was off. The third place, I described what my ideal dress would be to the consultant: lace, straps, and a-line (I had wanted it to be more form-fitting, but after trying on dresses I changed it to a-line). The consultant found one that fit all of those requirements. Once I had it on, I didn't want to take it off. My sister said it was the only dress I had on that I came out of the dressing room smiling.

I didn't cry or have a "moment." I just really liked the dress.

Mine was a long process, but after 6 or so months i found mine! n love it. cant wait.

I went to 4 salons, didn't count how many dresses I tried on but my guess would be around 25. I found my dress at the third place. I really liked it but did not have a "moment" I went back to purchase it because there was nothing I disliked about it and I kept saying I wish this dress had ______ like that other dress every time I tried on a dress afterwards. I never fell in love with it which made me doubt it for months. I eventually realized I'm not the kind of person that falls in love with clothing in general. I don't care about designers and while I have favorite outfits I have no emotional attachments to them and that's fine.

I think women put way too much pressure on the dress thing. If you love it and can't stop staring it at then it's the one. You wouldn't go out and look for other potential husbands right?

The first dress I tried on ended up being THE dress. When my consultant first brought it out I didn't like it but she still had me try it on and I'm glad she did. I didn't want to take it off. She still had me try on other dresses but none of them compared to my dress.

Dress shopping for me was a bit of a roller coaster of emotions. I must have looked at hundreds of dresses online and was pretty confident of the look I was going for. About 12 months prior to my wedding date, I found one online that blew me away and I had that, "wow THAT is my dress" feeling. I wasn't ready to buy that early and kept internet searching but kept coming back to that one dress. So 7 months out, I finally start book appointments to go out and finally purchase my dress and could not find a salon within a 3 state radius that carried the "wow dress". Tried on a few a one salon and even though some were really pretty and flattering, I kept thinking of the "wow dress" and just couldn't commit to anything else until I at least tried that one on.

By the time I found a salon that had the "wow dress" and could make an appointment to try it on, I had just recovered from major surgery that cut all my ab muscles so I was still all bloated and physically unable to "suck it in" which made me HUGELY self-conscious about my belly and overall appearance. I almost didn't even want to go on the appointment because I was so scared that I would look awful in every dress. The "wow dress" was the 2nd one I tried on there and true to every cliche, as soon as I stood on the podium in front of the 3 way mirrors and saw myself in the dress surrounded by all my friends and family, I burst into tears. I could just see so clearly myself standing at the alter, in this dress, saying the words that would make me a wife and that was that. I bought the dress that afternoon and am obsessively excited about my dress. Can't wait to wear it!! It's just only too bad you can only wear a wedding dress once.

Here's some pics of my dress, in the same alabaster/champange color satin I ordered. I don't have pics of me in it until the first fitting.

I got very overwhelmed when shopping. I was having some health problems which put a damper on things. I went to 2 salons on Saturday and the final salon on Sunday. The last place I went on Saturday had a dress I loved but it was way to small and I couldn't really try it on. So I looked to see what other stores here carried the brand so I could try on at least something similar. As soon as I walked into the salon on Sunday, I saw the dress. I originally thought it was the same dress, but when we unzipped the bag, my jaw dropped. I was the same base of the other dress, but it had crystals and pearls and amazingness all over it! I looked at it online at least every other day until it came in a month ago. No I go stare at it in my closet every Saturday. Waiting for it to come in was totally agonizing though!

@Lady DST, show us your dress!!

Tried on 3 dresses and the 4th one literally took my breath away and I cried. I turned to my mom and she was crying......that was it I knew it was THE ONE! I still get teary-eyed just thinking about that moment :-D

I went to 1 shop tried on 13 dresses I knew I found the 1 even before she pulled it out of the bag! Just knew it! My best friend started to cry and that was it! I do wonder, but I had an open mind when I was trying on dresses I did every style and I had dresses I thought I would love that were horrible! When you know you know! Also I'm the type of person that can't make up my mind! I have bought 3 dresses just to attend a wedding so I never thought I could have found my dress first time!

I haven't been dress shopping yet, but for my first wedding I went to 2 places and tried on maybe 10 dresses or so. Then we went to a small place that mainly sold pageant dresses with a small room downstairs with wedding dresses. I tried on the 3 cheapest ones they had and hated all of them. The consultant said "wait just a minute, let me go grab something." She came back with this strapless dress that the entire bodice was covered in sequins and silver thread and beads. I thought it was awful and only tried it on to be nice. Once I put it on I was like "Oh. OH!!!!" When she added the veil, it was a wrap. The best part? It was a pageant and not a wedding dress and cost 300 bucks!! All their wedding dresses were over 800. Score!

So that taught me that you can have an idea of what you *think* you want, but be open to other designs because you just never know!

Ladies, thank you very much for sharing your stories and thank you for posting pictures of your beautiful dresses. Reading your responses reminded me that we will all have different experiences and that's okay. And yes, I will post a pic of the dress!!

I went to two shops, one was spontaneous and I just tried on 5 dresses with my parents. The second I was determined to find my dress. We drove nearly 3 hours to the big city to a huge wedding dress outlet store and it was not some creepy old warehouse, it was really nice. I tried on a little over 10 dresses here. I picked all of my dresses off the rack, the consultant didn't pick dresses for me. I had my MOH, 1 bridesmaid, my mom, MIL, and grandmother in-law there. They were all super polite and never had a mean thing to say. I either liked it or I didn't and moved on to the next. I found my dream online dress and saved that for last, but it was too heavy and not what I wanted after all. I went back into a dress that I loved and once in it for the second time I started crying. It wasn't anything I expected I would like (lace/strapless) but I never had any regrets, especially while I was wearing it.