Wedding Dress Shopping Frustrations?

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Oh gosh, your wedding is coming up! You're not thinking of the "after" yet. lol. Can't wait to see your BAM pics.

lol. Not sure if polka dot screams "pirate" but my hubby does like to go to theater stuff and periodically wear a tux so wearing my wedding reception dress out would be neato.

View Quoted Comment Well, you're name has both 60s & pirate. So 60s = pokadots & pirate = sash? The theatre is always an idea. We have a lot of art shows, but usually we're dressed more casually.
And yeah. Wedding is pretty darn soon. FH just had his "this gets real" moment when I pointed out we could file for the wedding license middle of next month. His face was hilarious!

I’m looking for a BLACK wedding dress. Strapless or spaghetti strap, sweetheart neckline, fitted bodice, lace and sparkly bodice with a long lace train.
Ive been to dozens of stores. Sales reps have turned up their nose and told me to to simply try a prom dress store. Some of them have waited until I’ve tried things on, after telling them I need it in black to tell me the designer doesn’t dye or make dresses in black. Why would you help me put on the damn thing if you knew what I was asking for knowing it couldn’t happen!?
The dress I loved was $2,300 and I was willing to pay extra for dying. I’ve not heard back and they won’t return my calls.
No prom dress or evening gown looks bridal enough. So disheartening.

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Tee hee. Yauh. We had a pirate DW and a separate 50's/60's local reception a few months later.

lol. I wish you got a photo of his face. I think a few weeks before our wedding I exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! We need to get our license!" Thankfully, it's pretty easy to schedule.

I knew this would be an issue beforehand, but nothing fitting me even slightly. I'm very petite (4'10!) and the proportions of everything was so off that I couldn't envision anything properly because the fit was so bad.

Also just the fact that everything was so traditional bridal! I wanted something completely different so I'm going the handmade route

Sizing was my biggest pet peeves. I am a 12 in everything, measured into the bridal 18, but had to order a 22 for my chest 😪

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Black wedding dresses are hot! But probably impossible to find in a bridal shop. Hey, I know two designers that have black right now:

Vera Wang (hey...on sale at David's Bridal right now for $1100):

Val Stefani (not sure the price? $2K+)

View Quoted Comment Https://www.maggiesottero.com/sottero-and-midgley/zander/11869

I’m going this Sunday and I am so nervous. I’m plus size, size 20 in regular clothes. The boutique I’m going to has a room just for plus size, but I’m still scared. I’m currently dieting and exercising, hoping to loose more weight since I have some time. I just thought I should get the ball rolling and try on some dresses.

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I am with you Ann, I haven't even begun my dress shopping yet. I am also a size 20 in regular clothing. so stressed out. let me know who you end up going with.

I had a horrific time finding something I liked the first time I did this whole thing, and then because it fell through, I ended up with an unworn gown in my closet that was waaayyyyy out of budget and that nobody will buy off me. -.-

This time around? Couldn't have been easier. I went to a sample sale on a whim with my mom and walked out with an AMAZING gown. Paid $199 for the thing.

.....Now to sell that other one...............

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I went to a local boutique this past Sunday, maybe about 15 minutes away from where I live and it was a great experience. I made sure they had plus size selections, and my stylist was so helpful. I received excellent service, however, I wasn't ready to say yes. I decided to give David's Bridal a try, since they had available appointments for the same day. I wanted to see if there was anything there for me, and man it was a bad decision. The stylist did not listen to what I wanted, and brought over dresses that were not what I was looking for. After trying on 6-7 ball gowns, I had told her it's not what I'm looking for. I wanted sweetheart neckline and a-line - I tried on every dress except that. She rolled her eyes, and continued on pulling dresses out. Oh and I had to get in and out of the dresses with the help of my bridal party. The stylist was busy running around putting things away. On the bright side, I've learned that I never want to step foot into a David's again.

My biggest problem was getting that same vibe you get when you go car shopping, only instead of there being a car dealer there was a "bridal" consultant. So that put me on the defensive immediately.

I hate, Hate, HATE being asked "what's your budget?" That's lazy sales person talk. The moment you open your mouth they are already calculating their commission not listening to what you want. And you know the very minute you give them a ball park, they will only show you dresses that on the very edge of that number and parade them around like they are the only dresses in the world.

So I got smart. I reply "the budged is contingent upon me seeing something I like." Or my favorite snarky comeback: "If you must ask, you can't afford me."

I also didn't like the sales people who kept giving me sheath and mermaid dresses when I specifically asked for ball gowns. When I heard that "dear you're too little for a ball gown!" I'm (5'2" and 95-105lbs., and once upon a time I was an incredibly pudgy child that was horribly teased) I wanted to fly across the sales floor in that dinky little mermaid dress and tackle that clueless shrew.

Most of the sales people I encountered were pretty respectful. I didn't really have problems with taking pictures. Some said, if there is no one else in the shop, you can take pictures. Others offered to take pictures for me. At least in the Los Angeles area, it seems as most bridal shops that I encountered understand that taking pictures is a tool to aid the decision making process. The attendants at the last shop I went to, Glamour Closet, offered to take pictures too, but then I told then it wasn't necessary because I found "the one."

It really helps if you can go shopping in the middle of the work week, just after 1 pm. That's when a bridal shop may be lucky to have a single customer show up in the morning, so they are much more helpful when you are the only person in the shop showing up on a slow day.

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Is that a Maggie Sottero Victoriana? I'm just asking because it looked like one of the dresses I tried on.

View Quoted Comment It is very similar, but it's an older model by Maggie Sottero called Cambria Maria.

I went to DB and I wasn't really frustrated but my Mom and MOH were super frustrated when we first walked in LOL!! Honestly I went to see what style I was interested in no intention to buy that day (first time) I didn't know you had to make an appointment and I told them my wedding date which was a Monday so they didn't take me serious at first which frustrated them but I understood as I'm sure that happens a lot there (also it was new years eve) but once my consultant actually listened "Well it's a Monday but it's in Vegas" literally changed her completely and I said I wanted a public restroom friendly dress (LOL!!) but I wanted it long she said the ones I liked were nice but would be hard in a public restroom and went and grabbed me different ones. She even gave me pointers like "If you wear sequins or rhinestones all over the bodice it can irritate under your arms so when you try it on test out arm rubbing" so I have to say she quickly redeemed herself with my mom and MOH and I ended up finding the one that day so frustrations were quickly turned around for me luckily lol!!

.... Now my cake..... That's a whole different story 🤣🤣🤣

I had the best shopping experience. I went to 2 stores. The first one had very limited sizes so I had to try on size 22 when I’m a 16. That was really hard to vision what the dress would look like. I then went to DB and before I got there I went online and favorited 26 dresses that I liked and they were able to pull out those dresses for me when I got there for my appt. They have several sizes of each dress and I was able to try all dresses within 1 size. I tried on 6 before I found 2 that I loved. My sales associate was fantastic and gave me lots of quality service without be pushy. I went back the 2nd day to retry both dresses to make my final decision and although it was super busy and I didn’t have an appt, they fit me in and gave me great service once again. I bought my dream dress that day! DB made my shopping experience fun and easy!

View Quoted Comment I wasn't thrilled with them shopping for a bridesmaid dress. We had 3 girls (including me) trying on dresses, and made an appointment for all 3 to go together. I dont know if this is normal or not, but we had 1 dressing room and our side of the store was packed (other side empty). I almost felt like we should have made 2 appointments just to get more space? Just a weird experience to me.

Then I was hastily measured for a size 10, but I literally just took a 10 off that didnt close in the back, at the neck, and barely fit over my hips 🤔 glad I ordered a size up despite them urging me not to. I almost felt like that was a money grab for alterations. The 12 fit me perfectly, no alterations needed.

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Did your consultant ever tell you how to use the rest room in a dress with a train? My last one did. It's completely different than the normal operation of affairs. You have to hike your gown skirts up, facing the toilet and when you go you have to straddle it. This way there is no chance that any part of your dress gets in the way. I thought it was hilarious, but I tested it out and it made a lot of sense.

I had a sales rep that kept using the word heavy to describe me and it ruined my whole experience with that store. I didn’t buy anything from there