Weddingbee boards

Saturday I went to the Bridal Outlet in Lincoln, NE and finally bought my dress. ^_^ I've had a seriously rough time deciding on a dress. I originally, positively *knew* that I wanted a v neck dress and preferably one with lace. I loved the idea of having straps and that was my #1 requirement. With a budget of under $800 and a limited choice of bridal shops (hello, Nebraska!), I ended up getting pretty discouraged that I couldn't find anything flattering on me in a bridal size 10-12. There were several dresses that were perfectly satisfactory, and while I figured I was just too pragmatic to get overly excited about a dress, I kinda wished that I could try one on and *ding* immediately know it's perfect and end all the agonizing and waffling.

I will be perfectly honest, in a way I settled, if by settling we mean that I never found exactly what I'd envisioned (caveat: in my budget. With a bigger budget I'm pretty sure I could have kept looking and eventually found a v-neck that I loved). But I chose my dress, Mori Lee 4501, because:

1. The sample fits perfectly (even though the ruching is a little pulled apart on the sample from being tried on so many times). The length is perfect for ballet flats or kitten heels, and with the corset back, I won't need any alterations at all, which is awesome.

2. Silk satin. Though it's a little heavy and kinda hot, it won't wrinkle too bad, which is what I really dislike about taffeta.

3. My sister, mom and FMIL absolutely LOVE the dress and maintain that it does great things to my figure (suck in that tummy, corset!). My sister is my style guide, so I try to go by what she recommends when possible. ^_^

4. The price. With taxes, I came out at $660 which was well within my budget and allows me more leeway for accessories.

Ultimately, I made my dress decision based heavily on practicalities and efficiency. No alterations? Score. But having said that, I am happy to report that when I was buying my dress, I tried it on (yet again), and I did feel a thrill of excitement knowing that this would be the dress I would be married in, the dress that Mr Spin (who was sitting in the parking lot waiting for me ^_^) would see me in on our wedding day. And I am SO excited for that, and frankly, I'm happy that I finally felt excited about a dress. ^_^

Sorry for the novel when all you wanted was pics! :D Here they are. Ignore my stack of hair ties on my wrist, plz. ^_^

Curses! Resizing. ^_^

Here are full length pics. ^_^

Thanks, peeps! ^_^

I totally know how you feel. I have a VERY limited budget. Mine was actually aroud 500 dollars and the fact of the matter is I didnt want to go above this price because i would feel so guilty spending so much on a dress regardless of the fact that it is for my wedding.

I bought my dress from Davids bridal and I really love it, dont get me wrong! I just found the whole wedding dress shopping experience more stressfull then fun. when you have a strict budget and its extremely low....it makes it so hard. this dress that i bought was the only dress that i felt pretty in....but something is missing from my dress....and i think through a couple alterations I could make it my own.

but ... i never had a this is "it" feeling! did i make the wrong decision?!

@Osakagrl: It is stressful when you're trying to be frugal. I probably could have spent more, but I imposed $800 as my top for the same reason--I felt guilty even considering spending so much on a dress. :P Especially since when one of my close friends got married, her budget was "as little as possible." She bought a $99 dress at DB that looked lovely but wasn't her ideal dress because they really couldn't afford much more. And on their wedding day, it really didn't matter. She looked absolutely beautiful and no one knew that she never felt it was "the one."

So I wouldn't necessarily call my feeling of excitement an "it" moment. It was more of a "This is it. I've made a decision I can stand by and I can't wait to get married." ^_^

You should post pictures of your dress! I know some people don't like David's but I tried on a lot of really pretty dresses there that were wonderfully reasonable in price!

Yeah actually I will admit I walked into davids bridal more for giggles then being serious! BUT after trying this dress on i really loved it!!

I am waiting for my dress to arrive since they didnt have a size small enough for me in stock (Im a size 1-2) and they never carry those in the store! I will post pictures when it arrives : )

And im confident in the fact that when i get married, the dress will be one of the last things on my mind! hahaha

Thank you for your sweet words : )

Fifty--that's my sister's favorite part too. She says the draping makes it all look very Victorian. ^_^

Its goregous on you! You will look stunning!