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Personally as a heavier bride myself, I love the Alexis! Very flattering with the pull across to the side! My dress has the same type of pull, and then hand draping along the skirt which is even more slimming.
But at the end of the day, it's YOUR wedding day! The Serena is the dress that you've loved all along and obviously worked hard for! If that's "the one" you are in love with, make that one work! Get the dress that makes YOU happy, but I would definitely consider the Alexis as well because I'm sure it would look just gorgeous!
Hope that helps :-)
Could you post pictures of you in the dresses? Perhaps the bees will perceive fit differently than you do.
Honestly, I really love the alexis. It has nice structure and clean lines. One thing to think about: it could be just the Serena that doesn't fit you well, if in fact it really doesn't. Perhaps other dresses in this style would look great! I've seen similar silhouettes by different designers. You could try different dresses in Serena's silhouette.
Thanks everyone for the comments! Keep them coming ladies!
@huckleberry783: Unfortunately the salon does not allow pictures to be taken -- I wish I could have pictures to show everyone! I actually did try on other dresses with a similar silhouette to the Serena (with a higher neckline as well), but none of them looked as flattering as the Alexis......I think it has something to do with the design of the waistline in those dresses -- the dress often flares out at natural waist, which for brides with a nice well-defined waist would work very well, but for someone like me with larger bust, a short torso and a not-so-thin waist, I looked like I was all bust, and the place where the dress flares out actually makes my waist bigger.....
@Ginger87: You're right; I think what makes the Alexis sooo flattering on me has to do with that "pull" across to the side! It really gives definition to my waist. One of my biggest concerns with the Serena is that when I tried it on, it looked like I have no waist whatsoever -- all I could see was my bust and the big skirt underneath.
I've never seen the Alexis before, but when I saw it today it took my breath away. It's so gorgeous and sophisticated, it's a clear winner. The fact that it's much more flattering is even more reason.
I think both gowns are gorgeous, but to be perfectly honest - I adore the Alexis! It is sophisticated and regal without the frills and fashion faux pas! I am also a curvy girl and tried on many dresses I loved, but just didn't work for my body type and ultimately did not make me feel comfortable. In the end I picked a dress that made me feel beautiful even though I never imagined myself in that "type" of gown. On my wedding day I felt lovely in my own skin and in my "perfect" gown. In my humble opinion, pick the gown you FEEL best in and try not to sweat the rest. Good luck Cicilau!
Reading between the lines of your post, it sounds like the Alexis is the clear winner. You look gorgeous in it, your family thinks it fits you best, and it helps to accentuate all the work you've done losing weight. The Serena might have been the dress that motivated you all along, but after trying it on, it might be best to keep it as only that. It seems like the hard and fast rule of wedding dress buying is you never know until you try it on, and this is a case of that. I can certainly understand that this dress might be harder to get over because it was 'the one' for so long, but in the end, you have to go with what looks good on YOU, not on the models. Best of luck deciding!
hello, dear! this post sounds so much like what happened to me that i couldn't help but chime in!
i'm also a street size 12 gal. occasionally i can get into a 10, but not often.
i tried on a dress with side ruching that made me look TINY in the waist - well, tiny for me, anyway! the bridal consultant said "this dress just does amazing things for your body!"
but then i tried on another dress and though it didn't do quite the same thing for my figure, it was just SOOOOO much more "me". it made me feel happy and excited. i was jumping up and down and my Mom was crying. i knew it was for me and i bought it on the spot. even the consultant said "this one doesn't make your waist look quite as small, but it makes you absolutely shine".
i decided that, in the end, having the tiniest waist around isn't of utmost importance. (who am i trying to fool, anyway? i've never had a "tiny" waist!) but what IS important is how i feel. the confidence will shine through if you feel great about what you're wearing. and in the end, nothing is prettier than confidence.
i haven't seen you in either dress so it's hard to vote in that regard, but what i can tell you, from one size 12 gal to another, is to make sure you feel AMAZING in whatever you choose, because your confidence will give you a boost that nothing else can!
good luck!
I always pick the more flattering dress. That first dress is a look I couldn't pull off! It would make me look heavier, and I don't know any bride that is okay with looking like they weigh more than they do on their wedding day!
I would personaly pick the dress that flatters me the most. Being a bigger girl my whole life i've come to the conclusion that not everything i think is cute will look cute on me. And some of the things that i thought nah no way i've put on and i've looked fab. in.
I can tell you from experience, you should get the dress that makes you feel beautiful!
I bought a dress that was everything I'd been looking for in a dress-lots of poof in the skirt, assymetrical, very princessy-and didn't pay attention to the fact that I wasn't in love.
Now, I've found the dress that I DO love... and it's nothing like the first. But I put it on and almost cried. (I'm not a crier)
Go with the flattering dress. They are both beautiful. But you stll have a couple of months - perhaps you can find a flattering dress that you love.
I love the Alexis. I would probably go with whatever one makesme look better. Sometimes dresses look great on the hanger but not on my body. Same thing with shirts, pants, shoes, skirts in regular life. I lost a lot of weight in the past too, so I'm self consious about what i put on and what I actually look like in it. Looking back 20 years from now, I think I'd rather have a dress that makes me look like a knockout, rather than a trendy style that I "just had to have".
As someone with a heavier figure, I think the Serena is beautiful - but I love the Alexis. I actually see a lot of similarities (you can tell they are by the same designer!) and if you have worked so hard to show off your figure, look for a dress that emphasizes your hard work!
Straight up....just looking at the pics on the models, the Alexis looks waaaaay more flattering. Go for the one that's the most flattering. When you look back on your wedding pics in a year or two or three, you will thank youself.
The Serena, while lovely, really looks like it would accent the tummy/hip area.
I am a full figured girl myself. I ended up with the flattering dress. There were so many dresses that I wanted but knew that in the end I would not look good in. I would say go with whats flattering. I think you will be happier in the end. You won't have to stress about fitting in the other dress.
I absolutely love the Serena but I think you should go for the one that looks more flattering on you. But only as long as you love it too!
Pick the one that flatters you most. It's the dress's job to make YOU look good, not vice versa.
I think many brides end up picking a dress that wasn't their original idea of what they wanted, nothing wrong with that. A lot of dresses that I love in pictures would never look good on my body type. So I'm not going to wear them.
Wow thanks EVERYONE for their comments! Seems like nearly everyone is overwhelmingly supporting the Alexis! @prettyflowers: You're right; now that I think about it, it should really be the DRESS' job to make me look good, not the other way around. I'm worried that I have to put in so much extra work to make the Serena look good on me (e.g. work on the neckline, extra weight loss) , while the Alexis, it's already beautiful as is!
If you get a dress you don't love, even though everyone else loves it on you, you will be uncomfortable and it will show. Go with the dress you love. Is there any way the dress can be altered to be more flattering on your figure? A good seamstress should be able to fix that with little problem.
I am wearing the Alexis! I love it. My favorite part is all the buttons down the back. I was choosing between this a dress by Judd Waddell. I chose the Alexis, because I felt elegant.
So, my vote would be for the Alexis 
I think the Alexis is absolutely beautiful!! Judging from the tone of your post, it sounds as though the Alexis gives you the look you were going for on your wedding day. If you bought the Serena, do you think you would be comfortable in it? I know when I buy something I'm not comfortable in, I'm constantly tugging at it, or worrying about whether or not it's making me look _______ (insert adjective here: wide, heavy, etc). It's your wedding day, pick something you are going to be totally comfortable and confident in! Good luck! 
1) Take pictures anyway. I never understood that policy and there's no way I'm putting up with crap like that when I am spending $$$$. I never could have made a decision without reviewing my pics the next day. They can't afford to walk away from a full price Amsale dress. They'll make an exception.
2) I will be honest--I love the Alexis. I have never seen it before and I'm glad because I could not have afforded it. While I haven't seen it on you, it seems as though it would be flattering on anyone. The Serena, on the other hand, is not a flattering style on anyone. I don't even like it on the model.
3) Having said all that, pick a dress that makes you feel like a bride. And if that's the Serena, go for it. I struggled with the exact same thing. However, you have several months before you need to make a decision. Maybe look a little more (which is what I did) and find something that is flattering AND makes you feel like a bride. Love your dress.
4) I wish you had not made me look at the amsale website. Those dresses are stunning--I am jealous!!
"The Amsale Alexis is SUPER flattering on me. It gives me this elongated look. I actually look THIN in this dress."
I vote for this one.
I see this thread might be stale, but I wanted to put my two cents in as well. I'm a size 14 and have a dress with VERY similar lines and cut to the Alexis. I also tried on another dress that had an empire waist and for me, I felt it too made me look bigger than I was. I'm pear shaped and the dress I chose gave me a real waist and flattered me beyond my wildest expectations - and yet couldn't be further away from what I originally had expected to choose.
I admit that I wavered on the choice enough that even after I'd bought my dress, I went to try on one I was IN LOVE with in a magazine. Once I put it on, it solidified for me that a flattering dress that may not have been your original vision is a much better choice than one that is less flattering (in my case, the cut made me look like I had a baby bump! HELLO NOT PREGGERS!)
I get what you are saying in this post, but I vote for Alexis. I'm sure you will look beautiful in it. :)
i'll throw in my 2 cents too since i had this EXACT problem when choosing my dress. i went with the one that felt like "mine" over the flattering one. some days i regret it, some days i think i made the right choice. i would say go with the flattering one (both of those are truly gorgeous dresses), since the one you love might not live up to the idea of it you have in your head anyway. but i am living proof that going with the one you love can be right and make you happy even if it's not the flattering version.
I think a lot of people missed this line "My mom loves it, and so do my friends. However, for some reason I just don't feel that it's THE ONE".
That really, really worries me. If you do not love the dress, DONT buy it. Period. No matter how flattering it is, it's not going to make you happy. You know a style that works for you now, there are other dresses in the world besides Amsale.
I saywalk away from both of them and keep looking until you find one YOU love.
I also was overweight my entire life until I lost over 70# about five years ago. I think this history was a big factor in how I chose my dress. I loved a dress when I tried it on, but when I saw photos, I realized it wasn't as flattering as my second choice dress. My mom loved the second dress, too, and seeing photos, I realized why. I just looked better in it. I thought about it for a few weeks and realized that I want to look my best. I want to flaunt my best features, so I bought the flattering dress.
I just wanted to post because this thread really struck me. Growing up, I was surrounded by people who looked different than I did (just lighter complexions, blond hair, blue eyes). Often, they would try to get me to wear clothes they loved, but looked horrible on me. Or, they would diss clothes in stores for being too dark or ugly colors, not realizing that those were the colors that flattered people with my skin tone and hair. I had to learn early that just liking something did not make me look good in it!
I agree with zippylef that neither dress sounds like the right decision. BUT, you asked which one, so:
I would say, on any other day, wear what you love. But because your wedding day is a day when all eyes are on you -- wear the dress that makes you look the best. NOT the one you have affection for. You will have those photos forever, even when the emotions about the dress-finding experience have faded.
And then everytime you look at those photos, you will love the Alexis, because it loved you!
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Just some background -- I've always been overweight in my life, and I recently lost 30 pounds and finally got down to a size 12/14. I'm 5'11" and heavyset, so even though I've lost quite a lot of weight I'm not stick thin (and never will be). I have a pear shaped body and my waist line has always been "problematic" no matter how hard I try -- I have a short waist and my waist has never been a well-defined one. I've always been quite self-conscious about my body (being constantly teased about my weight and figure throughout my life does NOT help), and the thought of wearing a wedding dress really scares me.....
I have narrowed down my search for wedding gowns to 2 dresses:
1. Amsale Serena: http://www.amsale.com/bridal/amsalecollection/081226/serena.shtml
2. Amsale Alexis: http://www.amsale.com/bridal/amsalecollection/091231/alexis.shtml
I have fallen in love with the Amsale Serena long before I've tried it on. I really like the style and silhouette of this dress. It's fun, it's relaxed, it has pockets, it has a full skirt......it has been a great source of motivation for my weight loss since I just love it so much.
I went to try on these dresses today (the salon does not allow pictures to be taken), and here's my dilemma: The Amsale Alexis is SUPER flattering on me. It gives me this elongated look. I actually look THIN in this dress, with a very nice waistline. There's a quiet elegance and sophistication about this dress. My mom loves it, and so do my friends. However, for some reason I just don't feel that it's THE ONE......I don't know if it has something to do with how I was soooo SET to get the Serena, and it's not a style that I like (even though it's a style that works well for me)......it's just hard to get the Serena out of my mind when I have been visualizing how great I will look in it when exercising and sweating for the past year.
The Amsale Serena, on the other hand, has this style and silhouette that I really really like -- but it unfortunately doesn't work as well as the Alexis on me. The waistline of the Serena actually makes me look bigger, I think. While I really really like the style, I find myself keep thinking about how my waistline looks in the dress. Also, since I'm taller and heavyset, if I order the Serena I have to raise the necklace for another 2 inches in order to make the dress work on me (the neckline is too low in the original design, which gives me an even shorter torso). I also will need to push myself to lose even more weight before the wedding.
What will you do ladies? Which one will you choose, the one that looks SUPER flattering on you even though you may not feel that it's THE ONE or jump up and down and say "I LOVE IT"? Or go with a style that you really like (even though it may not work as well for your body type) but just vow to work harder on your body to make the dress work on you?