The Wedding Chronicals - The Dresses that Didn't make the cut

Last month, my mom and I went dress shopping as we stumbled across and bought "the dress"! (THANK YOU MOM!!!!!!)
We went to Alfred Angelo because I thought I knew what I wanted.

As it turns out, the dress I came in to try on has been discontinued... In fact, the sales person had never heard of it when I was describing it, and neither had the manager. I'm thinking it must have been an on-line exclusive. Well, wedding dresses are non-refundable, so I wasn't about to order something I couldn't try on.  LightInTheBox carried a similiar one, and I was interested in trying it on before ordering (or winning) their version.

So I tried on some other colored gowns.

We started out with a simple option:

WHAT I LIKED:This dress was VERY light, despite it's "full" appearance. A sash/bridal belt gave me more control over the color choice. Oh yeah, it also had pockets! The price was right too. I liked the straps too. Definately something customizable that could be passed on as an heirloom peice.WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:The fabric was taffeta, which isn't soft to touch. I like a dress that

"feels" as lovely as it looks.

WHAT I LIKED:This was a VERY sliming dress. I loved that aspect! When you looked from the side, I looked 20 lbs lighter.I like the very top of it as well.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
No train. The color you see is all of the color what would be on the dress. It felt very "business like", nothing "fun", "classic" or especially "bridal" about it. I felt like a pretty girl in a nice dress. If Sean were wearing his dress uniform, maybe this would work, but he's not, and it's not exactly the look I'm going for...

WHAT I LIKED:Honestly, I expected to like this one the best. I expected to LOVE this one. What I can say is that I liked the fabric a lot. It was a very soft, rich, comfortable satin. I expected to LOVE the huge splash of color on the train. My colors would be Ivory and Clover Green.WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:The band of color at the neckline. I felt it was too small and contributed to a "wider" look from the front. This also has a completely zippered back, which is unforgiving as far as sizing/alterations go.
Oddly enough, I didn't like the HUGE splash of color on the train. I thought I'd LOVE this feature, but after trying on "the dress", this one seemed 'common'. I also feel that this isn't an heirloom peice. (Yes, future-daughter, I'm thinking about you!) I felt it lacked that attention to detail that I love so much, and was very "cookie cutter". I felt as though I'd seen this dress already, on a 1000 brides and it lacked originality. Mine would have been in Ivory and Clover. With that in mind (and the peacock feathers I'll be using in my hair) it just seemed like color-overkill. I felt that I could be more bold with my accessories if the coloration on the dress was bit more subtle. I LOVE loud color, but this was just too big of a leap for me. It's a BEAUTIFUL gown, don't get me wrong, and I almost felt bad turning it down when I told the sales lady that, surprisingly, I had fallen in love with the previous one.

HOW DID I KNOW I'D FOUND THE ONE?When they put the veil on and my mom and I both caught our breath. That was pretty much solid. (Of course, it didn't help that I turned to her and said, "Can you see me marrying Sean in this?" I already could.

I can't wait to visit this summer after my dress comes in! My mom will be taking good care of it in California until it's all ready and it's ready to make it's Florida debut!