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WOOHOO! I can't believe I actually found my dress! I feel like now I've gotten a huge piece out of the way and can can focus on the rest of the wedding To Do list now. Some of you guys may have seen the boomerang of my mom popping out of a crazy extravagant dress we found, it cracks me up every time I see it. That was us perfectly, I hope we didn't cause too much trouble in the dress shop.
I'm so thankful it didn't take me very long to find my dress. You may remember a post back in early July of driving up to Seattle with my mom and cousin to go to a dress shop that my mom's friend owns. It was so much fun, but a little overwhelming considering I didn't have my dress style narrowed down yet, so I had to try on dress after dress for a couple hours to narrow down the style that was best.
I had done some online searching after getting a better idea of what I was looking for and came across this super cute dress shop in Carona del Mar just outside of Newport Beach, CA. Since we were going down to the Tone It Up retreat in Dana Point, Ca and were flying into John Wayne Airport I figured let's check it out since it's on the way to the hotel. What a perfect opportunity to look and see if they had anything I liked. To be honest I really didn't have any expectations for this dress shopping trip. I wanted to keep it fun and take some fun photos and videos. I was mostly just thinking, when will the next time I'll be dress shopping in Cali be?! Probably NEVER!
If you're curious The Dress Shop I went to is called The White Dress in Carona Del Mar, if any of you guys are close I highly recommend you guys go check it out! It's by appointment only so it was very intimate and quiet, I think there was only one other girl trying on dresses at the time and she was on the other side of the store. The store was absolutely gorgeous you can see some photos below of it! They first have you fill out a questionnaire of the style you're looking for and wedding date/details. Then you have a one on one conversation with your consultant. They ask how you and your fiancé met each other, what you want the feel of the wedding to be like, and how you imagine yourself looking the day of so they can get a glimpse of the whole picture. I feel like she really took the time to see my whole vision so she could help choose the best dress for me, my personal style and the style of the wedding.
I'm very particular about a lot of things, have a crazy attention to detail and end up DIYing everything because I always want thing a little bit different then how they come in the stores. Knowing this about myself I really wasn't sure I was going to try on a dress and have my THIS IS THE DRESS moment!
The first time we went to try on dresses I found 2 that I really loved but there were things on both that I wish were different (surprise, surprise). you can imagine how blown away I was when the first dress I tried on at the shop in Carona Del Mar we all had the moment of THIS IS THE ONE! I really couldn't believe it, we had chills. It was all meant to be! I can't wait to show you guys the dress, it's been sooo hard keeping it from Ryan too. I just want to show everyone! Luckily our wedding is going to be here before we know it.
TIPS TO CHOOSE YOUR WEDDING DRESS
1) Figure out a Budget.- We had a rough budget when we started looking for a dress and it was super helpful in narrowing how the choices. The consultants have a whole store of dresses with all different price ranges so it will save time for you and them.
2) Get Started Early.- You want to make sure you have plenty of time to make appointments, find the perfect style, get it ordered in and have time for alterations. The whole process takes a lot longer than I was expecting so always make sure to prepare and plan ahead!
3) Create a Pinterest Board.- Having a Pinterest board of all the styles you love will really help the consultant figure out what to help pick out for you. What your personal style is and how to take that into a wedding dress. since wedding dresses are typically white, off-white, or ivory I think it is so important to put your personal spin on it. Put your personal style into it and not be like every other basic dress.
4) Be Open Minded.- Be opened minded to other styles that might not be what you had in mind but might be much more complimenting to your body type. We want to look and feel the best on our wedding day. Everyones body shapes are so different so it's important to find something best suiting for you. What we find online might not look as good as us than it does on the person in the picture. We are all beautiful in our own ways so finding that complimenting style will make all the difference! <3
5) Enjoy The Process!- It could be such a stressful and overwhelming process but remember we only look for a wedding dress once in our lives. Try to soak in the process, enjoy it and Have FUN!
I hope this post helps, have fun wedding dress shopping ladies! <3
One of the elaborate dresses I found to post pics in! SO not my style but it was so fun to try it on and dance around in it! <3
