We are trying to keep the budget for our wedding down (waaaay down) and because of this I was looking at dresses on ebay. My sister ordered her prom dress from ebay, and while it was a bit of a mess when it got here, once she had it altered it was perfect.
In the last few weeks I have looked at hundreds of haphazardly sewn dresses on there. Most of them were from sellers with names like "CharmAngel204" and "PinkPrincess342." I figured, how can you go wrong with a dress from "YouDreamComeTrue876?"
After a couple of days online I got sick of perusing ebay dresses without trying anything on and went to look at real dresses. I called my grandma, my mom and my sister, Elisha, who is also my maid of honour and cruised down to the dress store. I was supposed to be looking at styles of dresses I'd seen on ebay, but I caught the dreaded "Wedding Dress Fever" and started trying on pretty much anything in my price range. My sister and I were pulling anything off the rack that was under $500. The problem is $500 = limited selection.
Now, I wasn't set on a white or ivory dress and was looking at pretty much anything that fit in my budget. I also feel the need to mention that my sister wore here getto-bling nails and her apple bottom jeans to the store. She looked awesome, but could not do up a zipper or buttons if her life depended on it!
At one point my sister grabbed this crazy red and gold number off the rack at one store and made me try it on. It was awesome! It had red and gold embroidery up the entire bodice and layer upon layer of tulle and beads everywhere else. Think Holiday Barbie 1993. Seriously (I know this because my sister had this doll).
We both thought it would go well with the Mexican Fiesta theme. It had so much tulle and beading that it held me standing completely upright. I could probably pass out in that dress and still be standing up. I could be the Queen of Spain in this dress.
Sadly, when we looked at the price tag the dress came to $700 (we missed this before I tried it on because we were star-struck by this dress). Way over budget. My Holiday Barbie 1993 dress was not to be. Sigh.
Next, I tried on a variety of confections made from all sorts of taffeta and tulle. I tried on anything my well meaning family members grabbed. And did they grab! One slinky blue-beaded and sequined dress looked like a mermaid got her "King of the Sea" dad to give her magical legs and instead of going and finding her prince, she ended up on Jersey Shore, got really drunk at Karma and puked her dinner of pearls and clam shells all over herself before going home with Pauly D.
By the end of the day I was willing to buy anything that looked even slightly okay (and I could do up myself, with out help from my ghetto-sister). My China made ebay dreams were faltering and I wanted to find something NOW! So I made the first real impulse buy of my life and bought a very pretty, very classy purple bridesmaid-type dress that was on a really good discount (cause it was cash and carry - which means No Refunds).
The problem was, it was a bridesmaid dress. I've never made an impulse buy in my life (except for lip gloss and dental floss in the Walmart aisle - they really suck you with that display!) and I instantly regretted it. Even though we are having a fun taco and cactus themed wedding (and it's my second wedding), I still wanted to look like a beautiful bride for my wedding. I want my future husband to look at me and thing "That's my bride," not "Is that a bridesmaid?" I've been a bridesmaid enough times.
So, off I went to the very first store my entourage had been at. The 3rd dress I tried on in that store was stunning. It was "The Dress" - Simple, pretty and I looked (will look!) really, really fabulous. Plus, it worked with our oh-so-fun Mojito and Corona filled theme. Yes, it was a little expensive, but you only get married once (well, twice in my case, but let's not talk semantics). So, I bought it and now I have two dresses. If I can't convince my sister to wear the purple dress, I'll saving it so I have an excuse to go to a formal event.
I might have spent way more than I wanted to, totally ditched the ebay idea, and ended up with an extra dress, but hey, it's only money...
In the last few weeks I have looked at hundreds of haphazardly sewn dresses on there. Most of them were from sellers with names like "CharmAngel204" and "PinkPrincess342." I figured, how can you go wrong with a dress from "YouDreamComeTrue876?"
After a couple of days online I got sick of perusing ebay dresses without trying anything on and went to look at real dresses. I called my grandma, my mom and my sister, Elisha, who is also my maid of honour and cruised down to the dress store. I was supposed to be looking at styles of dresses I'd seen on ebay, but I caught the dreaded "Wedding Dress Fever" and started trying on pretty much anything in my price range. My sister and I were pulling anything off the rack that was under $500. The problem is $500 = limited selection.
Now, I wasn't set on a white or ivory dress and was looking at pretty much anything that fit in my budget. I also feel the need to mention that my sister wore here getto-bling nails and her apple bottom jeans to the store. She looked awesome, but could not do up a zipper or buttons if her life depended on it!
At one point my sister grabbed this crazy red and gold number off the rack at one store and made me try it on. It was awesome! It had red and gold embroidery up the entire bodice and layer upon layer of tulle and beads everywhere else. Think Holiday Barbie 1993. Seriously (I know this because my sister had this doll).
We both thought it would go well with the Mexican Fiesta theme. It had so much tulle and beading that it held me standing completely upright. I could probably pass out in that dress and still be standing up. I could be the Queen of Spain in this dress.
Sadly, when we looked at the price tag the dress came to $700 (we missed this before I tried it on because we were star-struck by this dress). Way over budget. My Holiday Barbie 1993 dress was not to be. Sigh.
Next, I tried on a variety of confections made from all sorts of taffeta and tulle. I tried on anything my well meaning family members grabbed. And did they grab! One slinky blue-beaded and sequined dress looked like a mermaid got her "King of the Sea" dad to give her magical legs and instead of going and finding her prince, she ended up on Jersey Shore, got really drunk at Karma and puked her dinner of pearls and clam shells all over herself before going home with Pauly D.
By the end of the day I was willing to buy anything that looked even slightly okay (and I could do up myself, with out help from my ghetto-sister). My China made ebay dreams were faltering and I wanted to find something NOW! So I made the first real impulse buy of my life and bought a very pretty, very classy purple bridesmaid-type dress that was on a really good discount (cause it was cash and carry - which means No Refunds).
The problem was, it was a bridesmaid dress. I've never made an impulse buy in my life (except for lip gloss and dental floss in the Walmart aisle - they really suck you with that display!) and I instantly regretted it. Even though we are having a fun taco and cactus themed wedding (and it's my second wedding), I still wanted to look like a beautiful bride for my wedding. I want my future husband to look at me and thing "That's my bride," not "Is that a bridesmaid?" I've been a bridesmaid enough times.
So, off I went to the very first store my entourage had been at. The 3rd dress I tried on in that store was stunning. It was "The Dress" - Simple, pretty and I looked (will look!) really, really fabulous. Plus, it worked with our oh-so-fun Mojito and Corona filled theme. Yes, it was a little expensive, but you only get married once (well, twice in my case, but let's not talk semantics). So, I bought it and now I have two dresses. If I can't convince my sister to wear the purple dress, I'll saving it so I have an excuse to go to a formal event.
I might have spent way more than I wanted to, totally ditched the ebay idea, and ended up with an extra dress, but hey, it's only money...
