Dress Shopping- The Rejects Round 1

So it was finally time for me to go dress shopping after stalking browsing every designer website I could find. I had realized early on in my search that I have high society tastes on a pauper's budget. Therefore, I made it my mission to find every brand with dresses for a more reasonable budget that upheld the style I was looking for. One of the brands that I loved before I began dress shopping was enzoani. They provided a lot of the details that I loved and with a budget I could stomach! And they have a second line, Blue, with lower priced creations. I was delighted to find that a few of the salons nearby carried the lines!

So wanna see some dress porn? (All photos in this post are personal pictures)

Enzoani Fabi: I didn’t really think I wanted a true ballgown but I thought this dress was so pretty I couldn’t resist trying it on. It was the first one I ever tried on actually. My grandma seemed to love it, but I don’t think it did much for my body; my torso looks pretty square in it without any waist definition, but I love it from the side!

Enzoani Eva: I had seen a picture of a hive member in this dress and remembered thinking it was lovely. I loved the shape on me but didn’t like the brooch in the center and couldn’t help thinking it belonged more in a church and less at an outside ceremony.

Enzonai Diana: I LOVED this dress. This was the first dress I tried on and didn’t want to take off. I especially loved the belt, which gave it that 3D floral detailing I was itching for! Unfortunately, I didn’t love the straps on me and I felt that the train was WAY too long for what I was going for. It was a contender for quite some time though

Blue by Enzoani Cheyenne: I loved the way this dress made me look, but I didn’t really like the bling.

Blue by Enzoani Cincinnati: I didn’t really like this dress on me at first, but when I looked back at pictures I loved the softness of the tulle at the bottom. I tried it on multiple times trying to convince myself it was right for me, but in the end I never really loved it. I felt that the straight across seam hit my hips at a weird spot that wasn’t particularly flattering.

Overall, I felt Dianna was the best but the gigantic train and strangely sitting straps weren't perfect, and so my dress search continued....

Did you focus on specific designers based on budget and aesthetic? And which Enzoani creation would you have picked?

PS- I tried on A LOT of dresses, so there are lots more rejects to enjoy in the near future

Pretty Pretty Princess- Inspiration for my wedding day look

"What do you want to look like on your wedding day?" That is the question they always ask at the beginning of an appointment on SYTTD. But from the start, I knew what I didn't want to look like! I know many women want to look like a princess at their wedding, ball gown, tiara, glass slippers and all. Although I sure enjoyed the game pretty pretty princess as a kid (do you remember?)

Pretty pretty princess via Amazon.com

I never wanted to be a princess on my wedding day! I think this stems back to my mother. You see, my mom is a realist. She and my dad have been together for over 30 years, and while they still stand strong they have seen their fare share of marriages fail. So from an early age my mom liked to remind me that “life is not like the fairy tales”. She explained to me that while my Disney princess movies were fun, life rarely works out like that. And more importantly, she explained that relationships are a lot of hard work. The endings of fairy tales, when the couple marries, is really just the beginning of their story! So as excited as I am to plan an awesome party to celebrate the day me and the bear say I do, I cannot think of myself as a princess.

But what do I want to look like on my wedding day? Myself! And what does ‘myself’ mean? Well, all my life I pretty much imagined I would wear a lace dress when I got married, but then came Sunday Rose….. Oh Monique!

Monique Lhullier: Sunday Rose

I know this dress is controversial in the wedding world…but I fell head over heels when it first came out a few years ago and my cousin was getting married! I saw it in the bridal salon and nearly cried! So when I got engaged, I decided I wanted a romantic feel with three dimensional floral details! Here are some of the very expensive dresses that stole my heart during my internet quest:

From Left: Christos, Angel Sanchez, Melissa Sweet, Elie Saab for Pronovias

And here are the more affordable versions I lusted after for months:

From Left: Watters Sonara, Wtoo Desdemona, Tara Keeley, Watters Mojave, Saison Blanche

How do you feel about the whole princess bride idea?