Bridal Talk Tuesday: Say Yes to the Dress

Happy Tuesday ladies! I kept you all in suspense yesterday about my wedding dress shopping in Manhattan so that I could save it for Bridal Talk Tuesday.

First let me stress how important the dress is to me. As a former pageant girl for over a decade, it is all about the dress. And I like to think my pageant gowns were all fabulous so I think I had very high expectations. 

On Friday evening, I got in pretty late and we just had dinner and then did some catching up. Saturday, we had a nice lunch in the city then headed to Amsale. I was dying to go to this boutique because I love Kenneth Pool gowns. I tried on a couple in Charlotte and loved the way they fit my body. I haven’t watched Amsale Girls – does anyone follow this?

I was very impressed with Amsale. One of my maids of honor, Elizabeth, and I went and I was worried they would not take us very seriously since my mom was not there. The consultant was fabulous though and I tried on seven or eight gowns and found two that I really liked. They were simply gorgeous but at this point the dress I found at Hayden Olivia in Charlotte (that I have mentioned in several blog posts) was still my top pick. 

We did a little shopping and sight seeing and took a quick walk through the bottom of Central Park because my maid of honor had never seen it before. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather. 

A couple that Corey and I are friends with were in New Jersey for the weekend and stopped in to have dinner and spend some time with us on Saturday night. The five of us went out and it was wonderful to catch up with some friends I haven’t seen in a long time – I hadn’t even seen my maid of honor since Corey and I got engaged! 

Then on Sunday we headed to Kleinfeld Bridal for my appointment. Corey’s mom and sister met us there. Elaine was my consultant (she is not featured on Say Yes to the Dress but was simply fabulous). It was so amazing to see the salon that I’ve seen featured on all the episodes I watch at the gym (and on lazy afternoons) as well as some of the consultants that I feel like I knew already. Sarah, Debbie, and Randy(!) from the show were working. 

I had such a fabulous experience at Kleinfeld’s. Sunday mornings are very busy but I was not rushed at all. The biggest advantage I had was that I had been to three other bridal salons already and knew what silhouette I wanted as well as a few things that I did not want in my wedding dress. 

There is a dress that I’ve been eyeing online since Corey and I got engaged and all of my favorite dresses that I had tried on were very similar to it. At Kleinfeld, they had the actual dress I’d been dreaming of. And it was even prettier in person than it was in the photo. I could tell it was gorgeous on the hanger before I even tried it on.

This was the first dress I tried on at Kleinfeld’s and I loved it instantly. I tried on six or seven other dresses for comparison and they were all beautiful but the first dress was perfect. While I loved the dress I found in Charlotte (recall this post?) I felt very uneasy when I left the salon. It was beautiful but I found myself obsessing over whether it was the one all weekend long that weekend. When I tried on this dress at Kleinfeld, I just knew! I could actually imagine myself walking down the aisle in that dress. It is so perfect that I can seriously see myself putting it back on when we return from our honeymoon just because I love it so much and already want to wear it more than once! And to top it all off, they offered me a discount off the ticket price because they were having a trunk show this past weekend. 

I would highly recommend Kleinfeld’s. The selection is unbeatable and when I left I really felt like I had seen everything. Not only did I love my dress but I felt confident that I wouldn’t come across one I liked better somewhere else. My consultant, Elaine, was patient and very helpful and the whole atmosphere of the store was friendly – not snobbish like I’d been warned to expect. I only purchased my dress on Sunday and the salon has been in contact with me to thank me for my purchase and offer answers to some frequently asked questions. I’m completely at ease because I will be able to do alterations with Kleinfeld’s as well because the salon is only four train stops away from our new apartment in Hoboken. I’m returning next month to try the sample back on and choose a veil and look at other accessories.  

I am beyond excited! I wish I could share with you all some of the pictures of this beautiful dress. When I tried it on for the first time, my maid of honor said, “Wow! That is the most Elizabeth dress I’ve ever seen!” And she was right – everything about it just screams me. It is a perfect choice. Stay tuned August 2012 to see what it looks like and for more pictures from Kleinfeld’s. I was so silly – I forgot to take a picture with our group (Elizabeth my MOH, Corey’s sister who is one of my bridesmaids, and his mom) and with Elaine in my street clothes. I was so excited after placing the order for my dress that we hurried off for lunch and mimosas and I didn’t even think about the fact that I couldn’t share all the photos we took while I was still wearing the dress! I’m so excited that I “said yes to the dress” and that I’m a Kleinfeld bride! 

Since you can’t see the dress yet and just for fun, here are some of the runner’s up: 

Stay tuned August 2012 to see the actual dress! And pictures of my shopping trip to Kleinfeld’s!

Want to join in on the Bridal Talk? You can link-up any wedding-lated post or one about finding your dream dress. Make sure to grab the Bridal Talk Tuesday button at the top of this post and link back to Life with Elizabeth. I will comment on anyone’s post who links up but try to comment on at least one or two other blogs in the link-up too to share the wedding love!