Recently in Wedding dress Category

Hopefully this is not too late for some military brides - Jobyna's Bridal & Tuxedo in Glendale is having a Military Bridal Celebration starting today, Nov. 9 to Nov. 11, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

As part of that celebration, the shop will be giving away 50 wedding designer gowns to 50 military brides with participating brands such as Jazmine, Moonlight, Paloma Blanca, St. Pucci, Maggie Sottero, Monique Liu, Henry Roth, House of Bianca and more.

But if brides miss their chance at a free gown, Jobyna's will offer plenty of specially discounted gowns for military brides only.

To qualify for the giveaway, brides must be engaged, be on active duty in the military or a fiance on active duty in either Iraq or Afghanistan, and show identification, deployment papers or orders, or other qualifying proof.

For questions or information, call 626.248.0026 or visit www.jobynasbridal.com . Jobyna's is located at 805 E.Wilson in Glendale.

-----------------------------------------------------

As I mentioned in previous postings, I have never been one of those girls that has had their wedding planned out since they were 10 years old, so when it came time to think of what kind of wedding I wanted, I searched dozens of websites and magazines for inspiration.

With so many ideas to draw from, it was overwhelming and I decided to go a different route. I tried to imagine how I wanted to feel the day of my wedding and how did I want my guests to feel - relaxed? festive? elegant?

When I thought about those two things, I really loved the idea of drawing from my Mexican heritage and its traditions, but I also wanted it to be fun and informal. And in our progressive times, it's okay to have both.

So I decided on a traditional Mexican wedding ceremony but a fiesta-type reception. With an industry obsessed with color schemes, I also had a tough time deciding on colors. After much pestering from family and friends, and ultimate frustration, I threw the whole "color theme" idea out the window and focused on the actual theme I wanted for my wedding, and the colors that go with that theme.

I wanted to feel romantic so I focused on lace and flowers for myself and the fun fiesta part will be obvious with the colorful display of my bridesmaid's dresses, the centerpieces, the flowers and the invitations. With the bridesmaids in a casual style, and different colors, it didn't make sense to have the groomsmen in stuffy suits, so my fiance was happy with my idea of having the guys wear colorful, and comfortable, guayabera shirts. 

The invitations had to portray both the sweet romantic theme as well as the fiesta party our guests should prepare for, so with the help of my MOH, we had a great graphic designer design the invitations for us using the things above, as well as some Mexican tile designs for inspiration.

The result is awesome - colorful flowers and birds. I can't wait to have them printed. I plan to use the design to inspire the cake design and colors as well.

With these details down, it's onto executing them and getting other little details down - ceremony flowers, bridesmaid bouquets, my bouquet, hair, jewelry, makeup, ceremony music, reception music, bachelorette party, bridal shower..... *breathe in... breathe out...*

WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR PARTY/CELEBRATION INSPIRATION FROM?

It didn't take long after I got the ring for my future sisters-in-law, best friend and family to ask when we should go have me try on wedding dresses. One future sister-in-law works at David's Bridal so she was ready to make an appointment for me the very next day after getting engaged.

It was great to have all these people more excited than I was. Not that I wasn't excited but it took me longer to catch-up to their level of excitement (Yes, I know I'm slow in many ways.)

Once I thought about looking for a dress, I was looking more for what kind of dress would fit my theme (a romantic, traditional Mexican wedding), and what would make me feel like a woman, while still being able to fit in a car and go to the restroom by myself the day of the wedding.

I perused dozens of sites, including the David's Bridal website, to get some ideas of what I would like. There are so many great designers and beautiful dresses, though not all for me. And so many different styles to consider. I was introduced to new terms, I'm glad there was pictures to remind me what was what, just like in pre-school.

There's the silhouette, the length, the train, the waist and neckline to consider among other details. There are many websites that can help you figure out what may best fit your body type. At www.DressCodeFormal.com, a site selling wedding and bridesmaid dresses at wholesale prices, they have a section that can help you determine the right styles for your body and what you may need to play up or down certain features.

Of course, the best thing to do also, is to try it on! When going dress shopping, have an open mind. And although I had heard it is never suggested to purchase a dress on the first visit, I ignored the advice. It worked out in the end though.

On my first visit to David's Bridal, my mom, younger sister and best friend (MOH), came along with me. Of course, my future sis-in-law was also working so she was there as well.

I browsed through the sale rack first, the store was just wrapping up one of their many $99 sales, and then looked through the rack of dresses in my size. I had a set price I decided I was not going to go over, so we kept that in mind as we looked for the dresses.

I picked out a few while my mom and MOH, each picked out their choices for me too. I was pretty open to try different dresses but there were a few things I had in mind - not too much beading, lace, sweetheart neckline and sheath or trumpet bottom, no ball gown skirts. I did prefer white, but there were many nice styles in champagne or ivory.

Okay, it was time. My bridal consultant was very helpful and made me feel comfortable as she helped me try on the first dress considering I was in my under garments in front of her. Zip! Here I go, I stepped out of the dressing room and looked in the mirror, then to my mom and MOH, they both gasped and had looks of joy in their faces. My sister, a teenager, just thought I looked pretty, then went back to texting.

I loved the lace of the dress, it was a beautiful design, but the fit and the neckline didn't make me feel like the romantic woman I wanted to look like for my wedding.

The first dress

So on to the second dress. This dress also had a beautiful lace, it was an ivory color, not what I wanted but it was still nice. My problem though was it still was not fitted through my hips and the beading in the front, going down the middle, was just too weird and distracting for me. Next!

The second one

So, the third dress was on for maybe two minutes. The lace and the neckline were nice but there was more beading throughout the dress and it was the kind that caught all the colors around it so it wasn't white or pearl. There was also a band of beading under the bustline that I didn't think was too flattering. Something just didn't feel right about this one. Off it goes.

The third dress

The next dress was the one my MOH picked out. It was more of a sheath, satin dress with no lace and a little beading on the shoulder of the one strap. Not what I was looking for but once I tried it on, it felt so good and when I looked at myself in the mirror, I loved the way it looked. Finally, I felt like a woman and romantic. My future sis-in-law asked "So are we saying yes to the dress?" I replied "Yes!" Sure it wasn't what I originally intending to buy but it did give me the feeling I was looking for and the best part of all for a thrifty bride like me - it was $99! I knew I had to snatch it up.

The one (or so I thought - keep reading)

There was one more dress waiting in the wings to be tried on, the one my mom chose. It was a beautiful Greek-style dress. It was light and comfy, but it didn't say wedding. And just to be sure, my mom asked me to try on the first one again, that they loved, so I did, but they could see it didn't make me light up like the one-shoulder dress did.
(Sorry ladies, I'm not one that cares for designer labels, so I didn't pay attention to what designer any of these dresses came from, except the one-shoulder dress which was a David's Bridal gown.)

I took the dress home and took lots of pictures of it on the bed so I could have it in my camera to take around when shopping for shoes and accessories. That was back in January, when I first began the whole planning process. After getting the dress, I unsuccessfully tried a couple times to change the theme but my fiance didn't like the idea. I thought an old blues/jazz theme would go better with the dress but he loved the first idea I had of having the groomsmen wear guayaberas (more comfortable) instead of a stuffy tuxedo or suit, if we kept with the Mexican theme.

I convinced myself that it didn't matter if my dress matched my theme as long as I felt good in it and looked great, my fiance would love it and we would all have a good time. So I left it at that for months.

Then, as I went to more bridal shows and received countless emails of bridal stores and trunk shows, I thought, it doesn't hurt to look. So I looked online and at the shows, just to see if by chance I could find something that would fit the theme and what I want, now that I know what kind of style and details I wanted. Maybe I could even find one at a good price and have two dresses. It's not unheard of, pricey, but not new for a bride to wear one dress for the ceremony and another for the reception.

My future sis-in-law knew I had doubts about my dress fitting my theme so she was secretly keeping an eye out for dresses that I might like as they came into the store or went on sale.

Finally, last month, she told me she spotted a dress that she thought I would love and is definitely in my price range, just a bit over $200. If I liked it, I could see about returning the first dress and use that credit towards this one.

I googled the style number she gave me to see if I could find some good pictures and get a better idea of what the dress looks like. It was an Oleg Cassini, which I guess is a big designer. Here's a link if you would like to see the dress - click here. Mine is slightly different than some of the pictures there.

So, I went one Saturday morning with my MOH to try the dress on. I thought: What have I got to lose? I had a dress no matter what. It was a size 12 like other dresses I tried on but these styles ran bigger and was kind of big on me, but when we clipped it to fitl - I knew instantly this was the one. I don't cry too easily so it wasn't that kind of moment, but it felt perfect. The sweetheart neckline was perfect, the lace and the beading detail is beautiful. And the train, longer than the last dress, really made me feel more like a bride. The material was not too heavy so it was form-fitting without adding a lot more inches to my body. It was great - lace, strapless - and made me feel like a woman. I can't wait to have it altered to fit perfectly (after I lose some weight in the middle), and wear it on my wedding day - I know I will feel beautiful and romantic as my adoring, husband by then, sweeps me away to ever after.....

How was your wedding dress shopping experience? How did you know when you found the right dress? Share your stories with me in the comments below.

Here are some sites and upcoming trunk shows for brides still looking for their perfect dress:

** Designers Lazaro and RIVINI will hold trunk shows at Jobyna's Bridal store in Glendale this weekend, April 16 and 17. By appointment only, (818) 248-0026, Special offers apply, Inquire during trunk show, Jobyna's is open from 12 to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Address is 3325 North Verdugo Road, Glendale.

** St. Pucchi trunk show at Mon Amie Bridal in Costa Mesa from April 16 to 18. Meet Designer Rani Totman at her only Southern California appearance for Spring 2010 Bridal Gown Trunk Shows. Mon Amie and Ecofficiency & GRN Events will present an "Eco Event for the Bride" on April 24 featuring bridal gown designers Adele Wechsler & Pure by Justin Alexander and vendors such as Aveda, Barefoot Wine, Luscious Desserts and more. For more on this event, visit www.Ecoffiency.org. For more trunk shows and information on Mon Amie, visit www.monamie.com.

** New York Bridal Fashion week was held earlier this month. Check out these two sites for pictures and a recap of what was heating up the runways for Fall 2010:

http://www.getmarried.com/wedding-planning/fashion

http://www.celebrityweddingbuzz.com/

** Martin McCrea Couture specializes in vintage-style dresses for the bride looking to go back in time on their wedding day. Custom sizing available. www.martinmccrea.com