THE DRESS PART DEUX.

I knew that I needed to do my first dress shopping session either alone - or at least with an un-opinionated bridesmaid. I needed a chance to try on some dresses to see what I REALLY liked without influence of outside parties. Plus, I kept hearing about Too-Many-Cooks-in-the-Kitchen-Dress-Shopping Horror Stories where a delightful dress shopping adventure quickly turned sour.

Therefore, I took my Crafty Bridesmaid - who while she has lovely taste, she is also the most carefree - Christmas shopping with a side-order of Bridal Shopping. We had a fantastic morning, perusing the stores and sites of the Roseville Galleria mall and snatching up Christmas gifts for loved ones. Then we headed back to Sacramento for the first of two snuck-in Bridal Appointments.

Lana's Bridal Studio is located close to the Town & Country area of Sacramento and is hidden behind a lovely tree lined niche of a parking lot. They have several sample gowns to touch and try-on, as well as books of previously made fashions to peruse. They also offered custom gown design - which is actually what brought me their way, as I had my heart set on a custom designed gown in the likes of what Kelly Osborne is wearing below.

While their estimate was appropriately step for a bias-cut, charmeuse satin with such an intricate weave, it was MUCH more affordable than the quote given to me by the locally infamous Miosa Couture. I decided to check out a few of their other beautiful options, including the gorgeous Silk Shantung asymmetrical gown shown below.

Then off to more Christmas shopping extravaganza before the next Bridal Appointment. I even found my FH a beautiful Department 56 Irish Pub - a perfect "first" for our future Christmas Village decorations. It even has his mother's maiden name as it's namesake. Absolutely appropriate for our Proud Irish Family. I was so excited to give this to the FH, I couldn't even wait until Christmas Eve as I had planned - I gave it to him as soon as we got home!The next Bridal appointment was at a more traditional Bridal Studio, Bella Donna Bridal Studio. They were located close by, in the Town & Country Village shopping center and boasted a large collection of designer dresses - namely one by Nicole Miller that I had my eye on since the proposal. I tried on a few more than the three I'll mention here, but these were the ones I felt looked and felt the best. Bella Donna had great customer service, allowing me to try on the dresses mostly in the dressing room and not "on stage" in front of an audience, which was the polar opposite of my try-on plan.

DRESS #1 - Melissa Sweet, Dora

On Model.

On Me.

I absolutely fell in love with the dotted organza used in this gown. It was the epitome of the full princess gown I thought I would never like - but did. It was completely out of my price range ($3,400) - but I vouched then and there that if this popped up on eBay within budget, I'd jump.

DRESS #2 - La Sposa, Monte Carlo

On Model.

On Me.

Okay, I have to admit that the full reason for me being so "into" this dress was the fact that there was a Trunk Show going on for La Sposa, and this girl LOVES her a sale. The fact is, it's pretty plain and while I wanted plain, I didn't quite mean THIS plain. I wanted something plain with a TWIST!

DRESS #3 - Nicole Miller, HG0013

On Model.

On Me.

I absolutely love this dress. Still, to this day - love it. The Crinkle Metallic Tafetta is to DIE for - it has a delectable texture to it and the tawny color is beautiful. The sample size actually fit me perfectly in the store and I loved the loft of the fabric. However, it again, was sorta...plain. I was torn. This was officially slated as my backup dress - but I didn't get "the feeling" that everyone spoke of.

Coming up - the final dress decision.

VENDOR REFERENCES

Lana's Bridal Studio
2436 Loma Vista Drive
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 296-0232 (by appointment)
Website

Bella Donna Bridal Salon
2663 Town And Country Place
Sacramento, CA 95821
(916) 481-5065
Website