Dress Not-Shopping

Hive, I have some bad news for you. *deep breathes* I will not be showing you my dress before the wedding.  I am so, SO, so sorry. But trust me, I have lots of posts about it up my sleeve for after the big day!

You see, I am having my dress made. Confession time: I purchased the dress pattern WAY before Mr. Aardvark and I got engaged (like over a year before).  We were pre-gaged, and I had a bad habit of looking at dresses online. It was during this time that a stumbled across a vintage dress pattern that stuck in my head like a popcorn kernel between my teeth. It seemed perfect! Everything I was hoping for in a dress. Due to the fact that we were not engaged...I did not buy it right away. However, a few months later, at the fabric store, there it was, and  on sale too! So I bought it, and then went about my life for a year or so.

Fast forward to our engagement. I hit the internet hard looking for dress ideas. Nothing really seemed to knock my socks off. Then I remembered the pattern. I dug it out of my craft box and fell in love all over again. It seemed a little odd, giving up on dress shopping before even going dress shopping, but every time I looked at that pattern, it seem so much more perfect than any of the dresses I found online.

Was it totally crazy to just have the dress made? Just jump right into it without trying others on? Yes. Is that what I did?  It sure was! But not without some due diligence.

I was really looking forward to the whole dress shopping thing with my mom, step mom, and/or a best friend or two. But having my dress made, being the only one to have that dress, it all seemed so appealing. I called up my mom to get her thoughts. Being her only daughter I did not want to rob her of any dress shopping experience she may have hopped for. Her reply was simple and so typical of my mother. "You know more about what you want to wear than I would, and are way more informed on dress styles than I am. If you have found something you like go for it, and I'm sure it will be beautiful." And with her blessing, I was off to find someone to make it.

Now, I can sew, but I was not comfortable making my own wedding dress. I looked up local seamstresses and stalked all of the reviews I could find before deciding on a seamstress who specialized in wedding gowns. I met with her, and she was the sweetest lady. We chatted for awhile and shared ideas and then talked prices. (Dun Dun DUNNNN) It turns out my dress would be totally affordable, exactly what I wanted, and made to fit me perfectly. It was almost too good to be true, but it was true and I was (am) thrilled!

If you have read this far, you are probably really perturbed that the dress post is so sadly lacking in pictures. Well, I hear you, and so for your viewing pleasure, the only dress that almost changed my mind about buying a dress from a salon.

Maggie Sottero AD3395

I still think its stunning. If I were going to be married in my plan-A church (small and casual) and not my plan-B-for-better church (large and traditional)  this would still be in the running. However The wedding has gone a different direction and so has my dress choice. Such is life.

Did you dress shopping experience turn out differently than you ever imagined? Are you having your dress made?