Day of dress shopping- long

Hi ladies!
i spent the day out on LI yesterday dress shopping and just wanted to give the run down on my experieces at these salons, for those of you who are still looking...

Bridal Couture of Manhasset- had beautiful dresses, but were way out of my budget. The saleswoman was so pushy- she would not listen to what I liked at all! She put me in a really elaborate jewled ball gown and kept insisting that 'THIS ONE IS IT' - my grandmother and I were cracking up and we hustled out of there quickly.

Lillettes in Baldwin- I went b/c I heard about it on LI weddings and it was great. But, i think it is also that I am the type of person who prefers a laid back, low maintenance atmosphere. I like places like Lillettes, where you can look at the dresses yourself and pick what you want to try on, etc. The saleswoman was so excellent- she really listened and brought great options and showed me all these different fabrics and different strap options for a strapless gown. She had great opinions and was very pleasant. This was the best part of the day and I found two terrific options here- one that i chose and one that she pulled that I never would have looked at, but really loved!

Bridal Reflections in Carle Place- loved the feel of the place, very glamorous, you feel like you are at the ultimate bridal salon. However, I didnt luck out with my consultant...she was nice, but she was bringing me dresses that were way over the budget I had given her. I asked to see a bunch of specific dresses and she couldnt seem to find them, etc. Kind of a bust for me, but seems like a great salon.

will i ever find 'THE' dress?????????
i keep waiting to feel that it is the right one and I have liked alot of them, but so far, no gut feeling about any of them.

I was off the boards here for a few days and i missed it! now i have to go catch up on everybody elses posts!

I went to about 8 or 9 places before finding the 'one'.

At least you now know what kind of styles you prefer, so the next time you go shopping, you will be able to try on just those styles.

I agree, Lillette's was very nice. Bonaventure in Garden City also has a nice selection, as well as Princess Bridals in Farmingdale. Both of these places were not pushy at all.

Good luck with your search and don't get discouraged!

Don't worry hunnie!! You'll find it!!!

Hi Everyone!

I got my gown from Bridal Reflections in Carle Place - a beautiful place but the gowns are very high end - not conducive for my budget but I bargained a bit and eventually got the price down to something that was more affordable.

For bridesmaid dresses, check out:

www.netbride.com

I chose two Jim Hjelm bridesmaid dresses and had them priced out through this service - both retail at around $250 a piece. Through this service, we are getting the dresses for $147 including tax and shipping. The catch is the girls will have to use their own tailor to handle any alterations that may be necessary.

It's a nice way for your bridesmaids to save a little cash plus get a quality dress.

What I did was I went lookig around with my biggest critics. (My Brother, Sister & best friend) They were not going to lie to me. And even if I sort of liked a dress they were honest enough to tell me 'I don't think so'

I actually tried on so many dresses that I liked and thought were 'the one' I started getting very upset and confused. I didn't know if I would ever be able to choose one, so my mom chose one for me. When she saw me in my dress, she got all weepy and said, 'That's it, that's your gown.' Up to that point, she only sort of liked the dresses I was going for. So I got it. And I am so glad I did because I love it.

Don't worry, you will eventually find your dress, or at least your mom will.

I also tried on quite a few dresses. I knew I wanted a flowing chiffon dress, trouble was they were all matronly looking, and many bridal shops didn't have a great selection of chffon dresses.

Finally, I found it, and knew it instantly, a strapless chiffon, not matronly at all, made me feel like a sexy princess.

The point of this is to say, you will find it, and when you do, you will know it's for you.

I just started shopping for a gown too. I'm kinda worried that I'm gonna find a dress that I think is the 'one', buy it, and start the alterations and then see a picture of another dress and regets starting to look for a gown so early (I'm getting married in jan 2004). I've only been to two places so far.

David's Bridal: It is a madhouse and sometimes the dresses are ripped, dirty with makeup stains or been stretched out from being tried on so many times. I wish I were like some of the lucky girls on this board who managed to find their dress there becasue so many of them are really beautiful.

Carmella Bridal Garden in Huntingtion: My mom and I went shopping together and we found 3 gowns that we both liked. Of course she liked to more expensive one but the gowns that I tried on were 'reasonable'. The most expensive one I tried was 1500 and although I like it, that is way more than I want to spend. Carmella is great though. A co-worker's daughter used her and she need major alterations and her work was amazing!

Best of luck to all still looking for 'the one!'.

Thanks for the dress hunt support, ladies!
It seems like the first question anyone asks lately! 'So...have you found THE dress???'
I am going to go to a few more places next week, including the ones you suggested and I'm bringing Mom!

kidlibny:

If you liked the gowns at David's, they'll order you a new dress, so don't worry if the gown is dirty. Do make sure that it kind of fits, or is possible to alter. Also, I went to david's once on sunday afternoon and it was a madhouse, the 2nd time, was on saturday morning and hardly anyone was there. Although I went to brooklyn store, perhaps the same would apply to Long Island, depends on the time and day?!?

zac, you crack me up

I started out with Macys in Lake Grove. I brought in a few ads with pics of the gowns I wanted to try on. I fell in love with one of them! I decided to wait a week before I made any rash decisions.

My sister wanted me to have a different experience when it came to gown shopping and booked an appointment at Bridal Couture. At first they were pushing gowns from a designer who was having a trunk show that day. I wasn't interested in any of them, but they said they were obligated to push his stuff. 30 minutes later my sister said something and we got down to business. I tried on this one particular dress and fell in love. My mom and sister agreed with me. I looked to see who the designer was, but the label had been removed. When I questioned the sales associate as to who the designer was, she claimed she didn't know nor could she tell me. After hearing too many horror stories, I opted to not purchase a gown from Bridal Couture.

Next it was on to Macys in Manhasset to show my sister the first gown. The women were very pleasant and got me into a dressing room even though it was a Saturday afternoon and the place was packed. I tried the gown on and my sister put the kibosh on that one. Both my mom and sis felt the gown from Bridal Couture put it to shame.

So my hunt for 'the one' was on. I walked into Bridal Reflections and described the gown. They knew exactly what gown I was talking about and pulled it off the rack immediately, so I booked an appointment to try the gown on again. The girls, Christina and Marni, were extremely helpful. I actually enjoyed trying on the gowns!!!! It came down to 2 gowns that were very similar and by the same designer. Marni pointed out some differences to me and the decision was made! I ordered the gown I initially tried on at Bridal Couture from them.

I think it's really important to view yourself in front of the mirror where others (strangers) can see you. They'll let you know if it's 'the one'. When women kept walking by and complimenting me, I knew that was 'the one'. SOLD!!!!

KC, Keep your head-up, your dress is out there... somewhere! If you don't have any luck in any of the bridal salons, you could always look in the fashion district. There are designers there who will 'copy' anything and create you a custom dress-which is nice especially if you like the sleeve of one dress & the bottom of another...

A piece of advise that I followed is:yu need to keep budget in mind BEFORE deciding where to look. If you want to spend over $4K on a gown, go to high-end bridal salons. If you have a $1K budget, you shouldn't. I knew not to Kleinfields because I be around tons of gowns way out of my price range and I would never be able to pass the Rema section and not try on some of her gowns.
I highly recommend Bridal Suite of Centereach. Debi ad Amy are great and very experience. Ask for one of them when you make an appointment. It isn't has glamourous as BR in Carle Place (not at all), but the have beautiful gowns in a variety of price ranges. But I doubt they have gowns higher than $3K so if you want an Amsale it is not the right salon for you. So depending on your budget, it is good to look around in salons that carry your price range.

Also, you will know when you put the 'ONE' on and look in the mirror. You do not have to cry and get totally emotional but you will have a feeling that you are in the right gown.

KC, I am going through the same thing, just wanted to sympathize! I like every dress that I put on (how could you not, they are all so beautiful!) esp since they are all in the style that I like (strapless, full ball gown skirt). But none has made me say 'wow, this is THE dress' yet. And my mom gets weepy at every one, telling me every one looks beautiful (I think shes so emotional about me getting married) so I cannot tell from that.

I am going to RK bridal tomorrow w. my BMs, I hear they have a huge selection so I figured why not, since I work in NYC. Going to BR in Carle Place on Sat w. Mom, I dont think a lot of dresses there will be in my price range, but I want to experience the diva shop I went to Lillettes too, loved them, but it was the first shop and I did not find the dress there either. But if I find it at RK, I will try and get it through Lillettes b.c they were awsome. They spent 2 hours w. me, and I was very happy w. the service there.

Good luck, and I hope you find your dress soon!