The Great Dress Search: Jenny Yoo

I also went to visit Jenny Yoo in Chicago on Friday even though I was pretty sure I had found my dress the day before. I suppose I didn't want to have any regrets and wanted to make sure I had seen all my options. The showroom was very cute and we were the only ones there. They did not have a huge selection of bridal gowns but they did have samples in my size to try on, yay, finally! The sales associate was super, super sweet and I thought the dresses were so simple and pretty.

This was my favorite I tried on, very flattering.




I did like the dress and I liked the price, most of the dresses in the wedding alternatives line run about $700-800, and I liked that it was easy to move in and lightweight. But, the dress from the day before just seemed more special, it is more fancy than I ever imagined I would wear but in the greater scheme of bridal gowns it is still very modern and simple. I think the Jenny Yoo dress would be perfect for an afternoon wedding, destination wedding, or second wedding but I guess I was looking for something just a little more "wow."

I would definitely recommend Jenny Yoo, they also have a great selection of bridesmaids dresses, a little more expensive but really nice styles and detailing on the dresses. The service/staff was excellent.

The Great Dress Search: Gigi's Closette

I HIGHLY recommend Gigi's Closette in Glenview, IL. They had so many great dresses to choose from, they let you help pick them out and try on as many as you want! The woman who helped us was so sweet, this was my favorite experience so far and I think I may have found THE DRESS!

We went on a Thursday around 4/5pm (they are open late on Thursdays) and we were the only ones upstairs where they have the bridal gowns. It was so fun and you don't need an appointment there, I don't think they even take appointments. They don't have a website but just Google them, I loved it, you might love it too so go there.

So now the debate is do I buy the dress from the super sweet woman at a high price or do I order it online and save quite a bit but lose out on the service. Has anyone had luck with netbride.com? I am leaning towards buying it from the store, I would really rather give them the business but maybe I can talk the price down?

I wish I could post the dress but my fiance will peek. Maybe if I could somehow write the link in secret code...

I am so excited!

The Great Dress Search: A L'amour

If you live anywhere near Barrington, IL I would recommend going to A L'amour. If you live anywhere near me in Evanston I would not recommend going to A L'amour. It took us an hour and a half to get there in the middle of the afternoon, no thanks! Plus, it was SO hot yesterday. But they did have some beautiful dresses, a little more on the expensive side. I tried on this dress from Augusta Jones and two from Judd Waddell.



They were nice dresses but just not "the one." I liked seeing a variety but I didn't feel that my sales associate was bringing what I had described. I say no huge skirts but I got a lot of huge skirts. Maybe that's all they carry? I like it better when I can see the dresses and pick myself. I also thought she was showing me the high end of my budget and not a range but she is trying to get a good sale, that is her job.

She mentioned something about a Judd Waddell trunk show in July, check it out if you are interested. And you can ask him why he is making an average size girl feel humungo by making his dress sizes so small and then charging an extra $200 to get a "plus size" dress. Boooo.

The Great Dress Search: House of Brides

This is the week I am going to find my dress, I am determined! My mom came in yesterday and we hit up House of Brides in lovely Schaumburg, IL. I knew what House of Brides was going to be like and it really wasn't as bad as I thought. The woman who helped us was very nice, not pushy and let us pick out the dresses and we had our own room. I tried on about 8 and liked 2 so those are good odds. I still am not over having to stand around in my underwear, I am getting some Spanx for today's trip.

This is one I liked from Watters. I can't find a picture of the other one, I guess it was a Marisa but not finding it on their website.

Overall, I guess I would recommend House of Brides, very similar to a David's Bridal so I would go to one or the other to get your first idea of what style of dress you like. I did not like how they try and get you to buy tuxes and invitations all in their little complex, that was weird. But if you like that whole one stop shopping then it would be perfect!

I May Have Found One!!

I may have found the bridesmaid dress! This weekend I was checking to see if my fav sites had any new dress arrivals. I have never really shopped at Ann Taylor Loft before but I remembered seeing some cute dresses in there once. I found this dress online:

It has a grey vintage design that works perfectly with our venue, it is a flattering shape for all body types, and the best part, it is only $89! I am going to try and find a place that can make custom belts in one of the greens we are using. Probably just let the girls pick their own silver/metallic shoes, some sort of jewelry and viola!

What do you think? (you can be honest)!

On a Related Note, What is the Limit?

I was thinking about this in relation to the dress post so I thought I would go ahead and post this as well.

It doesn't seem there is a definitive answer to this question but I would love to hear your feedback. What is the limit on how much your bridesmaid's should be expected to spend? Between parties, transportation, hotels, dresses, etc. there is a lot of cha-ching that goes into being a bridesmaid. Although I have personally only been a bridesmaid twice I know first hand how things can add up.

I was really concerned about this because I wanted to ask my bridesmaids to do a dress shopping weekend. Unfortunately none of us live in the same state, I was thinking about hosting it at my parent's house in Minneapolis since that would mean a free place to stay and one bridesmaid would not have to travel. Then I felt that was asking a lot, they will already have to purchase plane tickets for the actual wedding. I am planning on paying for their hair and makeup for the day if they would like it (but it is not being forced by any means).

It just seems difficult to pick a dress without having them all there to try them on, I was thinking of hosting a brunch for them and making it a fun weekend. Maybe even doing a bachelorette party type of thing so there wouldn't be additional travel for that. I don't want anything outlandish and I don't need a bridal shower. I am just so afraid of asking too much. I know one of my friendships is now strained because the bride asked way too much and never seemed appreciative. That is the last thing I want to happen.

I was also trying to find a dress for everyone under $150 because there would still be shoes and alterations to consider. However, it seems I haven't had all that much luck and the dresses I like are closer to the $200 range.

What do you think is reasonable and what do you think is too much?

Dress Update

If anyone was wondering...I did receive all of the bridesmaid dresses I was considering. I still wasn't sure so I sent them to my sister to try on. Unfortunately the things I was worried about were still true.

The Maggie London dress from Macy's was too shiny and looked more silver than grey though the fit was really nice. The J. Crew rosette dress was the perfect grey and with the cute dots I was smitten! But the fit is all wrong for a girl with any sort of curves. You would have to get a few sizes too big for the hips to fit but then the top is falling off. With the price at $168 already alterations would be pushing it up to the $200 mark. Plus the flower/"rosette" looked a little sad and droopy in my opinion.

So back to square one, Jim Hjelm has a few shades of grey I want to check out and I still haven't gotten a chance to see the After Six/Dessy dresses I was interested in. I also found some adorable dresses by Siri but I am guessing their dresses are pretty expensive.

Here are my new prospects, any thoughts???


Jim Hjelm (in either Sterling or Steel)




Dessy (in Silver Fox) via House of Brides




I LOVE this dress from Simple Silhouettes, the detail at the neck is gorgeous but almost $300, I don't think so...

Dress Distress

I am once again obsessing, yes I admit I am obsessing, about the bridesmaid dresses. I care more about them than my own dress. I have found a few contenders but still I feel unsatisfied. Anything I like is either a. the wrong shade of grey or green or b. way more than I would ask my girls to spend. These could work...





J.Crew Strapless Florence Dress in Grey Mist, $250.00

Pros: Nice color grey, universally flattering shape, rope belt can be removed, not super "bridesmaidy"

Cons: Cost is $250 yikes, not everyone likes strapless (and one of my maids is fairly well endowed)



Macy's Maggie London Pleated Silk Dress in Vapor, $158.00

Pros: Only $158 and less likely to need alterations, not "bridesmaidy" and really could be worn again

Cons: Shiny grey has potential to look more like silver which I really don't want

J. Crew Polka-dot Rosette Dress in Light Pewter, $168.00

Pros: Pretty spring grey color, love the dots, non "bridesmaidy"and unique, could be worn again, decent price at $168

Cons: Not thrilled about the rosette, fitted through hips which might not be flattering on all bodies, can't find a free shipping coupon so I can order one to see what it looks like

UPDATE: Found a free shipping coupon from J. Crew, woo hoo, and Macy's had 99 cent shipping so I will let you know what the verdict is when they arrive! If anyone else would like free shipping for $100 or more e-mail me and I will give you the code.

Dress Love

I was officially in love with this dress from J. Crew. I was not in love however with the fact that I could not try it on before purchasing it, granted you can return online purchases to any store so you don't have to pay to ship it back, but still something about ordering a dress from a picture seemed off putting.

Then I came across Jenny Yoo "wedding alternatives." They offer their bridesmaid styles in ivory and white and I love them! FINALLY what I was looking for, simple, classic and doesn't cost a fortune. Luck has it they have a showroom in Chicago. Here are some of my favorites.

No Dress and Paris Hilton?

I thought I would post a follow-up on how my dress shopping extravaganza went, well it didn't really. Thanks to good ol' American Airlines my mom's flight was delayed 4 hours or something ridiculous thus causing us to miss our appointments at both shops.

I did however get excited to see a crew filming a reality show at the airport but then disappointed to realize it was no one I recognized, a group of about 5 guys, I am guessing another one of those making the band or something shows, boooooring. I was thinking I was going to see LC!

Ah well, so we didn't get to go on Friday but I still had my Macy's appointment on Sunday. I was dreading Macy's because I was afraid I would fall in love with a dress I couldn't afford. I did try on some dresses I liked and yes they were all around 4000 big ones, but I still didn't find anything FABulous. I am yet to be impressed with the bridal selections this year but the sales woman did tell me I looked like Paris Hilton. I have heard this before and have yet to decide if this is a compliment or not... if I am feeling brave enough maybe one day I will post a picture and let you all decide, my vote is no, I don't even have blond hair!

So yeah, back to square one. I am going to definitely still hit up A L'Amour, they carry a lot of lines I am interested in (Watters, Jim Hjelm, Siri, Augusta Jones) and I am tempted to go to Neiman Marcus just so I can try my Amsale dress I am still obsessing over. There is no way I can afford this dress but my mom seems to think if we can't find anything we might be able to have a similar looking dress custom made.

The quest continues in June as for now I leave you with my dreamiest dress of all time compliments of the genius that is Amsale. Remind me again why they don't make more dresses like this?

Big Week Coming Up!

I am super excited because this week I have a job interview on Wednesday and my mom will be flying in on Friday. Friday we are going to A'Lamour in Barrington IL and Vanessa's Modern Bride in Arlington Heights IL. I have an appointment at Macy's on State Street for Sunday but may cancel since I am really not looking to spend 2,000 bones on a dress.

I am hoping to find the dress, not that I am running out of time by any means but I would just love to have that decision made. Dress shopping hasn't been my favorite so far, it is just such a bummer the dresses are so teeny and there is still too much poof and too much bead/sparkles/lace for my taste. So if anyone has any good Chicago (or surrounding area) experiences to share please let me know since it will be on to round 3 if this weekend doesn't produce a winner.

SO FAR this is the dress I like (BTW this is not me in the dress, I found the pictures on the knot, she is trying to sell her dress, never worn, but in size 4, so if any of you teeny brides need a dress you can buy this one here)


I really like the v-neck style but haven't seen a whole lot out there, it is all strapless, strapless, strapless which I like too but feel the v-neck is more flattering and maybe more unique.

Dress Shopping this Weekend - Eeek!

I am going home to Minneapolis this weekend to visit my parents, get a haircut (I love my guy there I can not find anyone better), and do my first round of dress shopping! I am a bit nervous, I hear the horror stories of sample sizes being too small and sales people being too pushy, I even saw an episode of Say Yes to the Dress the other day and one of the mothers punched the sales woman. yikes.

How was your first dress shopping experience?? Here are some of the dresses I am thinking about:





And my dream dress if i had thousands to spend

First two images are Jim Hjelm, second two Augusta Jones, last one Amsale.

Love at first sight

Because I didn't love J. Crew enough already... this is the most beautiful dress! If only it was reasonable to ask my bridesmaids to fork out $245 for their dresses. But I may just buy this for myself and wear it for the rehearsal dinner, engagement party, to the grocery store! Before I saw this I was settled on shades of green and gray with maybe a little touch of yellow for the wedding but now I see how great the orange looks with it I am going to have to find a way to include it as well. LOVE LOVE LOVE.

Prints for Maids, Yay or Nay?

(Dresses found at Anthropologie and Nordstrom.)