Bridesmaids' Dresses

I've been trying to figure out why finding bridesmaid dresses is such a difficult task and I've come to the conclusion that, for me at least, it is because I get sidetracked by all the ugly dresses.  So, I've decided to highlight some of my least favorite bridesmaids dresses...the ones that I can't imagine anyone actually wearing.  Please don't be offended!

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 Laura and I found this beauty when I was looking at dresses for Jilko's wedding.  Why the weird sideways petals?

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 Speaking of weird petals...This dress might look OK if the petals on the skirt went all the way down...maybe...

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 This dress is just weird. I like structural designs on Project Runway but they rarely translate well to real life and here is an example.

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Another flower replica disaster...

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 This is another beauty that I made Laura try on.  I think Tara said it best when she called this the "big bird" dress.

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There are so many more I could highlight and I am sure I will as I continue this hunt.  However, I felt one last dress was necessary to share. Not only am I not really a fan of this dress but at $1600, it is one of the more ridiculous ones I have seen!

Do any of you have suggestions for other bad dresses that should be featured?  What about some good dress suggestions?

THE Dress!

My mom is in town visiting for Easter and today we went dress shopping.  As many of you know, I've had my eye on Dolly Couture's Avila Bay.  This dress is only available to try on in Los Angeles though.  We had talked about driving out there at some point but I was just going to try on dresses in Phoenix first to get a better idea of what looks best on me.  I am curvy girl so I wanted to make sure to find stores that actually had dresses I could try on.  I googled "Plus size bridal gowns Phoenix" and my first hit was Strut Bridal Salon!  For any of you size 14+ brides out there, this is the place to go!!!!  The owner Ann was who helped me out.  She was friendly and helpful.  She took the time to get to know me right at the beginning.  I said I wanted a dress that was fun, classic, and vintagey and she nailed it on the first dress.  I, of course, tried on several more but I kept coming back to the first dress.  I asked her for a birdcage veil which is what I thought I wanted and she put it on me.  She then asked if I would try a different veil on and brought out a shoulder length veil with a blusher.  I didn't think I would like it but she put it on and the look was complete...I had found my wedding outfit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  You'll all just have to stayed tuned for the next year before the reveal though! And if you are a plus size bride in the SW, GO TO STRUT BRIDAL!!!!!!!!!!!

Exciting News!

I had hoped to be writing posts more often but grad school life is busy (even over our spring "break)!  James and I had planned on going to Flagstaff this week to check out our final venues (which I haven't posted on yet...stay tuned).  We ended up rescheduling though because James's band, Japhys Descent, is playing in Flagstaff the next weekend.  So, we are trying to combine that trip with venue visits.  I will post pictures and information when we return.

In other updates though, I wanted to let you in on some exciting news.  First of all, I won a fabulous wedding cake banner from the awesome Ready Go Paper Studio, courtesy of Glamour and Grace blog!!!!

Image Credits: Ready Go Paper Studio

This was a wonderful win and was a great way to start this week!  It only got better though because I also found out that I am one of five semi-finalists in Jorge Manuel's Once Upon a Star Contest!!!!  If I win, I will get an absolutely amazing, beautiful Jorge Manuel dress!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The dress is a strapless ball gown made with taffeta floral detail fabric and silk satin hand-made encrusted bias flowers with hand-embroidered seed bead crystals and a crystal center at bodice with a silk-satin bias sash at waist.  I could totally rock out this dress!!!!

Image Credits: Jorge Manuel Blog

To say I am excited about the Jorge Manuel dress is an understatement!!  Wish me luck!  The winner will be announced on March 30th.  Until then, they will be posting information about the semi-finalists so tune in!