To me, choosing the dress and the flowers are the best part of planning a wedding. Who wouldn't love being surrounded by gorgeous things and making their dream a reality? For my first shopping trip I headed to Bryan's Bride at Brentwood Mall in Burnaby with my mom and sister. July is the start of the slow season for bridal stores so now is an excellent time to be shopping as we had the store to ourselves and they were having a 50% off sale.
When I first got engaged, I was concerned about finding a flattering dress since I'm pretty curvy. My worst-case-scenario was a pushy salesperson trying to talk me into a dress that just wasn't me, or leaving a store disappointed with the selection. Our experience at this store totally calmed my fears and I learned so much in the process!
My consultant Grazia started by determining my size and letting us browse their dresses that would fit me. Bryan's Bride is a large store with a casual atmosphere, as all dresses are displayed on racks and you are free to go through them all yourself (and discretely check price tags and designer labels too). This store has a good selection of many different styles and a large range of sizes, so you'll be able to try on dresses that actually fit instead of being held together or cinched in with clips. I thought that was awesome because I'd be very nervous ordering a dress without seeing EXACTLY how it would look on me. I chose about 4 dresses in all different styles as I had no idea what shape might look good. I commented that the very first dress was "so poofy" and was promptly corrected that the dress actually had no poof at all! We quickly ditched the ballgown style I hadn't tried on yet since that one would have been off the charts in poofiness :) Over an hour and a half, I tried on about 7 dresses and was pretty surprised at how awesome they all looked!
Grazia really made the appointment and I recommend asking for her when booking your appointment. She was respectful yet honest with me about each dress and showed me exactly which colours and styles were the most flattering for my skin tone and figure. She gave me excellent recommendations on the right veil length for each dress and showed me how alterations could change necklines, put in corset lacing at the back, change the length of the train or bustle the train for after the ceremony.
I may have found my dress already! And it's in a style I didn't even consider! Sorry folks, but I'm a traditionalist so any dress details will remain a mystery until the actual day. And don't worry, I'll be visiting a few more stores so stay tuned for more reviews.
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