A Tale of Two Dresses: Part II

Once upon a time, there was a dress. I bought tried her on, I liked her, I put down a deposit and ordered her. About two months after this chain of events, I started feeling really anxious. I couldn't remember what I looked or felt like upon trying on the dress, despite the fact that I had pictures. I became really unsure of the style and fit and I was nervously waiting for the dress shop to call me to say my dress had come in. However, I knew it would take four months for her to arrive and it was driving. me. nuts. Looking back, I probably should have gone to try on the dress again.... it would have made sense to do so, but I guess I didn't think of it at the time (or subconsciously didn't want to?).

One day, I was casually browsing the nth wedding blog I was stalking, and somehow, I came upon another dress. (I think you know where this is going). Now I want to make it clear that I wasn't purposely looking for other dresses. I thought it would be fun to browse. (Even though I was a committed woman, it doesn't hurt to look, right? In case you are wondering, the answer is YES.) Anyways, I accidentally stumbled upon this other dress and I fell head over heels. So after a few moments of panicking from the realization that I may have made a huge mistake in purchasing the first dress, I emailed one of my bridesmaids relaying to her my discovery. Shortly after sending off the email message, I decided to check if any of the bridal stores in Austin carried the particular collection to which this new dress belonged. One did AND it was located very close to where I was working. Filled with a new mix of anxiety and excitement, I sent another email to my BM telling her this new information I had just unearthed and to also tell her that I was going to the bridal store during lunch to 1) see if they had the dress & 2) try it on. At this point, I decided it couldn't hurt to try it on the dress just once. I was sure that it would be way out of my price range, and if it was, I would just walk out empty handed, with no regrets.

When lunch time arrived, I headed to the bridal store, with the dress number in hand, expecting the worse. However, after I asked one of the saleswomen if they carried the particular dress I was looking for, I found out that they had one in stock! She pulled it out from a rack of dresses and I took the dress back to the fitting room. After hastily getting myself in the dress, I anxiously walked out of the fitting room to see what it would look like in front of all the mirrors. Minus the length, the dress fit perfectly (I'm talking no need for alterations perfectly)! And I felt soooo happy while wearing it that I was dreading the moment I would have to take it off and return to work. As I soaked in the euphoria from wearing this gorgeous dress, I spoke with the saleswoman about the cost and any sales they were having. Unfortunately, I found out the dress was about $200 over my original budget and my heart sank a little.

I like to think of myself as a pretty frugal person. I knew I did not want to spent over a certain amount on a dress, much less two dresses. I agonized over the new dilema I was facing as I was driving back to work. Out of curiosity, I looked up some online dress shops to price compare and discovered some wonderful news: the dress was available online and the dress was cheaper online. My giddiness returned. :)

After a few more return trips to the dress shop to model the new dress for my mom, FMIL, BM, & MOH, I finally decided to take the plunge and order the dress online. I placed my order with Netbride because I heard many wonderful stories about this online retailer from the boards on Weddingbee. (yet another reason why I love you!!!) The order process was fairly simple. Since the dress I tried on was in my size, I just ordered the dress accordingly in a shorter length to prevent the need for altering it to be shorter. I corresponded with Laura from Netbride concerning my order and once it was placed all I had left to do was play the waiting game again. I have nothing but good words to say about Netbride. If you are wanting to order your dress online, Laura was very helpful and I would highly recommend them. About a month after I ordered the new dress, I received notice that the first dress came in. I debated whether or not I should eat the cost of the deposit or pay the remaining due and pick up the dress. I finally decided that I would pick up the dress. I will try to sell it online, but if this plan doesn't pan out, I will happily donate it to a good cause.

Last week, I received an email stating my dress had shipped. Mr. UPS man and I crossed each other's paths on the way home from work on the day of the delivery, so I had to wait yet another day to pick up the dress at the UPS shipping center so they could verify my signature. It took all the strength that I had not to try on the dress then and there, but I slowly drove back home, with my boxed-up dress in the backseat, occasionally sporting a goofy grin from all my excitement.

Mr. Beagle, this is your cue to leave!

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When I finally got the dress home, I opened up the box:

I am happy to report that the dress was 1) not wrinkled & 2) did not smell like the box. I am also happy that the dress still fits perfectly (I will only need to get the bustle sewn) and I still love it!!!! As I type this, thinking about it makes me smile and I want to go try it on again right. now. Unfortunately, you're going to have to wait to see what it looks like because after I casually mentioned to Mr. Beagle my excitement in blogging about the dress, he had some requests. He would prefer it if I did not post pictures of me in the dress or even of the dress itself. And since this is one of the few wedding/planning related things Mr. Beagle has asked of me, I will happily oblige! (Plus, I think it's kind of cute that he wants to be the first one to see the dress. :) ) Though, I will leave you with this tidbit:


My favorite detail of my dress!
Are you an unintentional two dress bride? Did you order your dress online?