Editor's Wedding: Dress Success

I returned to the Twin Cities after Thanksgiving with my mom in tow and we planned to make one final round to review my two faves. Unfortunately I was called into a meeting when I planned to visit Monique, but my mom stopped in to look at the dress that was at the forefront of my mind with its lace train extension and she relayed its beauty to me. 

Fortunately, we were able to hit L’atelier together in the North Loop to check out my original first place winner . . . primarily to confirm that the Monique had indeed taken the lead. Owner Amanda Kautt knew I was leaning toward the lace Monique so she pulled some strings and had a surprise in store for me when I arrived. There in the dressing room next to my former favorite was a beautiful lace and beaded creation unlike anything I had ever seen or tried on. I don’t want to go too into the details since I’m keeping the look a surprise, but let’s just say that as a bridal editor I’ve seen a lot of dresses, and I had never seen this before, which was the first plus (among many) in its favor. 

I’d like to say that when I put it on I burst into tears and just knew it was perfect—but that’s not the kind of girl I am. I stared at myself in the mirror for what seemed like 10 minutes. Did a few turns. Walked around on my tiptoes. Threw on the veil. And after much internal deliberation, I turned to my mom and proclaimed that “yes, I think this may be the one.” 

I realize this may seem a little anticlimactic to those of you who have had those amazing, ohmygoodness I just know this is the one, yes, yes, yes moments. But for me to look at myself in the mirror and actually say, “yes, this is my dress,” as opposed to “yeah, wow, it’s really nice,” is truly all the difference I needed to know that I had found my wedding dress. I did a few turns for my mom, and when I told Amanda that I thought we had a winner, that’s when the tears started (mostly from my mom). 

My point of sharing this semi-anticlimatic story with you is this: Not everyone has that amazing YES moment, but you will know when the right dress comes along. Stay true to your gut and respect what makes you feel the most beautiful. And be honest with the sales teams that you work with about what you like and don’t like. At times I felt like a bit of a bridezilla, but I had a clear vision of what I thought I wanted and without conveying that to Amanda, she never would have been able to find the dress of my dreams. 

But most importantly, do not make that decision until you are ready. I had a certain expectation of what dress shopping was going to be like: all smiles and giggles and swirling around in lace and tulle. And sure, there was a lot of that, but when it comes times to make the decision, it can be a little stressful. I wanted to make sure I was making a decision that I would never regret. So my advice to you: Sleep on it. And if you’re still dreaming about it the next night . . . and the morning after, then it’s the right one for you. Trust me.