Say Yes to Which Dress?!

For some girls, dress shopping is the worst part of the bridal experience. They feel like someone else in a huge poufy ballgown, or complain nothing flatters them, or they hate the stores and salespeople they visit.

I am the opposite of those girls.

I LOVE dress shopping. There is something so exciting, hopeful, and girly about stepping into a giant cloud of tulle wrapped in layers of ivory satin, and topping it off with the veil, the ultimate bridal accessory. I love to stand in the mirror and watch the saleslady lift and straighten the train, and then turn around to admire the yards of intricate beading or delicate lace. I want to jump in the air and land in a haze of fabric. The first time my mom and I went dress shopping, we had so much fun that we immediately went to two other stores. Every dress we've seen or tried on has been beautiful in its own way.

Which creates a problem. How do you pick just one?! I am 5'6 and thin, with basically nonexistent boobs, so my body type makes it difficult to narrow down to a certain dress style. My shorter friends disappear in ballgowns, the well-endowed ladies know they must choose straps, but I am thankfully not restricted by my figure. A good problem to have, but it does make the decision harder. I want a strapless, drop-waist gown- but this can have so many variations: a ballgown, a mermaid, a trumpet, satin, organza, silk, beaded, lace, plain, sweetheart, ruffly, chiffon, trendy, classic, princess omgtheoptionsareendless!

I'm going to Kleinfeld's for the obligatory (and awesome) dress shopping experience Friday, and am hoping that the expert consultants there will be able to put a little direction in my search.

In the mean time, here's some dresses I've liked but decided against so far in my shopping, after the jump:

Since college, I have loved the Maggie Coco. I loved it in person too:

 

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In pictures, I fell in love with the drama of Maggie's Sabelle. When I tried it on, it was a little much for me, with too many trends in one dress:

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I did a 180 with Pronovias' skinny Alma, which I loved but my mother deemed boring. Apparently I liked it enough to try it on and have it written down in two dress shops:

Notice the huge difference in price between a local shop (cheaper at 1k) and the Pronovias flagship (almost 2k, not incl alterations). Dress pic source; other half personal pic.

But then magazine spreads made me fall in love with the more ethereal, chiffony gowns that are so right now, like the Pronovias Eresma: 

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And this gorgeous, girly Lazaro. Just look at that neckline! This was truly beautiful on. In fact, I thought the Lazaro dresses were of amazing quality:

 

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If money were no object, I'd spring for this bad boy:

The gorgeous, amazing, beautiful -and also $9,000- Ines di Santo Sandrine.

So there's some of my liked-but-discarded dress options. All beautiful, but I have some strong front runners (which obviously vary greatly in style) that are still in contention, so I don't want to post everything just yet- just in case Mr. B stops by.

Hope all of you are having an easier time deciding what you want!