TLDR: I’d love some thoughts on these dresses I’ve tried on, or recommendations for others. 

Details:
Wedding date- October 2027 (far away, I know, that’s explained later😂)
Budget- I’d prefer to stay under $2000, but potentially willing to stretch to $2500
Theme/Vibe of the wedding- Moody romantic, elegant, with a little edge

The long version:
I have been dress shopping for a couple of years, on and off (kept moving the date and location as our life has changed, moving to a new state, job changes, etc.) and now it’s finally time to buckle down, lol. I technically have 2 years, planning for October 2027, but since I’m incredibly indecisive and trying to spread out payments as much as possible. 

If I find a Maggie Sottero, Casablanca, or one of a few other designers, I put down a small deposit at a specific shop, but realized that dress doesn’t work for me, so they agreed to move it to a different dress when I’m ready with a decision. It’s a couple hundred dollars, paid almost a year ago, in my brain, that money is long gone, so while it would be a bummer to lose it if I get a dress she can’t order, I’ll survive, but it would be nice, they’re super flexible, and basically I can keep throwing money at them until I hit 50% of the cost of the dress, and they’re willing to make changes until I hit 50% and they order the dress, and they’re willing also don’t mind if I take my time paying off the last 50%, I just can’t pick it up or make alterations until then. 

My mom has not been very supportive, I initially was determined to wear a black dress (which I would still love, but if I get a white dress, I’ll find a black outfit for the reception to compromise on that, but my fiance would also love to see me wear a black dress), she hates my tattoos, and we have a complicated relationship. My future MIL is the sweetest, but just loves everything I try on, lol, which doesn’t help me make a decision. My MoH has been MIA for a while, she has a lot going on in her life, and that’s fine, but helping me find a dress has never been something she’s been particularly helpful with, and I only have a couple of other female friends, most of whom are not a fan of bridal things or that time passed for them, so I’m on my own entirely at this point. 

So, in the meantime, these are some of my favorites and notes on them. 

1-3: Maggie Sottero Antoinette. I love this gown, and I felt beautiful, but I just don’t feel this is quite it, it feels a little boring. At the same time, though, I have a couple more visible tattoos, and will have several more by the wedding, so I don’t want my dress to be too “busy” that it feels distracting. 

4: Maggie Sottero Fortune. This comes in champagne glitter, black satin, and black glitter, and I really like this one, it’s the one I initially went to Kleinfeld to try, when I ended up in Antoinette right before this. It’s way too big, they didn’t clip it properly because they just figured I liked the other so much, this was just “whatever”. However, I think that fitted properly and with some tweaks, this is a possibility, it has so much potential. 

5: Eva Lendel Baccara. I felt really good in this, but I think the lace sleeves hide my tattoos too much, I think I prefer the drama of a ballgown over an a-line, and my mom kind of ruined this one for me with a comment she made, but there are still things I love, the basque waist, swag sleeves, I like the style of lace, so having that somewhere is nice, plus I LOVE a long train. Chapel-length at minimum, but cathedral-length is preferred, all the drama, lol. Also, I don’t really want to spend $3500+, haven’t seen it on Stillwhite, and the dupes I’ve found are either a different fabric (not a fan of shiny satin, most of them are, this is more like a crepe, so it’s matte, which I like for this dress), or are just not the same, and kind of don’t seem right. 

6: Elysee Georgiana. I’m not sure how I feel about the waist being kind of basque, but a bit more rounded, I prefer a sharper point, and I don’t know if the color is quite right, doesn’t seem like the right shade for my skin tone, I feel too pink, lol, and I’m standing a little awkwardly because it’s about 4 sizes too small. 

7: Stella York 8084 in jacquard. I’m a little torn on this one, I think it looks really beautiful, I have a video of the train fluff on this and it’s lovely, and there’s a fun little connection with this fabric. The jacquard is specifically magnolias, one of my favorite flowers, I have one tattooed on my forearm, and one of our 3 cats is named Magnolia, she’s the oldest, and the most obsessed with my fiance (there may be competition sometimes😂 She tries to shove my arm off of him when we’re laying together and she wants to be in his face, lol). Where I’m torn on this is that it feels too “sweet” for my personal style, but jacquard might be a good middle ground for something being too plain versus too busy. 

8: Maggie Sottero Antoinette in black. I was so serious about this dress that I paid $50 to get it on loan, but they sent the wrong size. It’s 6-7 sizes too small, so it can’t sit properly, so I really couldn’t tell if I feel the same about it in black as I do in ivory, which is extremely disappointing, this really made me wonder if I just loved the ivory so much because it fit like a glove, so I didn’t have to just imagine how it would look on me, which is something I really struggle with, my imagination just doesn’t stretch that far, and I’m so anxious (just in general) that it makes me so unsure. 

9: Maggie Sottero Derrick Marie in gold jacquard. This was when Derrick first came out, before the pearl version (Tina) or the glitter version (Derrick Royale), and this was all the store had, as far as colors. I like this one a lot, except for the neckline, I hate sweetheart on me, I prefer a scoop/cat eye neckline, but I do like the plunge, I would maybe add that to Fortune? Also, this is what I mean by “too busy”, if that makes sense. 

Time to start making decisions