Top 15 Tips to Shop Bridal Like a Princess

Christmas has come and gone, and the retail world is heaving a sigh of relief. The chaos is over and things are back to normal.

That is unless, of course, your shop is a part of the bridal industry. Now, bridal salons have entered "Bridal Christmas."

What is Bridal Christmas, you might ask? Well, think of the mad holiday shopping rush at other retailers, but now picture these shoppers as newly engaged women (and men that are so inclined) who got engaged over the holidays, plus their families and friends. They are rushing into bridal salons, where it is ideal to keep a nice, calm and intimate environment going.

One of the first urges for a new bride-to-be is to go wedding dress shopping. And why shouldn't she? Lots of women have dreamed of their future wedding dress since they were little girls. Sure, their tastes may have changed since they were four, but at the end of the day, they still yearn to wear their fantasy dream dress.

If you have recently gotten engaged, congratulations! As your blogger fairy godmother, I may not be able to accompany you to your bridal appointments, but I can prepare you for the shopping journey that you are about to take. It's exciting but also a bit daunting, isn't it? You want to look your very best at your wedding as it's your special day to truly get dolled up, you want to look extra special for the person that you're marrying, and there's probably going to be a bunch of people watching this whole major event of your life unfold.

Want to run yet? I hope not. I've seen a lot of women step into a bridal salon with the look of a deer in headlights. I don't know what it is exactly, but that moment of seeing a sea of white can often paralyze someone.

It does not have to be scary, I promise! As your fairy godmother, I have compiled my own list of things that a proper princess should know before entering a bridal salon. With these tips, you should have all the confidence you need to find the perfect dress for your big day!

Let's get started over here and I'll take your measurements...

1) Do some research. There are tons of awesome websites at your disposal. I'd suggest theknot.com and brides.com as a jumping-off point to take a look at different designers, fabrics, styles and silhouettes. Try to get yourself familiar with some names if you can, and save pictures of the dresses you really like. You may find a designer that you fall in love with instantly. Make a Pinterest board of your favorites (p.s. - if you're worried about certain people seeing what you like, you can have up to 3 secret boards to pin to now). If you find a designer you love, check out their website and click on their locations link - you can find whatever salon closest to you that has their dresses! And if there is a specific dress you want to try on, make sure to call up the store to ask if they have it. If they do not, they can sometimes make arrangements to get that dress in for you to try on in a sample when you come in. Check to see if there are any bridal shows coming up in your area, as there are often fashion shows where dresses are modeled, or you can see them up close on a mannequin. If you can't really narrow things down, don't panic - just do a search for nearby bridal salons that you can visit.

Lazaro LZ3315, perfectly whimsical and fairytale-inspired.

2) Know your budget. Now that you have done some research on bridal gowns, you've also been able to see what these things generally cost and what designers and bridal shops will fall more towards your budget. Are you paying for the dress yourself? Are your parents? Is someone else offering to chip in or foot the bill? If someone else is helping you pay for this, make sure you sit down with them and get a more solid figure before walking into the salon, or things could easily get messy. Also, if someone is offering to pay but thinks that $100 is more than enough for a wedding dress, then you should be honest with them about how much these things cost. David's Bridal may start at $99, but that doesn't mean your dream dress will be that cheap. And besides budgeting for the dress, also leave room for accessories and alterations, because they add up fast.

David's Bridal 9WG3444

3) Make an appointment! Most bridal salons do not take walk-ins, and considering the fact that we are entering Bridal Christmas, the ones that do will still (perhaps even more so) have extra foot traffic. And don't put shopping for your dress off - most salons want you to start shopping for your dress 8-10 months before your wedding because some dresses will take several months to order (and that doesn't take into account the alterations you will probably need later). Stay classy and be prepared.

Sophia Tolli Enobaria

4) Pick those accompanying you to the appointment carefully! I really cannot stress this enough. The last person you want to bring with you to the appointment is someone that would potentially describe you looking like a "linebacker" in a dress (potentially the nastiest comment that I've heard from someone on Say Yes to the Dress). Keep your group small, and only those closest to you. The more people you bring, the more differing opinions you bring with you. If you are having outside financial help paying for the dress, they should be there (just remember that they're not going to pay for the dress if they don't like it). If mom is wanted and available, she should be there. Be prepared that she might be the toughest one to please. This is more than likely because she loves you very much and has been looking forward to this trip since you were born. Only the best will do for her baby girl. Dads (if they want to come to the appointment) will probably be the same way, but will be more apt to crumbling when they see you in that dress because they don't want to let you go. Once you have chosen the people to accompany you, make sure you communicate what it is you are looking for in a dress. If your group isn't on the same page as you, you may come out in a dress you love and they may shoot it down because they pictured you in something else.

Well, my family definitely didn't like this dress...

5) Bring whatever undergarments/shapewear you deem necessary. Every princess wears a little something underneath to hold certain things in place. If you don't have something, the salon may carry it for you to try on with dresses, which may also be available for purchase. Also know that you will have a complete stranger help you change, as bridal gowns can get very heavy and/or complicated - some have corset backs, buttons, zippers etc. But don't worry, they are just there to help you, and they do this all the time with women every day.

6) Watch a few bridal shows to get an idea of what shopping will be like. Say Yes to the Dress is one of my favorite shows, period (both the OG and Atlanta). They are entertaining and overall rather positive compared to a lot of reality television. If you want tips on how a princess doesn't behave, watch Bridezillas.

Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta

7) Keep your venue in mind while shopping. If you plan on getting married on the beach when it is hot, the last thing you will want to wear is a heavy satin ballgown, which would work far better in a ballroom setting. Some will tell you to purchase your dress before picking your venue...I think that it really depends on a wedding-to-wedding basis. Sit down and have a talk with your fiancée about this - if they are fine with you picking out a style and venue for your wedding based off of your dress, that's great! Just know that that might not be what they (or even you!) want. If you are having a religious ceremony, you should check with your venue to see what their dress code policy is...you might discover that you need to cover up a bit more than you anticipated. Don't fret about that, either - bridal is very accommodating to that today. Anything like that can be added on and removed at your leisure.

From etsy.com, a great site for all your bridal shopping needs.

8) A street size 6 is not a bridal size 6. Don't freak out over your weight or body type when you start trying things on and seeing numbers - the sizes in bridal are irregular. You didn't gain a ton of weight overnight, the sizing is just different. Focus more on how you actually look in the dress versus what size it is labeled. Speaking of weight, don't tell your consultant to order your dress a size smaller because you plan on losing weight. Essentially every bride says this and they almost always gain weight instead. A true princess is confident in her own skin, and your dress should make you feel beautiful no matter what size you are.

See? Marilyn doesn't care, and neither should you.

9) What you think will look good on you might not. This can sometimes be a big surprise or letdown for a bride-to-be, but do not lose hope. Not all mermaid dresses are going to fit you the same. And if you loved the look of a certain silhouette (but it did not live up to your expectations), there are often slightly modified versions of that silhouette that are just waiting for you to try them on! If mermaid isn't quite right, maybe you will want to try on a fit and flare or a trumpet style instead (yes, they are all a little different).

Lazaro trumpet.

Lazaro fit and flare.

10) Trust your consultant! You may (or may not) have an idea of what you like and do not like, but remember, these consultants dress brides for a living. You may come into the store adamant that you hate lace and do not want to try it on, but then find that you're absolutely in love with it when you find yourself in a classic A-line lace dress. It is surprising, but fairly often brides end up in styles that they originally said they were not interested in or absolutely hated. Tell your consultant what you are looking for and bring pictures to show them, but if they bring in something for you to try on that doesn't meet that initial description, give them the benefit of the doubt and just try it. You may surprise yourself!

"I used to hate lace, but now I'm a changed woman."

11) Stay true to yourself. Do your best to come in with a clear vision of what type of style or feeling you want from your dress, focusing on phrases of, "I want" instead of phrases of "I don't want." Buzzwords will help your consultant and yourself. Also, you may try on a dress that physically looks absolutely fabulous on you, and everyone that you brought with you might love it and be raving how much they love it and how you should pick this one. But you may still find yourself not truly in love with the dress. Don't force it - when the right dress comes along, you will know. Not every bride gets "the feeling" per say, but you should feel good in the dress, it should be a style that you love and you should feel confident walking out in that dress to show your friends and family. You should also think about the look on your fiancée's face if you were to walk down the aisle in that dress to them. That generally does the trick. And when you find the dress, stop looking! Many brides will find the dress but then go to several other salons and compare the dresses they try on to the dress they fell in love with. There's nothing wrong with trying on a few more dresses, but this often turns into trying on 50 plus more, which is simply unnecessary. Doing this tortures everyone involved, so try to be kind to yourself and everyone else instead of making excuses as to why you will not allow yourself happiness.

Yes, I'm finally caught up and obsessed with Once Upon a Time. Ginnifer Goodwin has said that Mary Margaret will torture herself with almost having happiness and making up every excuse she can to not be with David because of the curse (Season 1 DVD/Blu-Ray commentary).

12) The first dress is sometimes the right dress, and that's ok! Trying on dresses can be overwhelming. On the first try, you may feel so hyped up on emotions that when you see yourself in the mirror and everyone around you is gasping, you may chock it up to simply being "the first one." Like I've said before, these consultants dress brides for a living, so it's not impossible for them to strike gold on the first try. Go ahead and try on a few more dresses if you want to be sure, but if that first one keeps lingering in your mind, try it on again, and you will know.

I love Randy.

13) Know the terms and conditions. Like your other vendors, the dress will have a contract, fine print, etc. Make sure you triple-check everything, and make sure to get the designer name, style number, size, color, delivery date and alterations estimations in writing (but know that you really will have no idea how much alterations will cost you until your dress actually arrives).

Belle misses nothing, and neither should you.

14) Don't rush yourself. Don't wait too long to purchase your dress, but give yourself at least enough time to sleep on it. This is a big purchase for a momentous occasion and there are (ideally) no do-overs. Dresses are generally final-sale, so you need to be absolutely sure that it is the dress.

15) Enjoy the pampering! We all have a princess inside of us, but balls, dances and other formal events are not very commonplace for the average lady in this day and age. You will have people fawning over you as they dress you and doll you up, congratulating you on your engagement and your upcoming wedding. It is a special time that will not last for very long, so enjoy it while it's there, and let your inner princess shine through, whether you want a princess dress or not!

Happily ever after.

A Sleeping Beauty Post

I just took a lovely trip to Europe and spent a whole week in Paris. I wanted to hit several tourist spots, but I knew that I absolutely had to visit Disneyland Paris. I am a California native, and had only been to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, so I was very excited to visit a different set of Disney parks.

While I will not go into detail here about that trip, I would like to take a look at the differences between Anaheim's and Paris' castles, as they share a distinctly connective feature: Sleeping Beauty.

Originally, Sleeping Beauty Castle in Anaheim was to be named Snow White Castle (in fact, Walt accidentally called it that on television). Disneyland opened in 1955, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves had garnered Disney many awards and achievements, so it seemed to just be natural that the first animated film would have a tribute to it smack dab in the center of Walt's grand park. However, since the beginning of the 1950s, the Walt Disney Animation Studio had been hard at work trying to translate the classic fairytale of Sleeping Beauty into a full-length animated feature film. The movie was causing the studio a great amount of headaches, and costing quite a bit of money because it was taking so long to make (the film didn't finally open until 1959). The detail that went into this film was incredible – it took a whole week just to finish painting a single background for the film, and for the first time, it was the backgrounds and environments that were taking precedence over the design of the film instead of the characters. As they say in Hollywood, time is money, and this picture was worrying a lot of people at the studio in terms of finances. But Walt was proud of what his Studio was creating, and wanted to give the film a bit of a promotional boost…so Walt decided to name his new castle Sleeping Beauty Castle instead. Additionally, in the original model for the castle, the top half was backwards; one of the designers had been playing with the model, and as Walt was about to walk in, the top half got switched around and the Imagineers did not have enough time to turn it back the "right way" before the big boss came in. Ironically, Walt loved the castle backwards, so the design stuck. For the overall design, Imagineers took inspiration from the Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.

  

Since Disneyland opened before Sleeping Beauty was released to theaters, this was the perfect way to advertise ahead of time. The downside to this was that not everything in the film had been finalized; still, the Imagineers worked with what they had. The Walk-Through was not there when the park first opened, but Walt hated unused space (and loved using that space to create even grander things), so the idea for guests to actually go up inside the castle was born. To create more of an attraction out of the castle, WED built the Sleeping Beauty Walk-Through, which visually told the story of Sleeping Beauty (albeit in a more dark and dramatic way with perhaps more focus on Maleficent than the full story) through flat paintings that were inspired by Eyvind Earle's artistry (the man who created the look for the film, and he was also directly involved in the creation of the attraction) – and that version opened in 1957. Twenty years later, the attraction was re-designed with three-dimensional dioramas. While this face-lift made the attraction more "hip" for the time and gave a full account of the Sleeping Beauty story, it somewhat lacked the artistic finesse that had been seen with Earle's artistic look. As the years passed, Disneyland's upkeep became rather questionable, and the Walk-Through, while still open, wasn't tremendously popular (many guests didn't even know about it, for that matter). After September 11^th, 2001, Disneyland's attendance and revenue took a nasty turn for the worse, and management was looking to find any way they could to make cuts. The attraction closed in October "for refurbishment" – in reality, Disney probably had no intention to ever refurbish the attraction. Disneyland's 50^th anniversary came and went, with a major resurgence of popularity and fiscal gain, but still the Walk-Through remained closed (and was rumored of being used as a storage area for the 50^th fireworks). But Disney loves synergy, and that fact alone just might have been enough to greenlight an updated version of the attraction to tie-in with the release of the Sleeping Beauty Blu-Ray/DVD release for the film's 50^th anniversary. The newest version now showcases the old school Eyvid Earle style, but makes it three-dimensional in dioramas with up-to-date special effects to make for some really magical displays.

 

When Imagineers were given the task to create a new Sleeping Beauty Castle for Paris, however, they wanted to do something different. By that point, several other Disney castles had been built and WDI had created a better system for physically setting up their parks to accommodate large crowds (and to make things look even grander than before). The park was built with complete consideration of beauty, so WDI created a Sleeping Beauty Castle (or, in French, Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant) straight out of their 1959 film, complete with a beautiful grassy hill. To make the castle even more spectacular, they created three levels: at the bottom, a dungeon-like area with Maleficent in dragon form (and perhaps the most amazing Audio-Animatronic that I have ever seen), the normal entry-level to go in from Main Street and out into Fantasyland, and at the top a set of beautiful stained-glass windows and tapestries detailing the story of Sleeping Beauty.

On the one hand, we have the original. Disneyland in Anaheim is the original Disney theme park period, and it is the only one that Walt Disney personally touched. Being the first, it is smaller, so of course, the castle is smaller than Disneyland Paris'. While some like to say that bigger is always better, I personally treasure how intimate Disneyland is, and as a result, I love that the castle is the size that it is. However, the scale is perfectly calculated in Paris…Main Street is much bigger by all accounts, so of course the castle needs to be bigger. Their castle is also film-accurate, down to the look of the base on a lovely green hill. The entrance is spectacular, with a gorgeous moat (well…when the moat is properly filled, that is)…but, Anaheim has a real-working drawbridge, while Paris does not. Both castles have fun film-detailing: in Anaheim you can find statues of Briar Rose's friends surrounding the castle, while in Paris you can find the characters designed into the architecture. At Anaheim, the castle sparkles! In Paris, it…well, could use some more paint. Paris has a dragon with smoke coming out of her nostrils, while Anaheim has a mix of dioramas and interactive elements. I was bummed when I visited Paris because the castle was under construction, so I never got to see the top floor. I'm glad that they are finally giving the castle some proper TLC at least.

And perhaps that is ultimately why I still love the castle in Anaheim a little bit more. Had the castle in Paris been kept up over the years like the one in Anaheim, I would possibly re-consider…but the fact that their management let the castle fall into the shape that it was in (to show such a dramatic extent of work that had to be done on the castle to clean it up) really hurt the way the castle (and, as I found in other parts, the whole park) looked in my eyes. In defense of the castle, though, I can see that in pristine condition it would be a glorious sight to behold…and heaven knows that I could have stared at that dragon for a whole hour (my family had to urge me to finally go on). What a shame that Walt Disney World's Animal Park did not receive even a part of the design of the dragon for that ill-fated Discovery River Ride that would have tied in with the Beastly Kingdom concept. Too bad Disney threw the money at creating an animatronic of a character from their movie Dinosaur instead. Anyhow…hopefully, when this transformation on the castle (and the park) is complete for the park's big birthday celebration next year, it will be something that Princess Aurora could be proud of. There is currently quite a bit of excitement going on, as there has been some interesting work done on the moat to make some wonder if there might be some World of Color-esque fountains being installed to make for an exciting show for the anniversary.

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite bits from Sleeping Beauty is Flora and Merryweather fighting over what color Aurora's beautiful dress should be (and I really, really wish Disney would give us a little more blue). As a bride today, women have more than just the typical white option – and in fact, blue and pink are gaining quite a bit of momentum in the bridal market. So, for the Aurora at heart, I felt it would be great to feature a little blue and a little pink. From top to bottom: Claire Pettibone, Jewel by Priscilla of Boston, Oscar de la Renta, and Judd Waddell for 2012.

 

The Royal Wedding of Kate and William!

The media and the press have been obsessed, especially this week, about the nuptials of the now Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. After all, how often does a wedding this royal occur in our lifetime?

Well, we did have Victoria, the crowned Princess of Sweden, marry her personal trainer Daniel Westling last year. It was a beautiful event, but the wedding was actually boycotted by several big international news organizations. They were upset that they would not be able to stream the wedding live…and this is probably why we did not hear a lot about the wedding here when it happened.

Still, it was a lovely wedding. Victoria's gown was simple, with a slightly sexy edge by showing her shoulders. Of course, the gown could not upstage the gorgeous crown and veil she wore, rumored to be gifted by Napoleon to Josephine. She looked sublime as a true Swedish Princess.

Of course, the wedding that most of the media has been using as inspiration and comparison for Kate and William's wedding was the wedding of William's parents, Diana and Charles. That wedding was an explosion on national television and was a sight to behold for the rest of the world, curious as to how a royal wedding could look.

Diana's gown was huge…and I mean, quite literally, huge. It was the 1980s, and giant puff sleeves were in. That dress swallowed Diana up, and by today's bridal standards, probably would not have been recommended. Still, for its time, it was very fashionable and women all over coveted the gown's look. Still, one can't ignore the fact that when Diana stepped out of the carriage to enter the church, her gown was crumpled from being stuffed inside.

After both Victoria's and Diana's nuptials, Kate was obviously feeling plenty of pressure. Weddings are stressful enough…to know that the whole world's eyes will be on you, speculating what type of gown you will wear, and that the event will be documented and viewed for all time…well, that can all add up to an overwhelming situation.

Luckily, William worked hard to prepare Kate for the press, taking great pains to protect her as best as he could. The last thing he wanted for the woman he loved would be to meet the same fate as his late mother. Being a part of the royal family has many obligations and difficulties…William wanted to give Kate enough time to back out if she wanted to.

But Kate was a Cinderella that fell in love with her Prince. That is another reason why the media is in love with this story; yes, we want to see the style, the fashion, the elegance and opulence that we commoners can only dream of…but to know that Kate is from the middle class and just naturally fell in love with a Prince in college is very romantic and plays to the public's fantasies. Kate played more on the Cinderella story with her forms of transportation: breaking tradition, Kate arrived to the church by car with her father, but left the church with William in a horse-drawn carriage.

While ideas of Cinderella concoct images of big ball gowns, we are in a more modern age, and Kate is a sleek, fashionable and modern kind of girl – but sweet. I was hoping that Kate would wear some lace, and she did.

The gown was, in every way, the perfect choice for Kate. It fits her like a glove and she looks fantastic in it. The dress does not overwhelm, but simply complements her natural beauty. The lace a sweet, traditional and elegant touch…and in fact, the whole look very much reminds me of Grace Kelly's wedding gown from several decades ago, but with an updated "Kate" twist.

The gown was appropriate for a royal church event, but she was still able to stay true to herself with her gown choice. Her gown was gorgeous and I have no doubts in my mind that every wedding gown designer is going to create their own version of the gown for other princess brides (though perhaps some designers will just make the gowns they made sketches of for Kate before anyone knew who the designer was). I'm so happy that Kate chose Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen. And, I should also add that I thought Kate's sister Pippa and their mother looked fabulous as well.

In the meantime, if you are vying for such a gown yourself, might I suggest either Monique Lhuilliher's Grace (an obvious nod to Princess Grace) or Marina K Couture's Chiara. Both are lacy, classic, and elegant gowns.

If you still want a Disney "Cinderella" dress, however, Alfred Angelo has two Cinderella gowns for the Disney Bridal Collection.

Congratulations to the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge!

 

Disney Bridal Gowns – No Kirstie Kelly?

In 2007, Disney teamed up with wedding gown designer Kirstie Kelly to debut Disney Bridal by Kirstie Kelly.

The initial collection was released to, judging by internet comments, mixed reviews. Some were highly disgusted or disappointed because they either hated Disney in the first place (citing that the company feeds the female sex unrealistic expectations regarding love and life – to which I say, what piece of media doesn't?) or because none of the dresses seemed to look like any of the actual dresses of the princesses from their respective films. Others, however, were thrilled at the prospect of finally being able to purchase a "Disney" wedding gown. And while plus-size ladies were initially left out in the cold, eventually Kirstie Kelly added a line for them, too.

Fast-forward to 2010. At the beginning of the year, David Tutera teamed up with Kirstie Kelly and Disney to create a Disney Weddings book (comments are found earlier in this blog).

Imagine my surprise when I tried to check up on the collections at disneybridal.com – to find Kirstie Kelly's line eliminated and promoting a new line by Alfred Angelo.

Don't get me wrong – I'm happy to see that Disney is trying to include budget-conscious brides here. These gowns are significantly more affordable than Kirstie's. However, the former line was not in the most expensive category for bridal gowns. High-end designer bridal gowns can end up being $20,000 or more, and Ms. Kelly's line was around $1,000-$3,000.

I'm not terribly impressed by these dresses. They are pretty, but most of them look like dresses that the designer had already created and put on the market before Disney approached them. What especially disappoints me is that Rapunzel is not included in the collection. I know that the collection was released before Tangled came to theaters, but the time gap is not that big (then again, that film went through so many changes that perhaps when the designer was creating mock-ups for his new dresses the animators did not have anything to give him for reference). In any case, these gowns still suffer from the same issue with the first line – none of them look much like the outfits we actually saw our favorite Disney Princesses in (though I will say that Alfred Angelo came closer that Kirstie Kelly did).

For the record, here are some points of reference:

 Characters and their likenesses copyrighted by Disney.

But here's the real question: are we going to start seeing Alfred Angelo Disney Bridal Rings, too? Because at least that gives one room for interpretation without significant basis…