day 1 of some serious dress shopping!!!

my bridesmaids finally made it out together! yay! we hit up marylinn's in pasadena. i had to forewarn my girls that the yelp reviews for this salon weren't that stellar. most complaints were about their snootiness. i was prepared to be treated accordingly, just in case. however, we were pleasantly surprised! the consultant appointed to me was sooo wonderful and attentive! she really was responsive and willing to allow me to try on what i wanted. what i learned from this first visit: a bit of poofiness ain't that bad. the bottom had to be interesting. veils don't work on me.

next we hit up lili bridals in freakin tarzana. yeah, crazy traffic at rush hour. i shouldn't have scheduled an appointment at 5pm when everyone gets off work. arrived 30 minutes late. my consultant rushed me through and seemed really affected by the hectic day, and my lateness. i thought this place would be a lot bigger, based on the brands that they carried. it's actually pretty small. this was the first time i actually really came to like a dress (paloma blanca 4116). i smiled and turned and kept looking in the mirror. i stayed in that dress for a while. i was really surprised i liked it because it was an A-line, starting from the natural waist. i thought i wanted a dropped waist. things i learned from this visit: i really wanted a textured bottom (i was digging the ruffles). i wasn't opposed to a slightly poofy a-line dress, though i thought i had ruled it out. the top and bottom of the dress had to be different, as in, it couldn't be the same material/patterning throughout.

ate at a vegan vietnamese joint in the area and it was BOMB!!! thanks to my girls for helping me make so much progress in looking for the dress that i want. i have a much more solid idea of what i want in my wedding dress! onward...!