Brides tell stories of their dresses
The Knot Real brides reveal how they knew they found “the one” — the wedding dress, of course! Tune in: “I started my gown search with my mom and my maid of honor. I went into a few stores just wanting to get an idea of styles that would look good on me. I immediately fell in love with a simple strapless gown. As my maid of honor zipped up the back of the dress, the song my fiance played as he proposed came on the radio at the store! I started tearing up and knew I had to buy that dress!” — Tamara, Franklin, Mass. For rent: “I was hopelessly lost trying to find a dress in my budget (range) so a co-worker suggested I rent a dress. I was skeptical at first, but after trying on about 30 rental gowns (all retailing originally between $3,000 and $5,000), we finally found a fabulous gown. It fit me perfectly and was much more dress than I could ever afford! And because I won’t have to spend thousands (only hundreds), we’re spending the extra money on an exotic honeymoon to Bora Bora.” — Beth, San Diego, Calif. In the stars: “My best friend and maid of honor was about to move across country and I knew we wouldn’t be able to shop for gowns together as I had been dreaming of doing. However, I knew my boyfriend would be proposing soon so I swore her to secrecy and headed off to the most expensive bridal salon in town to have the shopping experience we had dreamed of. The sales person handed me a gorgeous gown. When I put it on and she placed a veil on my head both my maid of honor and I started crying. I later found out that the day I was trying on the dress was the same day my fiance was buying my engagement ring.” — Lindsay, Westport, Conn. One for the money: “I ended up loving two dresses and going back and forth between the two for over an hour. When I asked if I could have something altered on the first dress, the bridal consultant asked me if I’d change anything about the other dress. I said, ‘No, it’s perfect the way it is.’ And then I knew it was the one.” — Brenna, Olympia, Wash. Hard bargain: “I was at an expensive boutique with a few friends when I fell in love with the most beautiful gown. It was perfect — until I looked at the price tag. I knew that there had to be a way to find the dress for less. I checked the designer’s Web site and found a store nearby and called to see if they carried this particular dress and to ask their price. To my sadness it was just as expensive, but they offered to give me 10 percent off to buy the sample. I said, ‘Take off 25 percent and I will buy it right now.’ I ended up getting my dream dress for $1,000 less than the ticket price!” — Alexandra, Houston Mother knows best: “I really wanted to wear the same veil my mom wore, so I was trying to match the dress to the veil. Backwards, I know! We went shopping and I tried on two dresses and I didn’t like either one. I was very discouraged and didn’t even want to try on the third. My mom insisted, saying that it was only one more. She helped me put it on and as soon as I got a glimpse in the mirror, I burst into tears. That was it! — Laine, Albuquerque, N.M. Note: Names have been changed — Scripps Howard News Service |