Wedding Dress Shopping

I knew wedding dresses were expensive, but I had no idea how expensive until we actually started shopping. If you are a size 10, for example, you can find a wide variety of dresses either used or floor samples for as little as $50. If, like The Daughter, you are between a size 0 and size 2, you are out of luck for less expensive choices. We had a wonderful time looking, and she found the dress of her dreams at Kay's Kreations in Tupelo, MS. The staff there treated her like royalty and helped her find plenty of suitable dresses to try on. She narrowed it down to two, and either one would've been perfect. As luck would have it, she preferred the less expensive of the two. That's my girl! The dress has been ordered, and they'll notify her when it comes in so we can go back for a fitting.

We were so surprised that the shops here in Memphis didn't have more varied styles available. The ones here were all sleeveless slinky things, or sleeveless tight-fitting dresses with mermaid flaring at the knees, but all were sleeveless. Odd. The dress she chose has a defined waistline, a full skirt, a lacy overlay to the neck, and little lacy cap sleeves. She looks like a Cinderella princess in it.

We can't bring ourselves to go anywhere without checking out what the community has to offer, and Tupelo does have some interesting sights I'll be writing up. On this day, we had lunch in downtown Tupelo at Cafe 212:

We sat on that patio you can see in the front. I had a chicken salad sandwich, fresh fruit and water:

We went back to Memphis, where we checked out another couple of bridal shops. We had an appointment at Ballew Bridal, but the young woman who greeted us didn't actually seem to care much. After the princess treatment The Daughter had been graced with at Kay's Kreations, this was a major change. The salesperson was open to selling us a dress, that's true, but the service didn't go beyond that to include a pleasant attitude. The salesperson told us to go home and look at their website and get back to them if we saw something we liked. I imagine they sell clothing suitable for the mother of the bride and for bridesmaids, but the saleswoman didn't mention it. We're done with them.

At David's we were greeted pleasantly. We didn't have an appointment, but the staff person said they could see us in an hour and that we were free to look at the dresses in the meantime. That was nice. The Daughter didn't see anything she wanted to try on, but the saleswoman invited us to look at their offerings for me (as mother of the bride) and for the bridesmaids. I want to wear pants, and they only had dresses; but we have been back there since then to check out bridesmaids' dresses. One of the bridesmaids will be nearing her due date at the time of the wedding, so The Daughter took her with us and let her pick the dress. It's a lovely style. We think it'll look good on all the ladies and will be wearable in the future either as-is or shortened. The Daughter ordered white, ballerina-style slippers for her to wear, and she'll be notified when they come in. She's going to let her bridesmaids wear black shoes of their own choosing.

The groom has chosen tuxes and accessories at Men's (formerly Gentlemen's) Warehouse. They have a working relationship with David's and can match the colors exactly.

We love success stories!

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