Wedding Planning Wednesday Part 10

I said "Yes to the dress!"

For obvious reasons, I can't post any pictures...However, I can tell you about my amazing experience.  My mom and my bridesmaids who were in town, came with me to Gigi's Closette in Glenview.  A ton of people mentioned this place to me as a great place to look for dresses.  We had a great experience.  Sue helped us out.  She was quite the whippersnapper, but she also seemed to know exactly what I wanted.  She helped me find a dress that I love as well as some accessories I hadn't even thought of!  She didn't let me stray from my budget and gave me some great tips and advice while shopping.  Plus, after we found my dress, the girls tried on a bunch of bridesmaids dresses and we found the bridesmaids dress as well!  This place was great.  You do not need an appointment which I thought was strange, but it ended up being nice because it had a laid back feel to it and you could take your time.  I am so excited and I can't wait to see my dress again!

Here are a few things that I suggest for dress shopping:

1. Bring the right "undergarments."  I bought a bustier that I am probably going to return.  However, it was a nice thing to wear because it made me feel supported and covered while I was trying on dress after dress with other people helping me get them on.

2. BYOH-Bring your own heels.  This might be just for this place, but wearing heels is suggested as the dresses are all so long!  Even if you do not plan on wearing heels for your big day (I am not), it helps to see the whole dress with a little height.

3. Plan an after-party.  You never know when you are going to find the dress so plan a dinner or outing after the shopping experience to celebrate the big find or just to celebrate the experience!  We went out to Caro Mio for dinner!  It was lovely.

4. Stay open minded.  When I got to Gigi's I had this whole vision in mind.  Then, on my way to my dressing room with like 10 dresses, I saw one hanging that I thought was pretty.  It wasn't exactly what I had wanted, but it looked nice.  I started with that one and I finished with that one.  It was the one!