Photos!
The Dream:
Here were my two dream dresses. The one on the left was my dreeeaaaam dress, but cost nearly a third of our venue budget, so that dream ended pretty quickly. I will say, they kept my interest a bit longer because they had the dress on a model who reflects my shape and size better than a standard model size. So props to that. The dress on the right was another strong contender, until I realized it’s exclusive to a US vendor, and I’d have to order without being able to try it on first. No thanks, ma’am.
LtoR: Maudie by Willowby by Watters; Katara by Willowby by Watters both very much out of my budget
The Contenders
Dress #1 I was able to grab the photos of it from The Bride’s Project’s online catalogue, as well as the photos of me in it (with a cute mask that I purchased from amazing local boutique Uppdoo).
This dress had a lot of the elements that I liked in my dream dresses: whimsy, romance, a little glitz, and some bead/applique work. I won’t lie, looking at these photos makes me fall in love with it all over again, but I have to remind myself that the armholes were digging into my armpits. And I also kind of felt like a dolphin in it? It felt like being in a very formal wetsuit, if that makes any amount of sense.
Dress #2 was actually a bodysuit/top and skirt. I’m kind of glad I don’t have any photo documentation of how short this number made me look. The skirt was also a good 3-4 inches too long, and I’m not wearing a heel over 1-2″ high the day of. We’re a short couple, and also, I fear sinking into the earth outside of our venue.
Dress #3 I really fell in love with this dress when I first got it on. It had all the elements that I wanted. My mom and sister weren’t as convinced, but I was 97% sure that this was my dress despite it being a full size too large.
Dress #4 was a bit of a last-minute throw-in when I booked my appointment. It felt really good on, but I was thrown off by how covered-up I felt. I wanted a bit of sex appeal to my wedding dress, and the straps and collars made me feel almost Amish initially. (That’s my mom with my sister on video chat in the background. Of course we’re standing the same in this photo. Just of course).
Dress #5 was a simple and elegant Badgley Mischka column dress that did not fit me right. Oh well, at least we tried. But couldn’t you picture me in this number with that most massive and gorgeous vinok atop my head? [chef’s kiss] In another life, maybe.
Dress #6 was selected in-store, as some of my original choices just were not the right size for me. I thought “Let’s try something in a shorter skirt, just in case it’s secretly the right choice”. Let me tell you, if I felt Amish in dress 4, this number was über Amish on me. Definitely not, but at least I exhausted that option!
Those were all of the contenders. I did leave with a wedding dress in-hand. You’ll just have to listen to the episode to find out which one I chose!
That’s all from me for now. I hope that you’re all still remaining safe and healthy. Wear those masks, wash those hands, and maintain physical distance when possible!
— Gabby
Gabrielle Trach 
Leave a Reply