Bridal Party

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A Washingtonian Wedding: Wanted—One Beautiful Dress

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By Emily Halonen

Follow along with Bridal Party’s guest blogger Emily as she plans her wedding. What happens when you decide to have your ceremony almost 700 miles from home? Check back every Friday to hear Emily’s thoughts, offer your suggestions, and get caught up in Washingtonian wedding fever.

Emily's mom cried when she saw her daughter in this gown by Stewart Parvin ($1,512 at Hannelore's).

So, a really big part of me wanted to find the dress right away. It’s like Cinderella—once she gets the beautiful ball gown, everything starts falling into place. Sure, there are a few roadblocks trying to thwart her way to happiness with the prince (evil stepmother, mean stepsisters, Lucifer the cat), but the dress is a key part, and it would have been so great to find that pivotal part of my own fairy tale right away.

That didn’t happen. Saturday morning brought sunshine and the sweetness of whole-wheat banana pancakes with my maid-of-honor, Jen, and my roommate, but I was also feeling a little under the weather. My mom stopped in around 11 and swooped us down to Alexandria for my first appointment at Hannelore’s bridal boutique. I met with Hannelore herself, a little lady with loads of personality and 27 years’ expertise. I browsed the sale section, and one by Stewart Parvin, who designs for the Queen Mother, made my own mum cry.

The mushy moment quickly evaporated as Hannelore took the reins—or, should I say, the zippers. Things got a little tense when she asked my mother and Jen to leave the dressing room and then refused to let me try on a dress that was “too old” for me. But I have to hand it to her. Several dresses that she picked out for me I’d have never chosen myself, and they were gorgeous.

To get a better idea of how this Christos dress would look in Emily's size, the boutique owner stuffed pillows in the back.

We moved on upstairs to the full-price dresses. I guess most sample dresses at boutiques average a size ten, so Hannelore was constantly pinning me and even shoving pillows down the back of them to give me a better idea of the fit. You can see the Hunchback of Notre Dame look I’m sporting in the mirror’s reflection. She also kept reassuring me that having my face and hair done would drastically change the whole package. (I was getting over a cold.) Jen picked a Christos design with Alonson lace at the chest and hemline. It had just the hint of a train that would be bustled, and it felt beautiful. It also rang in at $4,800—unfortunately about four grand over what I’d like to spend.

So, we slid on down the road to Nicole Miller and tried on a few dresses that were pretty but just didn’t say “wedding” like the others had. A little bit discouraging, but okay. The dress is something you can’t settle on, and thanks to your comments and some friends’ suggestions, I’ve got some great leads.

The hunt for the dress will continue, but this weekend it’s on hold. Drew and I are flying to Nashville to check out a bunch of churches and reception sites. We’ve decided to save Sunday to enjoy being engaged and maybe doing something that involves dirt and the country and not wedding planning, but Saturday is booked through. My mom and I sat down Monday night and made a list of questions to ask. Things like, “What’s your church’s policy on strapless dresses?” Seriously, some churches don’t allow it.

Suggestions on other good questions to ask? Any ingenious ideas on non-traditional reception sites? I’d love them.

 

 

 

Comments

Can you dress shop in Nashville? Their prices are much better than the crazy DC markups.

Posted by: Monica | Feb 20, 2008 09:00:01 AM

I HATED Hannelores’ - they were so rude and their dresses were so overpriced.

I agree with the last poster - pick the venue, then the dress. What you have in your mind’s eye re: the venue might not come to fruition.

Good luck!

Posted by: Tara S. | Feb 19, 2008 12:34:09 PM

despite the less-than-stellar customer service my friends had received at hannelore’s, i decided to shop their for my own wedding dress in the fall of 2006. i could not have a worse experience even if i had dreamed it. the sales lady i worked with was rude and disrespectful. so, i promptly purchased my $6000 dress and 9 bridesmaids dresses and all of my accessories at Promise...for The Savvy Bride in Bethesda. Their customer service was outstanding and unparalleled.

Posted by: | Feb 17, 2008 04:59:28 PM

Good luck Emily - I’m sure you’ll find a dress that’s perfect. The trick to Hannelore’s is who you meet with - I’ve definitely heard some horror stories but I also know several brides who really loved their experience there (myself included). . .I think it all depends on finding the right salesperson to help you out.

Posted by: bon mariage! | Feb 10, 2008 10:57:44 AM

Hey Em-
Are you aware that Ann Taylor has a bridal line called ’Celebrations’? Here’s a link to the online store: http://www.anntaylor.com/catalog/department.jsp?N=1200042&categoryId=193
I noticed that they have several simple but elegant dresses...and decent prices. Just thought I’d mention it while it was on my mind. Hope your trip to Nashville is going well...see you soon! : )

Posted by: Karin...your roommate : ) | Feb 09, 2008 01:46:23 PM

Yikes...I’d be horrified if I was treated the way you were treated at Hannelores (i was treated poorly there too, just in a different way). It’s good you’re going to look at venues, though, because really as important as the dress is the venues should be decided before the dress. Some dresses just don’t "fit" with some places. Like how a ballgown would look silly on a beach or a short dress would look silly in a cathedral. For a while fiance and I were up in the air about whether to do tuxes or suits...then we found our ceremony place...a tiny simple chapel and that made our decision for us...tuxes would look silly, so we went with suits! And if I had gotten a big ballgown it would have taken up the entire aisle in the little chapel...shopping for dresses was a lot easier after I knew the "scene" it was going to be a part of.

Posted by: MissCapitolHill | Feb 08, 2008 04:28:06 PM

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