Finding the perfect dress was one of my favorite parts of wedding planning but also maybe one of the toughest. Let me tell you why, but first, a little background on my process. A few things I knew I wanted going in were straps, texture and a v neckline. My mom, grandmother and I visited three Dallas bridal salons: Warren Barron, Bridal Salon at Neiman Marcus and Stanley Korshak Bridal Salon. We did this all in one day which was helpful because I needed to see what my options were and make a decision quickly due to a short engagement.

I was very hard on myself when it came to choosing my dress, and I think that’s because I work in fashion and didn’t want to choose a dress that everyone had seen before. I wanted my dress to be unique, special to me and a showstopper. Yes, Dallas has a great number of bridal salons, but I kept thinking I was missing out on something else. I essentially needed to make a decision that week, so traveling to another bridal salon wasn’t an option.

After trying on quite a few dresses, I kept coming back to this Monique Lhuillier. I knew there were a few different things we could add that would make this dress a one of a kind. Once I decided this was my dress, we placed the order with extra lace to make the jacket. I thought the jacket would be the perfect addition for our church ceremony – conservative, polished and feminine. Our seamstress not only hand placed and sewed each piece of lace onto the tulle jacket, but she also tied the most beautiful bow that was ready to go on the wedding day. The blush ribbon was added to accentuate my waist, bring out the blush in the dress and add another dimension to the overall look. Finally, we added a simple blush veil to tie it all together. Because there were so many details already, we decided to go with a plain veil instead of one with lace or beading.

I wouldn’t change a thing about the dress I wore, but I thought it could be fun to show you guys a few other dresses I tried.

This Vera Wang is the first dress I tried and loved. I was drawn to the nude underskirt, the coordinating lace veil and the lace cap sleeves, but there was a problem. The lace sleeve prevented me from dancing, and dancing was one of the things I was looking forward to most.

Next, I tried this three dimensional Mira Zwillinger dress with the coordinating veil. I don’t like wearing strapless, but if I did, I’d wear this stunner. I love how the flowers add so much texture to an otherwise sleek and simple dress.

Are you open to wearing a little color on your wedding day? Initially, I would’ve said absolutely not, but after seeing this Monique Lhuillier beauty, I considered it. If I had chosen this dress, I was going to make the front all one length and probably add a fuller skirt.

You can probably tell that I have a thing for Monique Lhuillier. I just love how every single one of her dresses is feminine, elegant, drapes perfectly and falls softly. No matter your figure, there is a Monique dress for you.

As you can see, the Magnificent dress is very similar to the Maeve dress I chose. There is a long sleeve jacket and a fuller skirt you can layer on top. This is an easy way to switch up your ceremony and reception looks without having two dresses. I remember feeling like Kate Middleton when I put this one on.

The Monique Lhuillier Bloom dress was my runner up. I mean, how stunning! It’s funny how different my final two dresses were. Maeve is traditional in cut and fabric, and Bloom is more fashion forward with the print, color and texture. I had such a hard time deciding between the two, but once again, I had to think about my dancing capabilities. There was very little arm mobility in this dress, so I had to sadly say goodbye to Bloom. In my next life, she’s all mine!

I had so much fun going down memory lane with you! I can’t believe that this was exactly 11 months ago. Wow, how much has changed since then!

Thanks for reading! XO, MS