My wedding dress - Pronovias Ariel

In my previous post, I shared photos of the 49 different wedding dresses I tried on during 7 visits to 4 different bridal boutiques. Were you able to guess which one I picked?

Buying the dress
During my first visit to Casablanca Bridal & Formals in November 2019, I had primarily focused on form fitting dresses. By the time I got around to going to Casablanca again in late December 2019, it was my 7th total wedding dress appointment and I was getting a little nervous about finding "the one". I told the staff the new direction I was going in which was ballgown all the way! I immediately requested to try on the Ariel again and also asked to see other dresses in a similar silhouette.

Pronovias Ariel (referred to as "CB Dress 9" in my previous post)

I had arrived at Casablanca by myself for the second visit since my mom and MOH couldn't make it to the last minute appointment, but my friend from CA who I was supposed to meet for lunch was able to stop by at the end, and I made sure to try on the dress for her!

I didn't feel like I was ready to make any decisions at that time, but just minutes after leaving Casablanca, the staff called to tell me that she forgot to mention their unadvertised year end sale - everything was 20% off but only until the end of the day (their last business day of 2019). That was enough to convince me and, after getting my mom's blessing, I went back to Casablanca after lunch to purchase the dress on December 29, 2019.

Definitely not a decision I would have felt comfortable making if it wasn't for the sale because I did really want to check out Bijou Bridal's a-line/ballgown selection, but I really couldn't pass up 20% off on a dress I really did like from a last minute appointment that I almost didn't have. If I had kept my original appointment with Casablanca (Jan 4), I would have missed the sale entirely but could certainly have ended up with the same dress either way.

Dress regret?

I ordered the Pronovias Ariel on December 29, 2019 for my (original) November 28, 2020 event, so I had a long, long time to wait before I would get to wear it. The owner at Casablanca told me to expect the dress to come in around June 2020 (6 months from ordering) for the first fitting, and I was very antsy for the first month following the purchase.
I did have quite a bit of apprehension about whether the Ariel was the right dress or not and whether I rushed into it because of the sale, but to eliminate chance of FOMO, I made sure to unfollow any wedding dress designer accounts on social media and did my best to resist looking around. I cancelled my Bijou Bridal appointment and really focused on looking at the photos of me in the Pronovias Ariel which really made me smile. It also helped that I had liked this dress from the first appointment, so I already knew that none of the secondhand websites had the Ariel for sale at the time in something close to my size for a reasonable price.

I feel like when I put the a-line/ballgown dresses next to some of the fit and flare/mermaid dresses, I think I might look better in the fit and flare.
But I reasoned it out in my head - my body might look good in the fit and flare silhouette (if I do say so myself). That's why I was so sold on that shape in the beginning. But despite all of the great choices I had, none of them really felt that special despite how I looked and how pretty the lace or the train was.

In the end, I think finding the right dress was more than just about what I "looked best" in with regards to my body and just whether the dress overall felt right, and I believe I made the right choice with all things considered with the Pronovias Ariel. Even if there was another dress out there, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the Ariel and there's absolutely no beating getting a brand new dress in the size that's expected to fit me (length aside) for 20% off!

You might disagree with my choice based on these photos and after seeing everything else I tried on in the previous post, and that's totally okay! I think it's not going to be worthwhile to point out certain things I didn't like about each of the other 48 dresses and why I didn't select them because these things are likely highly specific to me and what I'm comfortable with. Plus, what's wrong for me might be someone else's favorite thing about a dress. I think suffice it to say that none of the other dresses were the right dress for me for this occasion and that's why I didn't get them. It honestly could have been something as simple as "it didn't feel right" which you can't always tell from a photo.

Re-try on (March 2020)

This was right before things really started shutting down for the pandemic for the first time. I had gotten my hair and makeup trial done, and since my mom and MOH weren't there when I had pulled the trigger on the dress, I asked the shop if I could come back in for a try on (still in the store sample) so I could see everything put together. I had also gotten some cheap jewelry/accessories and a veil by this point so I wanted to see if they would work. 
I think it turned out pretty well and I'm glad I could reaffirm my choice of the dress!

Fittings/Alterations
I got the call that my dress had finally arrived on June 18, 2020 and scheduled a first "fitting" on June 30. This was during social distancing protocol and I was able to bring 2 people with me and everyone had to wear masks. This was the first time I was trying on the dress in my size + the dress that is actually mine. 

I have to admit that I was actually quite a bit underwhelmed. There were some things about the larger size sample dress that I guess I had liked (straps were a bit longer and bodice was a bit lower because it was overall bigger), but a lot of that was fixed when the boutique staff clamped the back so this dress actually hugged my body a bit more. But otherwise the lace and everything was just as I expected. We didn't actually take any measurements or pin anything this day because at that point there were still about 5 months until the actual wedding day and they prefer to do the alterations about 1 month out so it's more precise (and less pressure on the bride to maintain measurements for so long)! This boutique stores the dress for you free of charge, so I didn't go home with it. 

Alterations appointments

When I bought the dress, I was quoted for about max $300 in alterations if they needed to adjust anything more than just the length. (If it was just the length, I think it would have been about half that.) I know there are likely cheaper seamstresses out there, but my mom was willing to pay for the dress shop to just take care of everything and they would store the dress as well, so we decided to go for that. 

After the initial try on in June 2020, we made the decision to postpone our event until May 2021, so my first alterations appointment wasn't until April 2021 - about 6 weeks out from the wedding date (and 10 months after the dress had come in during which I would have had to store it myself if the boutique didn't offer free storage!). They ask that you wear your wedding shoes and undergarments (including any shapewear) anticipated for the wedding. 

1st alterations appointment - April 7, 2021

This one is the expectedly straightforward one. The staff did the initial pinning for the length and also marked how much to take in the dress at the waist. It did require a little bit of time since there's multiple layers of the skirt and it needs to be just right so it doesn't get underfoot when I walk, especially on grass. But overall, it wasn't too bad and I was lucky there weren't that many alterations required due to the shape/silhouette of the dress. We also discussed bustle style which was planned to be one hook in the back, hidden in the lace.

2nd alterations appointment - April 21, 2021

This one was to check/ensure that the hemmed length was appropriate (walking over different surfaces included) and that the waist was just right before tacking down the lace would be done (in its new place after making it smaller). And we also tried out the simple bustle that we had discussed in the previous appointment which turned out great! (The bottom button loop had to be reinforced so we didn't use it that day.) Again, fairly straightforward and also pretty quick. 

Final try on - May 12, 2021

This was the dress in its final form! Basically just ensuring that everything was correct and how we wanted it to be without any pins in it. It was really nice to walk around in the dress and everything felt right! I made sure to wear the accessories I had planned for including the veil this time (although the flower was just something I stuck in my hair before I left lmao). The staff showed my mom how the back fastened and how to look for the hooks for the bustle. We set the day for pick up as the day before the wedding (Saturday, May 22) and the dress was to be steamed, in a plastic bag for safety and then also in a opaque garment bag as well. 

Accessories
The Pronovias veil that I had tried on with the Ariel while at Casablanca was made of matching tulle and was almost $400 (no lace or beading or anything). Based on doing a little research online, I knew that I could get something cheaper online and headed straight for Amazon. For my first order, I wanted to go simple and purchased a single layer raw cut tulle view with comb in ivory, 2 bejeweled decorative hair combs (one larger and one smaller since I didn't know which would work best) and a pair of earrings all for about $50. These were meant to be, at minimum, placeholders for me to do my hair and make up trial. From there, I'd know if I wanted something longer, bigger, shinier or the opposite, or, best case scenario, I'd love everything and would be done (which is what ended up happening). This was all purchased back in February 2020. 

I purchased the items from Amazon after looking on Etsy first and seeing some pretty similar ones. Ultimately it seems like Amazon was cheaper and since I mostly wanted to experiment with the size of the comb for my hair trial and get it in the mail quickly.
For earrings, I wasn't initially pleased with the pair I received because the post of the earring was way higher than it had been pictured in the worn photos from the listing. The seller was very accommodating when I mentioned that I was intending on returning them and issued me a refund immediately without further discussion and I ended up using them during my re-try on anyway. My mom and MOH didn't have the same issue with the height of the earrings as I did, so I ended up just keeping them but I still think it looks weird.

With that mostly settled, I knew I wanted a very simple thin necklace in a silver color, but didn't have one on hand. 

My intention was to purchase one on a Japan trip some time in 2020, but of course we didn't go to Japan in 2020 because of COVID fml. I ended up ordering one from Etsy after figuring out what I was looking for but I had procrastinated all the way until April 2021 for this piece haha. 

I wasn't necessarily set on wearing anything on my wrists but tried out two of my jade bracelets during one of the alternations appointments and ended up liking the look.

These were bracelets I already owned and I honestly have no idea where they came from. The solid jade bangle is one of my favorites - I prefer the softer colors (mostly smokey white with some hazy green and lavender coming through which is similar to our wedding colors!). The second bracelet isn't one I wear often because I don't find bracelets with clasps all that easy to wear but it seemed to match pretty well. 

For rings, I went with my Laurie Fleming sapphire OEC Daphne ring and the sapphire Beacen ring for my left ring finger (my favorite combination that I wear) 

and since I wanted something on my middle finger for my right hand, I chose my Laurie Fleming Asrai Garden Ring with lilac and magnolia branch for slight touches of purple.

We kept my dress a secret from my husband (although I think he accidentally saw this post while I was drafting it fml), so I didn't get his feedback throughout the entire process and I knew I had to be secure in my choice for myself. I can't wait to get back the professional photos from the photographer from the day of - you'll be able to see how the complete look came together then! Meanwhile, I hope this post with my "journey" to having my complete wedding look ready was interesting or at least nice to scroll through! Feel free to let me know what you think ♡