top of page
  • Grey YouTube Icon
  • Grey Instagram Icon
  • TikTok

Are we friends yet? Subscribe to receive DISCOUNTS & UPDATES!

I {DID NOT} Say 'Yes' to the Dress


What I wish I knew before wedding dress shopping...

Throughout my time being a bride-to-be I’ve gotten a lot of questions in regards to wedding planning, bridesmaids, wedding decor, dress shopping, etc. which actually threw me off a bit in the beginning because I feel totally unprepared & confused in all of this myself haha.

I’m going through all of this for the first time so I can only speak from my personal experience & without being able to go through multiple trial & error I felt

strange sharing my “advice”.

But I’ve come to realize most brides are going through this for the first time too, & as women we are naturally curious & hungry for data!

So I decided to open up & share MY experience dress shopping, which took me by complete surprise.

And hopefully if there are some other women out there who also are struggling to find the perfect dress or felt their {moment} would go differently, you don’t feel so alone or like you're {missing something} because I know I did in the beginning.

So, let's get into it...

I had been pinning wedding dresses on Pinterest for years in excitement for whenever that special day would come. I thought when the time had come for me to choose a dress I would have it all figured out - but that was not the case AT ALL.

All of the dresses I fantasied about were different silhouettes (A-Line, Ball gown, Fit-n-Flare, Column, etc.) and all different styles (Bohemian, Conservative, Couture, etc.) so I really liked {everything}. Apparently that's not a great starting point when walking into a bridal shop, {how was I to know}?

I tried on {over} 100 dresses from 5 different bridal stores!! All of them more stunning than the last! I could imagine myself in every one of them in a different setting!

I started getting worried because I never got the "I'm going to cry, this is THE dress" moment. I didn't want dress regret (which I hear is super common especially with social media these days) so I wanted some sort of {sign} that told me 'THIS IS THE ONE'!

But none of the dresses I had pinned and later tried on really felt that way for me.

So my point of telling you this is, you will find tons of gorgeous dresses that make you feel like a princess/supermodel/goddess but there will only be ONE dress that makes you feel like a bride.

And as much as I wanted to dress up in the most fashionable, couture, unique dress it just didn’t make me feel like a bride.

I might have LOVED all bohemian, 3D embellished gowns but it didn't feel like a wedding dress on or at least didn't feel as {formal} as I wanted to go on my wedding day, which I would have never known until trying them on!

So I had to say ‘NO’ to a lot of amazing dresses to find the one that best fit my {once in a lifetime} occasion.

So my piece of advice...

Pin & mood board away! Have some inspiration and ideas to get the ball rolling! BUT remember to keep an open mind, don't rush the process, have patience and maybe try on something completely different than what you are use to! Because sometimes you don’t find the dress… the dress finds YOU!

Best of luck to you my bride-to-be! Make it such a fun and special experience! <3

Comments


Screen Shot 2020-06-16 at 10.43.31 PM.pn

ABOUT ME

Thanks for taking time to read my blog post! I hope you find value in it! If you're new to seeing my content, Hi my name is Mariah! I love sharing my take on fashion, travel, beauty, lifestyle, relationships, bridal and more!

I have been writing + creating photo/video content since I was about 12 years old (2007) - never in my wildest dreams thinking I could be doing this as a full time job as an adult.

I moved to South Africa shortly after meeting my husband and we got married 5 years later (2020)! We often travel back and forth between Florida, USA and Cape Town, South Africa - both of them home to us.

I have two puppies, Chai + Bentley. And I hope to be telling you about children some day soon (baby coming Jan 2025!)

Until then, I will keep sharing my current passions, tips + tricks, thoughts + tools for life! The adventure continues....!

INSTAGRAM

PODCAST

The Adventure continues.jpg

YOUTUBE

IMG_7748.jpg

YOUTUBE

TRAVEL • BEAUTY • FASHION • LIFESTYLE

IMG_5461.jpg
THE ENGAGEMENT
_MG_7216GB.jpg
THE WEDDING
RNI-Films-IMG-257C112C-519B-46E3-98CD-3991A16E9659.JPG
THE HONEYMOON
bottom of page