Weddings 101: A crash course in wedding & bridesmaid frocks- PART DEUX

The first part of this series was pretty much a brainstorming session. Now, we are ready to shop! Granted, I wouldn't recommend bridal shopping online, but the internet is a good place to start. I've decided to feature 4 dresses, all of which incorporate elements desired by Katy. However, they are also all different and collectively showcase a number of possible embellishments and styles. Hope this helps!

Option 1: Antigua by Reverie by Melissa Sweet

I love this dress because it meets a lot of Katy's criteria. It's tea length and classic. It appears to be well made and has a few interesting details. First, the color is a little bit of an off-white, and the beading around the v-line neck is really pretty. The beading is also intertwined with some embrodiery, but nothing here is over-the-top. It's elegant, but not too overbearing for a beach wedding. It will also transition well from the ceremony to the reception. View this dress and others by Melissa Sweet on The Knot (you do have to be a member to view anything on The Knot, and yes I did create a fake account to access this in which I had to enter a fake groom's name, fake wedding destination, and fake wedding date.)

Option 2:  Galina Wedding Dress Style WG3165

Couldn't they have named this dress Floral Applique Dress or something besides Style WG3165? The series of numbers and letters really makes wedding gown hunting seem very unglamorous. They should work on their marketing haha. Anyways, I picked this dress because Katy said she would consider floral embellishments and the floral applique around the bust is really adorable and is different from the beading we saw in the first dress. This fit is an a-line, which I know would look great on Katy's petite frame. The applique can be custom ordered in beige, champagne, or white, so if you are feeling a little contrast for an extra "pop" it can be done!

This brings me to another point. Throughout my search I've found a lot of places offer little custom details, and everything I've done has been online. If you are out dress shopping be sure and ask about any and all custom details. Don't rule out a dress because of one minor detail because chances are you can get it fixed/changed.

Option 3: Mon Cheri Style BY21041T

Okay, so you would have to order this dress in all white. I think the featured picture is a pink/white combo in order to show the lace detailing, which you wouldn't really be able to see if you were looking online at an all white dress. I chose this dress because it has a lace bust and the back (not pictured) is a corset back. Both of the elements I just mentioned were ones Katy said she would try. Additionally, the A-line of this dress has a little bit more flow to it when compared with the first two options. The only element that made me hesitant is the bow because Katy did not mark bows or ribbons. Perhaps that's something that could be altered as well. Check out more details here.

Option 4: Mon Cheri Style BY1969T

This is a chiffon dress (most of the other ones I have featured are silk) and the sweetheart bodice has a little bit more structure to it. The gathering of the fabric has a different dimension in comparison with added embellishments (such as beading and embroidery). This dress is also has spaghetti straps, which is a unique choice for a wedding dress. The picture shows the dress in lemon, but it is available in white. The dress is a little bit more romantic, as opposed to Katy's casual style, but it's still very pretty and would suit Katy's body shape. More information is available here.

Okay, so now that PART UN and PART DEUX have been written, the next thing to explore is bridesmaid dresses! Stay tuned....and in the mean time let me know what you think so far!