Bride Power!

In many ways, I am not a typical bride. I agonize at the thought of being the center of attention, hate to give instructions to people and most of all, dread trying on dresses. The whole tradition is a bit nauseating to me. I decided to go the nontraditional and more affordable route of buying my dress on the internet. I knew the dress I wanted, a beautiful Carolina Herrera featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Summer 2008 issue.

The spread, called "California Dreamy", was the sweetheart of all the wedding blogs for a few months. The organza gown looks like it has little polka dots printed onto it, but it is in fact little embroidered daisies.

I searched high and low, emailing and calling almost 30 bridal shops without luck. My heart was set on this dress, and the feeling of complete let down when I couldn't track it down was discouraging. Then one day, on a whim, I emailed a shop in Newton Massachusetts named Vows. Their website http://www.bridepower.com/ has loads of designer dresses for a fraction of the price. I noted several Carolina Herrera gowns, but not "The One". I sent them an email begging that if they were to ever come the dress to please let me know. Within the hour, April, one of the girls from the shop, sent me the good news that they had the dress in stock and near my size. Getting the dress altered down was not going to be a problem, so two checks. Then she gives me the price...$599! For a Carolina Herrera dress!

Now, a word of caution to prima donnas; the dresses Vows carries are samples from other stores. Be sure to ask the condition of the dress when you find one that you like. Vows dry cleans their gowns before shipping them out (free of charge), but some dresses may have minor imperfections that are mostly fixable.

My experience with Vows and http://www.bridepower.com/ was wonderful! The girls there are super friendly and helpful, and the prices are phenomenal! Check it out today!