Save On A Flower Girl Dress (By Buying An Easter Dress)

I have a super old white hat in a box somewhere, sitting next to a faux-fur vest. I don't know where they are right now, but I do know that they're from Easter forever ago. Easter dresses and accessories can be so cute. They can also look exactly like flower girl dresses, but for a fraction of the cost. Yup, you can save on a flower girl dress by buying an Easter dress.

If you head into any department store right now, you'll see rows and rows of Easter dresses for girls. There are tons of pinks, of course, but also lots of white. And white is generally what you pick up for a flower girls dress.

The dresses at regular-price are cheaper than any flower girl dress you can find in a dress shop. That's a good time to buy one.

An even better time to buy one is in two weeks.

That's when Easter will be over and stores will need to get rid of anything Easter-oriented. Decorations, candy ... and yes, Easter dresses will be on clearance. You can also often pair clearance sales with coupons. So if you get one in the mail, hang on to it. A sale and a coupon makes for really cheap flower girl dresses.

You should also be able to head to the shoe section and get super cute matching shoes -- that were designated for Easter -- cheap as well.

Keep in mind that if you're shopping for a wedding that's in a handful of months, a little girl can grow considerably between now and then. So be sure to buy the dress in the size she will be at the wedding, not the size she is now.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you buy an Easter dress to save on a flower girl dress?

What It's Like When Your Bridal Shop Closes

I'm good at making decisions. I'm logical and levelheaded, and I'm great at finding the best deal. I'm bad at making quick decisions. I need to explore every option before finally committing. That's why it took me eight stores, two cities, one overnight stay, and 50 dresses before picking my wedding dress.

I had gone into one shop, let's call it Shop A, in a town about two hours away and tried on a bunch of duds. Nothing caught my eye. I told the consultant that I had liked a James Clifford dress at another shop, and they offered to sell me the sample at a discount, but I wasn't quite sure about it. So this consultant at Shop A told me she could order me the same James Clifford dress at 10% off if I ordered right then and there. That made the dress the same price as the sample dress I saw, so I still wasn't sure. I took the consultant's card and left.

The next day, I went into Shop B. "Did you go to Shop A?" the consultant asked me. I told her I did, but I wasn't impressed. "It was on the news last night. Did you see?" I had not. She then started to tell me a story about how Shop A was taking money, claiming it was ordering dresses, then, when brides and bridesmaids came to pick up the dresses they paid for, they weren't available. So they were forced to pick out dresses off the rack -- which means they often didn't fit and bridesmaids were sent down the aisle with clips down their backs.

Thank goodness I didn't purchase from Shop A, I thought as I was trying on dresses in Shop B. I found one that I liked, which basically fit me perfectly, which was great since it was from a designer who only created one of each dress and despite the consultant actually calling him directly, he refused to sew me one that was a little bigger.

"So just lose five pounds," she told me. That's not exactly what you want to hear when you're trying on wedding dresses, but the whole wedding dress purchase process is a bit cray cray. I had about ten months before our wedding day, so I figured that was possible. "Then come back and get your alterations two weeks before your wedding," the consultant said. "Our tailor is here on Wednesdays." I was told they would be done that day since I was about two hours away.

My mom thought my dress needed a little bling, so we picked out a belt at the same time. The shop owner told me I could wait until alterations to get that sewn in, so that's what I did.

Fast forward nine months.

Our wedding was three or so weeks away, so I called Shop B. No answer. I tried an hour later. No answer. I tried the next day. Someone answered, so I asked about making an appointment for alterations on Wednesday, explaining what I was told when I bought my dress. "Our tailor won't be here Wednesday," I was told. No big deal, I thought, and asked what day the tailor would be there. "Well ... " pause "We're actually closed and the shop's number directs to my cell phone, so the tailor won't be available until we reopen." When will that be, I asked. "Oh, we're not sure. Maybe a year?"

Aye yai yai.

Thank goodness I had my dress and hadn't left it there for safe keeping, as I know brides were able to do.

So I did the only thing I could think of: I googled local seamstresses. I found one that looked amazing and went to her website. She was on maternity leave indefinitely.

I checked out the second on the list -- and she was actually in Australia. Second best in my large town in North Carolina was actually in Australia? Thanks, Google. Gotta fix those geo-tags.

So I tried option three. The phone rang and, to my surprise, someone answered. I told my tale of woe and the woman on the phone told me it was fine, they would take care of me, but I had to be at the shop at 1pm the next day. No later.

The shop was 20 minutes away but I left an hour before, just to make sure. Well, wouldn't you know, I have to cross a bridge to get there and the bridge had an unscheduled opening. I'm serious when I tell you that anything that could go wrong during our wedding planning went wrong. I called the shop frantically to explain the situation. "It's fine," the woman told me on the phone. "But the lady who will be doing your alterations, well, her husband just had a heart attack and she needs to get to the hospital, so just get here as soon as you can."

What!?

Short story long: I get to the shop, she pins my dress, alters it, and I pick it up a few days before our wedding.

I tell you this story now because Alfred Angelo is all over the news. The Florida-based bridal dress shop closed. Out of nowhere. Closed without warning, without telling brides who had paid deposits, without fulfilling orders.

Oh my heart breaks for the brides, the bridesmaids, the mothers of the bride and groom, the flower girls, the employees ... anyone affected by this situation. To not know if you'll be able to get your dress -- one you spent hours shopping for and hundreds of dollars paying for -- it's a wedding headache that you don't need.

Things will go wrong at your wedding. They always do. No wedding is perfect. Bridesmaids drop out, best men turn into ghosts, guests who RSVP yes just don't show up. These things always happen. But what doesn't always happen is a dress shop going out of business.

Oddly, it happened to me because like I said, our wedding was the Murphy's Law of weddings. Shop B, it actually ended up opening back up sometime between our first and second wedding anniversary. Not in time for me, but in time for other brides. And that may happen with Alfred Angelo. It may open again or it may not. I have no idea, to be honest. All I know is right now, there are a ton of brides and bridal parties who my heart aches for.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Are you affected by this? Chat with us in the comments below or in our Facebook post about this from over the weekend.

Tricks For Ordering Dresses Online

Azazie sent this dress to A Bride On A Budget. All thoughts and opinions belong to A Bride On A Budget.

I'll be honest: Wedding dress shopping made me feel fat.

In real life, I wear a size 0 or 2 in clothes with numbers, and XS or S in clothes with letters. In dresses, I'm generally a 4. So when I went wedding dress shopping and the consultants were pulling 10's and 12's, I silently laughed to myself. They must be due for an eye exam, I thought.

Oh no. When I put on those dresses and they fit (some with the help of a clamp in the back, some without), I silently cried to myself. I felt fat. Really fat. And when a consultant pulled my eventual wedding dress and told me it was a European cut so it was a size smaller than American dresses ... and that my dress was the only one of its kind ... and a European size 8, it took all the prayers I could muster (plus some clever handiwork by the consultant) to get me into it.

And then she told me to lose ten pounds.

That's not exactly the feeling you want to have when you're trying on dresses for the day when you should feel most beautiful.

I got over it, lost a couple pounds before wedding day, got into my European size 8 dress (and, with the help of a friend, got out of it), and felt beautiful. I look back on photos and I just really love my dress -- regardless of what size the tag says it was.

But, had I been shopping online for a dress and not in stores, I would have bought a size 4. I would have never in my wildest dreams thought to order anything larger because, in real life, I'm not larger. But wedding dresses -- and bridesmaids dresses too -- they make their own rules.

So dress shopping online can be scary -- especially because you're not buying some cheap department store dress with a coupon. You're spending quite a bit of money and many online sites have a non-existent return policy. Plus, many sites that sell wedding dresses have a long lag time, like three to four months oftentimes. So if you order the wrong size, you don't have time for an exchange even if that was a possibility.

For someone like me, it's all too nerve-wracking.

And that's why I really am a fan of Azazie. The online dress shop has a ton of dresses, but that's not the best part. It also has a sample program. Right now, it's available for bridal gowns and will return this spring for bridesmaids dresses. You choose up to two bridal gowns, try them for a small fee (which covers shipping), and then return them within a week. It helps to see how the dress fits and really helps to determine what size you need.

Keep in mind, if you're between sizes, it's easier to suck up your pride and go up a size than suck in your stomach and go down a size.

We got a chance to order the Nadia dress in spa. I ordered up a size because I have a wide rib cage and dresses are often tight on me there, making it hard to zip. If you're unsure about sizing, you can talk with a specialist at Azazie. I did, but I'm stubborn and still ordered a size up ... and then had to get it taken in. So the lesson, really, is listen to the people who do this for a living. They know what's up.

The dress itself is beautiful. It came in a dress bag, which is especially great if you're traveling to a wedding. The dress bag will keep it safe.

Now, just a few facts about ordering dresses online, in case you're considering it:

Tricks For Ordering Dresses Online

• Not all dresses are created equally. Just because you are a size 4 at one store doesn't mean you are at another. Look for a size chart on each website to make sure you are ordering a dress that fits.
• Not all dresses can be returned. If you are hesitant about ordering, check out the site's return policy. Some have one, some don't, some have one for certain items only.
• Be sure to use a secured site only. If you're paying by credit card, you want to make sure the website is secured. Look for a little lock in your web browser. You want to make sure your payment method is secure and won't be stolen.
• Try and get a swatch before ordering. If you can get a swatch first, get one. You'll be able to see the color and fabric before, so you know if it's what you want or not.
• Order with time to spare. Dresses take time to make, and you want to leave enough time for the dress to be created -- and then altered by your local seamstress if you need.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Did you order your dress online? Tell us your story in the comments.

What Is Bridesmaid Dress Shopping Like?

Wedding dress shopping was so hard for me ... but bridesmaid dress shopping? Oh, that was a breeze! I didn't have to do anything but watch my bridesmaids put on a fashion show for me.

But, really though, what is bridesmaid dress shopping like?

If you go to a chain dress shop, you can check the styles online before you go. Most will allow you to search by color, which is a good way to sort. Since your bridesmaids dresses really need to match your wedding colors, you want to eliminate any dresses that aren't in your colors (and avoid potentially falling in love with that dress and then needing to change your entire color scheme).

I actually did this with my maid of honor the night before we went bridesmaid dress. I texted a bunch of photos with huge bows and puffy shoulders to my bridesmaids, joking that I would be picking those. But, really, I found a dress I loved (although it only came in wisteria, not eggplant like I had originally wanted for my bridesmaids), but went to the store with an open mind.

Three of my bridesmaids met me at the store the next day. Before they started trying on dresses, the consultant asked for their shoe sizes. She wanted them to try on dresses while wearing heels (which is what you do when you're wedding dress shopping too). She brought over a few pairs, then asked for their dress sizes so she could grab the closest samples.

I sat in a chair. That's basically all I did for most of the time we were there.

I told the consultant about a long gown I saw online that was just incredible. It had ruffles down the front and was perfect for our summer wedding at the beach. She grabbed three so everyone could try it on simultaneously. It looked amazing on two of my girls ... but looked like a mess on my maid of honor, so it was crossed off the short list.

The consultant pulled a few other samples for the girls to try on, but I was underwhelmed. So I left my chair and rummaged through the racks. I found a few I liked, so the consultant left to pull them for all three girls.

There was a dress that all three of them looked great in ... but it looked like they were going to a club rather than to a wedding. Maybe a guest or two might show up in something like that, but it wasn't bridesmaid-appropriate.

And, finally, after trying so hard to not just go with the one I found originally, I gave in. I asked the girls to try that one.

Of course, as luck would have it, I just loved it on all three of the girls. They were all different shapes and sizes, but they all looked beautiful. I just knew that would translate well to the other bridesmaids who weren't able to make it to shop with us. I was upset that it didn't come in eggplant, but our colors were eggplant, lilac, and silver. Since lilac and wisteria are just different ways to say similar colors, I had to decide what was more important: having a dress I loved or having a dress in a darker purple hue. I told myself that since it was summer, the lighter dress would look better, and I abandoned my dream of bridesmaids in eggplant.

This is why I'm warning you to filter by color before you even look at dresses. You don't want to fall into my situation.

I said yes to that dress and, as the consultant went to grab paperwork, one of my bridesmaids encouraged me to ring the "Say Yes To The Dress" bell that's usually reserved for brides ... which I did, ever so quietly, after the consultant turned the corner.

She came back and took down the names of my bridesmaids who were there and asked what sizes they wanted to order. And that's the hard part. You may not exactly try on a dress in your size or you may be in-between sizes and you'll have to get the dress altered. Plus, between shopping and ship time, you might lose a couple pounds and that could change your dress size. So you need to order the closest size, without going under (basically, the opposite of The Price Is Right). If you order a size too small, there won't be any extra material to make the dress bigger. If you order a size too large, though, you can always take it in or up.

The bridesmaids who were there ordered their dresses immediately (and then we went out for pizza). The others had to call the shop, give my name, and then they could order.

When the dresses came in (and the arrival times were staggered, based on size availability), the shop called the girls to pick them up. Whoever needed alterations got those done, and they all showed up in perfect dresses on my wedding day. It was the first time I had seen all my bridesmaids in the dress and I couldn't have been happier. No one complained (not to me anyway), so I think they were all happy too.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What was your bridesmaid dress shopping experience like?

Would You Wear White To A Wedding?

Someone wore white to our rehearsal dinner and a friend pulled me off to the side. "Did you see ... " she said and, before she could even finish, I said yes. Personally, I was in a very light cream hi-low dress because I couldn't find a white dress I liked. So was I upset? Not really until the next day when the same woman wore a partially white dress.

My friends and I still talk about it from time to time. It actually came up over the weekend with a friend. And today, Pete actually brought it up. Even he knows you shouldn't wear white to someone else's wedding.

But ... the more I thought about it, the more I wondered: Would you wear white to a wedding?

So my gut reaction is no. With the exception of a black and white wedding, only the bride should wear white. That's what I say.

Except ... well, let me tell you a story.

I was in charge of taking my cousin to her surprise bridal shower. I went up to New York for it and had packed one dress for the event: a cute, white lacy dress that I had just bought. My cousin's maid of honor got in touch with me about an hour before I was set to leave to let me know me know my cousin had bought a white dress for the shower. Her fiance knew it was bridal shower day so he was going to try to get her in the dress, but it was up to me to guarantee that she didn't leave the house in anything else.

I looked down at my dress and sighed. If I showed up to her house in a white dress, there was a chance that she wouldn't want to match and she'd change. And that would screw up everything. I had left behind a simple black dress when I moved (left it behind, mostly, because I didn't have intentions of ever wearing in again) and that's what I wore. My grandma assured me that I didn't have to change and that my new dress was pretty and perfect, but I changed anyway.

And I'm glad I did because, see, I didn't know that brides wore white to their bridal shower. I don't know where that started, but it sort of appeared out of nowhere and I was unaware.

But no white at a wedding unless you're the bride. That's a thing.

Except ... well, let me show you a picture.

That's me at my friend Nicole's wedding four years ago (this month). I wish I could say that's me on the right, but you guys know better. I'm the happy one in the black and white on the left; her cousin Lauren is in the red.

Yes. I'm in black and white. Pete's friend had actually given me that dress a week or so before the wedding and I was so happy to have somewhere to wear it because it was all sorts of beautiful. And I'm smiling and happy at the wedding (although completely exhausted because this is so close to the end of the night). And Nicole is there, smiling like a pretty princess even though my dress is half white. And, honestly, even though the person in the back of this photo is also wearing white.

You know what? I didn't realize until this weekend -- when it once again came up that someone wore white to my wedding -- that this is what I wore to Nicole's wedding. I've had a photo from her wedding on our fridge for over three years and I still didn't realize I wore white.

So, the truth? You're not supposed to wear white to a wedding that isn't yours (unless it's at the bride's request), but sometimes, you just absolutely don't realize it.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you wear white to a wedding?

What Every Bride Needs To Know Before Wedding Dress Shopping

I'm insanely picky. Making decisions, that's not my forte. I just want to be absolutely, unequivocally sure that I'm choosing the correct option. Yes, the correct. Not the best.

And therein lies my problem. I can't pick an option that works. I have to pick the one that is right. And since I can't know what is right until I exhaust every option and then make a decision, well, decisions are difficult.

I'm not like this with every decision. If you ask me if I if I want coffee, I will say yes regardless of the time. Chocolate? Count me in. But deciding on a wedding dress? It took me three cities, 50 dresses, and an overnight stay in a cheap hotel.

Part of the problem (besides my indecisive nature) was that no one told me anything about wedding dress shopping before I went besides the cliche, "When you find it, you'll just know." Not only was that poor advice, it also never happened. More accurate advice would have been, "If you're trying on number 50, just buy it and stop dragging your mom around to dress shops."

To prevent you (and your mom, maid of honor, whoever) from that same fate, I put together a list of what every bride needs to know before wedding dress shopping that will hopefully help.

What Every Bride Needs To Know Before Wedding Dress Shopping

Appointments are required. And long.
You can't just show up to a bridal shop to try on dresses. You need to make an appointment. See, it's not like a regular store where you can pick up a few items, head into a fitting room to try them on, and then decide. You need a consultant. She knows the store and where specific dresses are located, she knows the inventory, and she knows just how to lace up that corset back. And since that consultant will be with you during the entire time, you need to make an appointment to book her.

An appointment will generally take between 90 minutes and two hours, so block that time out. If you're booking appointments at multiple dress shops on the same day, be sure to block out a couple hours for the appointment and travel time.

When you make an appointment, be sure to ask if you have to pay a fee. There are shops that will charge you (as a way to deter the people who are trying on dresses because they're bored). Often, that money will be applied to your dress purchase, if you choose to shop there. Definitely ask first.

Bring high heels. Or don't. That's okay too.
This is pretty well known if you've been in a wedding party before, but for some reason, I just completely blanked. You're supposed to bring your wedding shoes with you to try on dresses, but that's pretty impossible since you usually don't choose your wedding shoes until you know the style and color of your dress. Instead, you'll want to bring heels that you're comfortable in and that are pretty much the height of the heels you anticipate wearing on your wedding day.

If you walk in the bridal shop without heels, it's okay. You don't have to feel completely inadequate to dress shop (therefore getting embarrassed and having your decision making thrown off). Every bridal shop I went to had heels that brides could use when trying on the dress. It just gives you an idea of how the dress will change with heels.

When you go for your fittings, though, you definitely need to bring your wedding day heels.

You sort of have to go in with an idea of what you want, but there's a good chance that will change once you start trying on dresses.
I was sure, absolutely sure, that I was going to have a ball gown. I wanted a huge princess bottom. Indecisive Lisa had that narrowed down. "Are you sure?" the first consultant asked me. "Yes, I'm sure," I told her. So she walked me through the store and we picked up a few ball gowns for me to try on. They were heavy. Really heavy. There's so much material to them that the dress weighs a lot. I was willing to make the sacrifice until a consultant offered up this tidbit: You'll be wearing that dress all day, walking in it, dancing it, and just wearing it. It might weigh you down.

I was still set on a ball gown when I was in another store. A consultant laced me into the corset, then had to grab the phone or help another customer or go to the bathroom. I'm honestly not sure where she went, but she told me and my mom that she'd be right back. So there I stood in this pretty ball gown for three minutes, five minutes, ten minutes. And that's when my breathing started to get labored. "I can't stand anymore," I said to my mom as I sat down -- very properly -- in this dress. The corset made it so I couldn't hunch my shoulders even one bit. After a few minutes, I was over. "Can you actually wear that all day?" my mom asked me. "Nope," I said. And my dreams of a ball gown turned into a less-heavy A-line.

Pictures help, but might not always be allowed. 
My mom was taking photos of me in every dress so we could compare them. Without those, the dresses would have started to blend together. There were two boutiques I went into that wouldn't let us take photo though. It was to protect the designers, they told me, but I honestly think they were worried customers would try on expensive, high-end dresses, take photos, and then order cheap knock offs online. So before your mom turns into the paparazzi, be sure to make sure the shop will allow it.

Dress shopping will make you feel fat, which isn't the best mentality to shop.
I wanted to feel like a princess on my wedding day. I think everyone does. But I didn't feel like that when I was dress shopping. See, in real life, I wear either a 0 or a 2. Dresses are cut slimmer, so I wear a 4. But when I tried on wedding dresses, the consultant was grabbing sizes 10 and 12. I thought she would use every clamp in the store to close the dresses, but I was wrong. So many of them fit perfectly. I was feeling bad, but then a consultant told me, "You were made for a wedding dress." They were fitting perfectly and I started to focus on that rather than a number on a tag.

Sample dresses don't necessarily save you money.
The Internet is filled with wedding dress advice that says to buy a sample dress because it will be offered at a discount and will save you money. It's been tried on, sure, but the discount is alluring to brides who are spending thousands of dollars on a wedding. But I'm here to debunk that once and for all. See, at the first shop I went to, I sort of loved a sample dress. I almost bought it, actually. It was discounted to $2,750. It was a big big price tag, so I said I had to think about it. I texted a bunch of people to find out how much they paid because that sounded ridiculously high to me, but it was the first shop I went to so I didn't have much to gauge it on. One of Pete's sisters told me to get it because my boobs looked incredible and his other sister told me to sop around. Basically, it was a split vote.

When I was shopping in another town, I mentioned the dress to a consultant. That shop carried the designer but not that dress. She could, however, order it for me for $3,000. That store offered a 10% discount if you ordered the day of your first appointment, making the dress only $2,700 -- cheaper than the sample. The motto? Shopping around may save you more than buying a sample and you get a brand new dress.

Don't shop by the price tag.
I set my wedding dress budget really high. It wasn't that I wanted to spend an exorbitant amount, but I didn't want to limit myself. I wanted to let myself fall in love with a dress and then worry about the price later. That's how I ended up trying on a $4,800 dress that, according to the consultant, could be changed into the dress of my dreams with about a grand worth of alterations.

I didn't buy that dress, but I didn't buy a bargain dress either. For my veil, belt, and dress, I spent less than 25% of my wedding dress budget. And I got a really pretty dress that people just loved. I also lent my veil to my brother's wife on their wedding day, so that stretched my money further. But, honestly, when I was trying dresses on, I never looked at the price tag until after I decided if I liked it or not. I didn't want the price to influence the amount I did (or didn't) like a dress.

Buying off the rack is okay.
I bought my dress off the rack. I was in a small boutique in Raleigh (about two hours from home) on day two of our impromptu overnight shopping trip. It was made by an American designer who, when the consultant called to see if there was one in my dress size of 10 rather than the 8 that was in the store, said no. That was the only one and there was no way he was going to make me another that was larger (so it was up to me to lose a couple pounds if it didn't fit right). I paid for the dress and took it home that night (and let it sit in my closet for ten-ish months).

When we did get home, I watched a news report out of Raleigh about a wedding dress shop -- that we had been in the day before -- that was taking money from brides, but not ordering their dresses. They'd say the dresses hadn't come in yet (which was true, I guess, because a dress can't come in if it's not ordered) and they would make the bride scramble to pick something in the shop at the last minute. Those brides weren't safer ordering brand new dresses, so heed that warning and don't let the rack scare you. Plus, you can always get your dress steam cleaned before your wedding if you are concerned about it being handled.

It can be altered.
If you buy a dress, but it's missing some bling, you can have a blingy belt sewn in. If the top is just a little too big, you can add cups. If you want a bustle, a seamstress can make that happen. If it's too long, it can be hemmed. Don't let minor faults in the dress stop you from buying it.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What other advice would you give to a bride before wedding dress shopping?

Five Ways To Reuse Your Bridesmaids Dress (After the wedding, of course)

I absolutely loved the bridesmaids dresses I picked for my girls. I loved them so much that I thought I might end up picking the dress up for myself to wear to a wedding in the future. And I loved the shoes I finally ended up picking for them. It took months of looking (seriously), but I ended up going with these Nina Women's Forbes Satin Peep-Toe Pump in silver. My bridesmaids said they were heels that they would be able to reuse, which is great because so often bridesmaids end up with heels and a dress that will forever be stuffed in the back of a closet.

If I'm being honest, my friend is about to celebrate her eleven year wedding anniversary to her high school sweetheart in a few months. And my bridesmaid dress from that wedding is still sitting in a bag in my parents' basement. I never even took it to get cleaned. I just put it in a bag and figured her wedding was over so I had no use for that used bridesmaid dress. And that was that.

Do you have a dress or two like that? If you do, this post is for you.

Five Ways To Reuse Your Bridesmaids Dress  (After The Wedding, Of Course)

1. Go as a prom queen for Halloween.
It's almost an instant Halloween costume. Pick up a prom queen sash and prom queen crown and you're done. Seriously, it was that easy. You can even wear the bridesmaids heels too so you're reusing everything.

2. Donate it (to a company or a friend).
There are websites out there like Fairy Godmothers Inc. that will allow you to donate your bridesmaids dress. The dress must be less than five seasons old, so you need to do this as soon as possible. The dresses can then be purchased at an incredible discount (think $10) to girls in need who are planning to go to prom. If you're never going to wear it, you might as well donate it to someone who will. (Small aside: We have no personal relationship with Fairy Godmothers Inc. I just found them when I was googling. I didn't do too much research into them, so you might want to look deeper.)

If you don't want to mail it to a company you found online, and your local donation center won't take it, ask a friend. Friends ask me all the time if I have dresses they can borrow. If you're closet looks like Katherine Heigl from 27 Dresses, you should let your friends shop in your closet.

3. Turn it into a baby blanket.
If you know how to sew, this is a perfect idea. Use the front of your dress as one side of the blanket and purchase flannel material for the other side. Use the majority of the dress for the actual blanket and save any ruffles or bows to decorate the blanket. If you're like me and can't sew, you can purchase something like this on etsy (Small aside: I haven't purchased anything from that etsy seller. I just bookmarked that link because I love this idea.)

4. Wear it to another wedding.
The photo above is from my friend Mallory's wedding. She asked her bridesmaids to purchase matching shoes (which I was obsessed with) and then told them they could purchase any dress as long as it was black. The style was up to the bridesmaid. That makes bridesmaids dress shopping easy, doesn't it? Purchase whatever you love best, as long as the color works. With that sort of dress shopping, you can guarantee that the bridesmaid dress is something you like and can wear again. If it's a little too fancy for date night, save it for another wedding.

5. Toss it.
I know, this is the most horrible solution, but if you're never going to wear your bridesmaid dress again, you can't find someone to accept your donation, a friend doesn't want it, and the bride is never getting pregnant, just throw it out. Don't let it take up valuable closet space. Just let it go.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What are some other ways to reuse your bridesmaid dress?

Disney Is Making A Frozen Wedding Dress (Check out the sketch!)

I've never seen Frozen. I know the song "Let It Go" is very popular among little kids, but I've never heard it in its entirety. In fact, the only time I've really heard the song is when my Facebook friends post videos of their kids singing it.

No kids, so I've been living in a a Frozen-free zone.

I know the girls are Anna and Elsa and one of them wants to build a snowman. Small aside: Do they build a snowman? Anyone know? Because I don't. I also don't know if anyone actually finds Nemo in Finding Nemo because I fell asleep before the ending and never decided to finish it.

These are questions I probably need answered before we decide to have children. But the question I need answered right now is: Would you want to wear a Frozen-themed wedding dress?

Photo credit

Disney Weddings is pairing with designer Alfred Angelo to create a Frozen wedding dress as part of the 2015 Disney Fairy Tale Weddings by Alfred Angelo collection.

Now, before you hit pause on this idea because it sounds a little extreme, this collaboration isn't being started just for Frozen. The 2014 collection has dresses with a style for all your favorite princesses: Cinderella, Jasmine, Snow White, Tiana, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel, Rapunzel, and Belle. I'm in love with this Cinderella dress, which looks nothing like the blue dress I remember her wearing in the movie.

The rumor is the Frozen wedding gown will actually be blue, which is something I'm not completely a fan of. I love white dresses, can accept ivory dresses, and wouldn't try on anything colored. I did see a bride-to-be fall in love with a green Vera Wang dress while I was dress shopping, so it's definitely a style for some people. I'm just not that person.

The Disney wedding dresses on the site run between $999 and $1,399, which is a lot less than some of the boutiques I went into when I was dress shopping. The James Clifford that I originally liked was $2,700 if I bought the sample. So these Disney bridal gowns are pretty reasonable. Plus, you can pair them with the Disney Princess engagement rings everyone was gaga over not too long ago.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Would you wear a blue wedding dress?

Dress Fitting Day (and the moment of truth)

I work fourteen hour days in front of a computer, sitting and blogging and existing seven steps from my refrigerator. When we moved to North Carolina and that became my status quo, I gained a little weight. Nothing crazy, but I just wasn't where I wanted to be.

But I'm one of those people who sit and eat ice cream when I watch The Biggest Loser. And I understand when I see those people binge eat and not do anything active afterwards. I'm not huge like many of them, but I'm just as lazy.

When we got engaged, that didn't change. I didn't have a dress and I knew I had nineteen months before the big day, so I wasn't in any sort of rush.

And then, in August, I went dress shopping. That's a whole different post for a different day, but I went and the dress fit perfectly, so I was told to lose ten pounds.

Ten pounds?

I had never even tried to lose one pound ever in my life, so ten sounded ridiculous.

When I tried the dress on a second time that day, she told me to try and lose five pounds instead. But still, five sounded impossible.

I got home, weighed myself, realized I was more than I had ever been in my life (and ever wanted to be) and that was that. A few times after, I would walk the park or do a little cardio at the gym. My mom told me that once January hit, I would start to get in shape. I thought so ... but January came and went and I had been in the gym maybe four times that month (with three being that first week).

And then Lent came and I gave up chocolate and I thought I was doing much better swapping chocolate bars for butter pecan ice cream (okay, I knew I wasn't doing myself any favors, but I wasn't eating chocolate so that was a step).

But my weight was still not where I wanted because eliminating chocolate and doing nothing else doesn't exactly drop any pounds. So with about two months to go, I started making myself walk two miles every afternoon. It's not much, but it's a start.

That picture is proof that it was still chilly when I started this.

The first week of May, my wedding twin told me about an app called My Fitness Pal. It tracks your calories and was a really conscious way for me to see just how much I was eating. It forced me to measure my food and I realized my serving of butter pecan ice cream was double or triple what the actual serving size is. And the amount of caramel syrup I put on top is quite a few servings.

It also taught me that one delicious Ferrero Rocher chocolate is 73 calories. That's one piece. I eat three at a time. So over 200 calories of chocolate in about a minute. Can't do that when you're only supposed to have 1,200. But this is all stuff I wasn't consciously aware of until I started using the app.

So I'm about four weeks into the app and trying to walk three times a week. So far, so decent. I'm not going to say good because I've definitely skipped more days of walking than I should, but my calories have been on point (even that one cheat day that we went to a concert and one-third of my calories were Cool Ranch Doritos).

Last time I was on the scale, it said I had lost eight pounds. But ... that was coming from a scale with a low battery, so it could be completely inaccurate. I mean, it would give me one weight, and then I would step on again and it would give me a lower weight. I would step on two more times and it would always give me the lower weight, so that's what I went with.

Pete said I look exactly the same, so who knows. What I do know is that my scale told me yesterday I weight 62 pounds ... because the battery is basically dead. And it's not traditional batteries that it takes. Nope. It needs a watch battery. And I don't have one of those lying around.

I'm nervous -- super nervous -- because I'm bringing my dress in for alterations today and it will be the first time I'm putting it on since the day I bought it. I think I am basically the same size (except for, potentially, eight pounds) so it shouldn't need to come in on the sides. I'm hoping it's just the bustle and a belt getting sewn in. It shouldn't need a hem and the sides shouldn't need adjusting. But the consultant was a miracle worker with the corset back and zipped me up like a pro. So who knows if that magic will happen again today. If not, the dress won't fit, it will have to be altered more than I'm expecting, and I have no idea if that's a project that can be done in less than three weeks.

Because, yes, we have less than three weeks to go. Seriously, I'm becoming a Breatharian (okay, not seriously because I love food too much, so my dress really just needs to fit).

BRIDAL BABBLE: Have you tried to diet for your wedding?

Pantone Announced It's 2014 Color -- And A Hint About My Bridesmaid Dresses

I was in New York for a week for Thanksgiving and decided it was the best time to go bridesmaid dress shopping. If we didn't go then, I'm not sure we'd ever go.

I wanted eggplant, but the dress I fell in love with didn't come in eggplant. It only came in a light purple version, which is sort of like lilac, and I'm okay with that.

I was online three days later and saw this ...

That color up top, the 2014 Pantone color of the year -- Radiant Orchid -- that's the exact color I picked for the bridesmaids dresses.

I had no idea the color was going to be so important in 2014, but now my 2014 wedding looks completely on trend. Oh, the little things.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What color are your bridesmaids' dresses?

Virtual Engagement Party: Bridesmaid Dresses From Shabby Apple

A Bride On A Budget received this dress for review. All thoughts and opinions belong to ABOAB.

I haven't gone bridesmaid dress shopping with my girls yet. To be honest, I haven't even brainstormed them yet. I want them to wear something nice but still be comfortable. I want them to look special and stand out, but still be comfortable.

And that's exactly what Shabby Apple sells.

In fact, I got a chance to browse Shabby Apple's collection and pick my favorite for review. It was hard. Shabby Apple, which sells gorgeous retro clothing, has a fantastic line of bridesmaid dresses. I was in love with a bunch of them, but my favorite was the Alice.

The Tiffany blue is stunning, and the bit of lace that peeps out the bottom is so fun and romantic. If I was having my girls wear this, I would probably suggest a belt and have them get it sewn in when they got their dresses altered, just to give it a little more pop because the one on it just fades in. The dress is really soft and flowy, and it's constructed really well. The fabric is thick and not see-through, which is important. This dress says it has a snug fit and to order one size up. My other Shabby Apple dress is an XS and it fits perfectly, so I ordered a 4 for this dress (as opposed to a 0/2, which would be equivalent to the XS of the other dress) ... but it doesn't fit. It seems to fit, but I can't get it to zip in the back, and I'm scared to pull it because I don't want to tear the lace. I should have ordered two sizes larger. That's the only thing I would caution you about it you order your bridesmaid dresses online. Tell your girls to order two sizes larger because they can easily be altered down but it's very hard to alter and make the dress larger.
Most of the dresses are around $100, which is half of what I paid for the last two weddings I was in, so it's almost a steal. There are a few with higher price tags, so just keep an eye on that.
BRIDAL BABBLE: Which of Shabby Apple's dresses is your fave?

Say Yes To The Dress (At least, I keep hoping to say it)

Pete was sitting in bed, listening to music on his laptop. I went in, laid next to him, and basically collapsed on his lap.

"This is hard," I complained. "I'm getting burnt out."

"Did you think it was going to be easy?" he said.

"Not easy, but, like, the situation is just so incredibly frustrating that it's, well, it's not fun anymore."

"You've been saying this every single time," he reminded me.

And he's right. Every step of the way has been such an arduous task, so why I thought wedding dress shopping would be any different is a mystery to me.

I started out all excited, ready to play dress up.

And now, four stores and a couple dozen dresses later, I'm starting to look unhappy.

What's working out in my favor (or not, depending on how you look at it) is, as one consultant after another told me: I have a body for wedding dresses. One consultant told me that means I can fill out the top of a wedding dress, which is usually something brides-to-be can't do.

I was shocked because my whole life, I've been pretty flat chested. But I'm "fat for me" right now, and I've gained it all in my chest. So luckily, every dress I've tried on, from a size 4 to a 12, have actually fit pretty accurately. I'll know where the waist will hit, where the hem will fall, exactly how the train will look when I walk down the aisle. Every dress looks gorgeous but no dress is the dress. Nothing has made me cry. Nothing has made me think, "I don't care what the price tag is, I need this."

It's frustrating.

I've been to so many stores and tried on so many wedding dresses that at this point, I've gone from saying, "I want a dress with a big bottom and no straps" to "I'm looking for a ball gown with a tiered bottom or an A-line with a ruffled skirt, no pickups, with a sweetheart neck. I really prefer beaded tops, but I would do lace. I like organza and hate tulle and English netting."

I said that at one store when she asked what I was looking for and the reply was, "Well you just outruled the entire store."

I didn't even tell her that I was also vetoing anything with a basque waist.

It's not that I'm being overly picky (although with a wedding dress, it's definitely okay to be). It's that I've tried on more dresses than I can remember and I'm learning exactly what I want. The trouble is, I just can't find it.

So when a consultant asks me what my budget is, I say I don't have one. And it's true. At no point in this process have I even looked at the price tag on a dress before deciding to try it on. I don't want to limit myself. And so far, nothing has come close to the enormous budget I'm giving myself. I mean, it's so high that it's the entire budget of some weddings. Would I spend that? Oh, gosh, I hope not. But I've been allowing myself to mentally spend that so that I don't limit the wedding dresses I try on.

It's just mentally draining, to be honest. Please tell me I'm not the only one who went through this.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Is it just me or did you have a tough time finding a wedding dress as well?

Would You Buy Your Wedding Dress At Target?

I'm okay with Target. I don't go there hardly ever because it's a hike from my apartment, but I would go a bunch when I was in New York because there was one in the mall and one was walking distance from my house (not that I would walk to Target because it would involve walking back with something to heavy or bulky to realistically carry back).

I really like Target enough to actually call it Target and not try to jazz it up by calling it Tarjay. Maybe for a store like Marshalls, you want to make it sound French and high end. But Target is fine with me.

Well, fine for things like bedsheets or garbage pails or groceries. But my wedding dress?

No.

Just no.

But yet, Target decided to sell wedding dresses.

According to this article on Yahoo, those dresses above are part of the collection, which starts under $100.

You can check out the full press release if you're so inclined.

I understand you want to save money, but that's why there are things like trunk sales. I just don't know that I could walk into my wedding and have the following conversation.

Someone: Where did you get your dress?
Me: Target.
Someone: Wait. Did you say Target?
Me: Um, Tarjay?

I mean, imagine being in the entertainment aisle. You decide you want to buy Guilt Trip because you really like Barbra Streisand, and to your left is Father of the Bride. And it reminds you that you haven't gotten your wedding dress yet, so you might as well put down your cart filled with items from the Dollar Spot and try some gowns on.

No.

Just no.

You can take a peek at the Target bridal collection (which boasts wedding dresses, bridesmaids gowns, flower girl dresses, and more), if you're curious. The bridesmaids dresses all cost $69.99, and I'm sure my girls would love to pay that. By comparison, I paid $200 for the dress for my cousin's wedding in March.

So the price is right, but the location just seems so wrong.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Be honest. Would you buy your wedding dress from Target?

Confessions From The Fitting Room: Part 1

I was in the fitting room at a bridal store the other day. No no, not for me. I'm in my cousin's wedding in March and I was getting my bridesmaid dress altered.

As I was waiting for the seamstress to come and pin me, I could hear the discussion in the room over.

A woman was trying on dresses, none of which seemed to look the way they should. The best I heard her say was one looked "decent."

Finally, exasperatedly, she exclaimed: My kids should have gotten married when they were 12. I was skinnier then.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What's the best conversation you overheard at the dress shop?

Hello My Name Is Bridezilla: Dress Edition

I understand now how women become Bridezilla. Part of it is because they're crazy, part of it is because planning a wedding it an insane process, and part of it is because people allow it.

Am I becoming bridezilla? Yes. But don't blame me. Blame Pete who says he understands, and blame my cousin Lisa, who tried on dresses for me.

I want a red dress with black sides for my engagement party, and my dress shopping was a huge fail. So my cousin went to the mall on her sister's birthday and spent her time dress shopping.

For me.

She found a ton of red and black dresses, just like I was looking for.

That first one was almost exactly what I wanted.

And then I told her I was looking at a dress on Express' website because there are no Express stores here. So she went there to take a photo.

It's the one on the right, by the way.

Do you want me to try the first one and the Express one on so you can see what they look like? she texted.

OMG, yes, but holy crap. I feel like bridezilla, I said.

No! Don't feel bad. Really, I'm here for whatever you want.

So I told her what to try on, and she said:

Please please please never feel bad to ask. I want to help as much as I can.

And, feeling like Bridezilla, I said: If you say it's okay, then I believe you, but it makes me feel like Bridezilla, like, "Go try on a dress."

So she said: You only get to have one wedding, so I want you to have everything you want, even if that means me going to get it. I want everything perfect for you.

And then she tried on dresses, although noted that she doesn't know how to pose or what kind of faces to make.

She also didn't know her unmatching socks were going to be forever on the internet.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Have you ever tried on a dress for someone?

Dress Shopping Fail

Our engagement party is going to be our practice wedding. We're having over 100 guests, and I'm responsible for centerpieces, favors, all that.

I have a red theme because, well, this love is red hot (I'm kidding on the reason, of course, but we are having a red engagement party). So I want a red dress and I know the exact red dress that I'm looking for. I want it red in the middle and black on the sides so your eyes are drawn to the bold color and I will look extra super skinny in these photos that I will eventually show my kids and grandkids.

I went to JC Penney because I had a $10 off coupon and I'm cheap. I didn't expect to find my perfect dress for $10, but I expected to find my perfect dress for $10 off.

And I actually sorta found the exact dress I wanted. Except it was XL and I need XS.

I carried around the XL for a little while, thinking about trying it on. I figured maybe -- MAYBE -- it would magically fit because, seriously, look at those dresses behind the one I wanted. Those were my options. There one that's got lace for no reason, another with every color of the rainbow, one that's falling apart and strings are all over the floor. That's what I was working with.

The closest I found was the one below. It's more of a wine than red, but beggars can't be choosers (well, they shouldn't be but they really could be). Trouble was, the smallest size was size 4 and it made me look frumpy and shapeless, which is completely opposite of what I actually want. 

Next.

I gave up on red and tried purple, since that's going to be my wedding color. I figured maybe I could pick up something for my rehearsal dinner ... which will be happening in 20 months. But it's good to be prepared, right?

Well, this dress would be perfect if I decided to get implants right under my boobs. Look how much room there is. And if you look close, you can tell that the bottom is actually see through. Not very appropriate for any wedding-related party.

I tried on a blue dress because I completely gave up on any themes, and that's the one Pete saw. He said it looked like I was buying my Halloween costume.

So no dress for me yet. I have about a month to find one.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Any store suggestions? Clearly, I need help.