I am go with the flow, until I’m not. I knew if we were going to have an actual wedding ceremony, that the perfect dress was a non-negotiable. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted but I knew that I would know it when I saw it.
I accidentally tumbled upon etsy.com and their gorgeous wedding dress selection early in my wedding planning process and decided to give it a try. Many of the dresses are custom made on international soil, cutting out the middle man. The dresses run anywhere from $70 to $10,000 but the ability to customize is what really makes it worth it.
Here are some of the dresses I initially drooled over.
Source: ElDesign Studio
source: Sofitdress
source: misdress
source: misdress
I found myself drawn to the shop Misdress which is managed from China by a woman name Kim. They seemed to have that illusion neckline that I adored and the shop had favorable reviews. I definitely contacted about four girls who ordered from her for pictures of their dresses before hand. I was drawn to the last dress which we in our household affectionately termed, the ‘Nakey Dress’. The dress was a little too nakey for me and risky for unpredictable October weather. Plus, it like the other dresses on the list, didn’t quite feel like me. Or our woodsy yet preppy wedding.
I selected four or five (yes, I said it) dresses that I liked and picked the features I wanted and explained them to Ms. Kim. She said no problem, asked for my measurements, and quoted me $190 and a Valentine’s day arrival if I paid that day (1/28). I figured that the worst that could happen was that the dress would blow and I would be out $190 so I pulled the proverbial trigger. We agreed on the end of March as the deadline to have the dress but she assured me, no later than Valentine’s day.
Fast forward a month later and Valentine’s day comes and goes with no updated shipping or communication from Ms. Kim. I contacted her two days later and she responded promptly saying they needed more time if possible and would have it sent out by February 29th which was no problem since our wedding is in October. On March 4th after no updated shipping, I communicated again only for it to be delayed due to “prom season”. Wrong answer, Ms Kim. After a frustrated email from me, she agreed to March 10th. On March 9th, she asked for another email to overnight it as a PO box can not receive a shipment from UPS. No problem. Overnight comes and goes and still no dress. One week later and still no dress.
On March 18th, I received a medium sized package in my post office box with a Chinese return address. IT CAME!
And it was perfect! The dress is absolutely exquisite. Beautiful craftsmanship. Great tailoring. Amazing fabric and best of all custom fit. There is very little need for alteration. The only thing that needs to be done is that the top of the dress needs to be let out an inch. My measurements were done at Carolina Bridal World (serious eye roll) and the girl measured my bust two inches too small because I was wearing layers and she wanted it to fit nice and tight. Now my dress is too small.
So this is no fault of Ms. Kim’s. The dress is everything I hoped it would be and more and minus some communication flaws that resulted in my dress coming a month later than expected, it was a perfect transaction. And scoring “the” dress for only $190 was worth it.
**********Update*****************
Now that we are FINALLY married, I can show you guys the dress I waited so long for.
And here’s a few of me in it so you can see how it fit.