the dresses that didn't quite make the cut.

Since I'm getting back into the swing of wedding planning, and since I have officially figured out my wedding dress, I thought I'd share all of the dresses that I tried on that didn't quite make the cut. My friend Amanda and I spent a day dress hunting back in January. It wound up being the only day that I tried on dresses, because a couple of weeks later I saw the one that I had to have in the new BHLDN collection. Which made me very happy, because the whole dress thing was stressing me out.

Anyways, my budget was around $600, and all these dresses were within that price. I really didn't have a specific style in mind when we set out, I just knew that I did NOT want it to be satin.


Numero uno: the flowy dress from The Brides' Project. Located in Toronto in an old house on Broadview Ave near Gerrard, this place was pretty neat. All of the dresses they sell are donated by generous former brides who don't need their wedding dress anymore, or bridal stores. And all the proceeds from their sales go to cancer research! This made me really want to find a dress here, but unfortunately none of the dresses that they had in stock at the time were exactly what I was looking for.


After visiting the Brides' Project, Amanda and I went to Vintage Bride, which is located in Mirvish Village, just South of Bloor on Markham St. I was really looking forward to checking out this store, and it did not disappoint. The owner also runs another vintage store called The Refinery, and when we called to let her know we were coming by, she closed up The Refinery and we had a private appointment with her at Vintage Bride. She was very nice, and her selection of dresses REALLY impressed me. She had so many dresses from a range of eras, so if you're interested in a vintage wedding dress I highly recommend checking this store out.

Anyways, this was the first dress I tried on there. A 1950s tulle number, which was quite adorable, if a little large.


This dress was a little bit too 1950s prom for me. But very fun!

Now this dress was almost a winner. I absolutely loved the shape, and it fit perfectly! It was flowy and comfortable and pretty! In the end I decided not to get it because the ruffles were a tiny bit too much for me. And the fabric on the bodice was this sort of silver grey satin with tiny grey circles, which was cute, but made the dress just a tad busier than I would have preferred.

Amanda lives just around the corner from Vintage Bride, and she said that she saw this dress on display in the window a couple of weeks ago. So if you're interested, it might still be there!

This was the last dress, and it was more boho chic than the others. I didn't really expect to like it, but I did! It was cotton and very airy, so it would have been an excellent dress for a hot summer day. But it was too short and a little bit more casual than what I had in mind.

So there you have it. The dresses that were pretty great, but not quite perfect.