For illustration purposes only
Right off the bat, I never quite had the inclination to sign up with a bridal boutique, perhaps because all the photos of bridal boutiques almost always featured fancy ball gowns. I've never envisaged myself as a ball gown kinda girl, so even when the opportunity presented itself for me to try one of these, I didn't bother.
5 July 2015 (10 days post The Engagement)
My first contact with dresses would be a local gownmaker I've been following on Instagram.
I emailed them with the idea of doing a romper and skirt separate piece, so that I'd be able to rewear the romper for our future anniversaries.
They replied a day later.
I was bursting with excitement as I clicked the email subject, eager to find out the next steps to make a dress that I could truly call my own.
Jaws dropped. Eyes widened.
Prices for the silhouettes I was looking for started from S$3000 to S$3500.
I stopped replying. And I stopped thinking about The Dress.
9 October 2015 (105 days post The Engagement)
We were at UNA and had just completed our consultation with their in-house planner. They were preparing the venue for a wedding to start in 2-3 hours' time, so as we were leaving, we took some time to browse through the couples' photos. We were discussing if the colourful design on the bride's dress was on the dress itself or if it was a tattoo (it turned out to be a huge-ass tattoo). The wedding planner chimed in, "The dress very nice hor? She did it at XXX." As a diligent bride-to-be, I took down the details and vowed to restart the search.
I shortlisted 4 gownmakers to email.
Replies came in, but this time they couldn't faze me anymore. The one that the wedding planner introduced had their prices starting from S$4500.
The hit rate was only 1 out of 4. They were offering a customised gown with prices starting from S$1200. I wasted no time and scheduled a consultation. (By this time, we have decided that the wedding would be held in July - September the following year.)
The consultation went smoothly, though I didn't fall in love with them as I'd expected to. Most dresses on display were the types I'd shunned from the get-go. The nice lady then showed me their upcoming collection to be launched in November, and it featured lots of illusion mesh, lace and 2-piece wedding gowns. Now we're talking! Price, however, was still a huge obstacle.
One of my colleagues did her gown for only S$600, and it quickly became my benchmark. Anything higher than that felt unjustifiable.
Two days passed and I decided I was sick of this dress-hunting shizz. I decided to go with S$1.2-gownmaker. She was very excited and told me to lock down a date for appointment. I lied and said that my fiance was overseas and will only be back in November, so we'd meet then.
I didn't know why I felt compelled to delay it, but I'm glad I did. I chanced upon a studio running a sample sale. I didn't know that the studio was super high-end and gowns there went up to tens of thousands. It was even worse than the first studio, and I couldn't find anything I wanted to try at all. The shopkeeper insisted, and reluctantly I tried one with its neckline stained by foundation (seriously, ladies. Is it that hard to be responsible?)
It was my first gown ever. I was so nervous. I even wore bra with neon designs wtf.
Turned out the dress was a size 10 or something. It was huge. I was upset but the shopkeeper kept trying to find excuses on why I should love it. Thankfully another shopkeeper (though I felt she could have been more tactful) came and said matter-of-factly, "I think you already have a design in mind, and this is not it. It sounds like you should go customise your own. Perhaps a white cheong sam would be what you like."
I was miffed, because no, I did not want a white cheong sam, and I felt that she was rude.
Anyway, I forgot about it soon after.
I also visited S$600-gownmaker. Like an experienced bride-to-be, this time I went sans neon bra and even brought my own nubra. *smug* The owner spoke with no emotions, so it was difficult to fall in love with the place nor her gowns.
A bridesmaid then introduced a home-based tailor that her sister used.
I was quite jaded at this point and couldn't be bothered to expect anything at all. We even got lost in the maze that is Seng Kang, talk about a downer.
Her living room was converted into a small studio of sorts. As usual, the ball gowns overwhelmed the racks, making it hard to spot any of those slinky, fitting types I was into.
I tried a mermaid gown. Bleah. Not me. I tried a modern cheong sam evening gown in blue and purple. Worse. Seriously, which blind bat decided on this colour combination #sorrynotsorry
I desperately wanted to find something I liked. (Dress hunting is a very tiring sport.) I requested to try a gown that was on the mannequin, one that was a design that deviated from what I wanted. No illusion mesh, no spaghetti straps, no flowy bottom. Guess what... It resembled a white cheong sam. (I'm glad haughty rude shopkeeper will never learn of this.)
I tried it on and there was a sense of exhilaration and relief at the same time. I remember thinking to myself, is this how it feels like when people talk about The One? (I wanna bottle it up and feel it again and again.) Behind the curtains, I was hoping that Lionel would have the same sentiments and we could stop this dress hunt right now.
The dress was a few sizes too big and revealed more skin that it was intended to, but I truly understood in that moment that if it was The One, size wouldn't even matter.
When the curtains were drawn, I don't remember Lionel having any particular expression (surprise, surprise), but the lady did mention how it looked fitting for our event venue with its high neck. I paraded around the room, took photos, sent it to 2 of my bridesmaids and my family, received their stamp of approval. Before I had more time to confirm, her next appointment arrived and we quickly shushed ourselves out.
With this, I declare The Dress Hunt closed! And we're going to take my measurements this Sunday. I still have to fuss over my evening gown though, but now I truly understand my preferences. (I was late to the Pinterest game - I only started my wedding board post-engagement) (My favourite bridal brands are Grace Loves Lace and Elie Saab, just for memories' sake.)
