In October 2012 my mom and I went wedding dress shopping at Paula’s Elegant Bride in St. Catharines, Ontario. Let’s start by saying that the ladies at Paula’s are so lovely. Beyond words lovely. From the moment I stepped into the store they made me feel like a princess!
I was living in Toronto at the time, but I am originally from St. Catharines. I came across Paula’s Elegant Bride at the Niagara Falls Wedding Convention and they totally caught my eye. They were the only ones that were not pushy at all. So a few weeks later my mom and I booked an appointment!
They encouraged me to pick any dresses that I liked and the bridal consultant Katie also pulled a few for me. Katie held up a dress in the window and asked what I thought. It was the exact opposite of what I wanted. It was fitted through the bodice and covered in sparkles. It was also a silhouette I had never seen before called “drop waist”, which is somewhere between mermaid fit and regular waist fit. I thought it was hideous. I picked out a selection of dresses with simple empire waists and tulle bottoms and was so excited to try them on. Katie kept encouraging me to give the drop waist dress a try and said it would be really flattering on my petite frame and I finally conceded. You wore me down Katie!
I decided to try Katie’s pick first since I knew that I would totally hate it (I think you know where this is going). When I walked out of the fitting room, even though the dress was 4 sizes too big and pinned in a hundred different places, I loved it. I really loved it! It made me feel glamorous and – shocker – it totally flattered my figure. But of course, it was the first wedding dress I had ever tried on! Of course I would feel special and beautiful. It was all in my head, I was sure of it.
Well…13 dresses later I tried on the drop waist dress again and with tears in her eyes my mom gave her nod of approval. I said ” I feel like I am on Say Yes to the Dress!” and the ladies at Paula’s were sweet enough to indulge me.
“Is this your dress Megan?” they shouted. “YES!” I responded which was met with the hoots, hollers and applause of all the ladies at the shop and my mom as well. Seriously people, this is a real place that exists. They should call it Paula’s Elegant Heaven.
Can you tell I was excited? The dress is from Claudine for Alyce Paris.
So after this roller coaster of emotion you have to wait 6 months to actually see your dress (sometimes less depending on the designer and if you buy off the rack). Most designers make wedding dresses to order, so they are making your particular dress from scratch (something I didn’t know before all of this!)
Then the paranoia set in. What if I didn’t like the dress anymore? 6 months is a long time, what if I saw a dress I liked better? Then I began obsessively googling the dress to see if anyone else had worn it (they hadn’t). Then obsessively checking the designers website only to find the most horrible photos of a wedding dress ever. The model looks like she hates her life and her flowers are covering the best parts of the dress! See below:
Fast forward to June 2013 and I get the call. “You’re dress is in!”. I got to that store as fast as I could and shimmied my way into my new dress. One of the ladies had to zip me up and there was a moment there when I thought it wasn’t going to happen. But she got me into it! A few minutes later I emerged from the fitting room and all my worries faded away. I actually loved the dress MORE now that it was in my size. I had to bust out the old iPhone to take a photo!
I decided to add a beaded headband from Untamed Petals on Etsy and I am so glad I did. I purposefully went without a necklace so that this headband could take center stage!
Here’s how it looked on the day of! I pretty much copied the same hair style as well, it’s just a bit more polished. My hair was done by Rachel House from Ellavate Salon and she did such an amazing job! My veil is also from Paula’s Elegant Bride.
Morgan Falk Photography
I loved how my dress and accessories all came together! The train on this dress was quite long, but I had a bustle made so it was out of my way for the reception. And when else can you wear a dramatic train like this? I ain’t Beyonce!
Morgan Falk Photography
That’s it! Please share with me your wedding dress story! Or let me know if you have any questions : )
Laura says
my wedding dress just arrived today! but my wedding is 11 months away, so I can’t share anything about it… it is the total opposite of yours though! 😉
Megan Joy says
Congrats! Exact opposite you say…? I can’t wait to see it
Zoë says
wow you look so gorgeous and what a perfect dress! sometimes the first one is the best
Megan Joy says
I guess first time was a charm for me lol Thank you!
Beyond Blush says
Oh my gosh, your dress was beautiful Megan! I can’t wait to go dress shopping, I guess I should book an appointment soon
Megan Joy says
Thanks! When you find your dress you need to give the CBB ladies a sneak peek 😉
Cdsouza says
I couldn’t decide on one, so I ended up buying TWO and further customized both 😉 With the prospect of them not quite being “party” dresses for the reception (I love to dance with Jeff… like DANCE), I also rented a short white shimmy Badgley Mishka dress from Rent Frock Repeat. So, yes, I ended up wearing THREE dresses for my wedding and loved every second of it. They went really well with my Jimmy Choos 😉 Yup – only one pair of shoes 😛
You looked so pretty Megan
Megan Joy says
I saw some photos of your wedding Caryl, you looked so lovely! I remember sitting at your desk chatting about your dress options. I can’t believe your big day has already come and gone : ) Congrats again!
P.s. The more dresses the better!!!
j. debra says
Megan, just wanted to let you know that you made a wonderful choice and you looked absolutely stunning in your wedding attire! But remember, the dress didn’t make you, YOU made the dress!!! Thanks for sharing the excitement you and with your mom had.
I recall the time when my middle child, Jessica, and I went to look for her bridal gown. When I saw her in a very fitted long gown [mermaid-style]…[BTW, she couldn’t walk in it b/c it was way too heavy soI had to help her!]…it was gorgeous and I cried b/c she looked so beautiful in it. She didn’t feel good in it and the price was way, way, WAY over our budget, something like $12,000.00 for the gown. Oh yeah, as we arrived at this popular national bridal shop, we were barely greeted, but with basically a “Somebody will be with you soon, and we have a special today, $500 off on any bridal gown over $5,000.” That was it!
Jessica went to looking online and found, on e-bay, a beautiful retro-1950’s dress. She was the last bidder and paid only $51! She was totally excited. Now that was more inline with my budget!
It was in excellent condition…white chiffon with below-the-knee length/wide skirt w/crinoline, smocked bodice w/added pearls, and spaghetti straps. A good friend of ours is a seamstress and lives where we used to live and the place where Jessica was getting married. She offered to help Jess w/a few alterations and added satin-covered buttons down the back to the waist. When she was done [her experience is with wedding dresses!], it was gorgeous. Jessica looked so beautiful in it, and I didn’t even have to help her carry it down to the altar!!! LOL 😉
Enjoy the day!
debra
Megan Joy says
Hi Debra,
Thanks so much for sharing your story! I love hearing people talk about their experiences picking out dresses for themselves or helping a loved one find one. What an amazing deal! I bet she looked gorgeous : )
When I went in to look, my mom said “don’t look at the price tags Megan, we are just looking and having fun.” When I fell in love with the first dress (thankfully) we realized it was under the budget my mom had set. Yay for a good deal : )
Chantal says
BEAUTIFUL!
I didn’t have time to have a dress made so I went to Montréal (St. Hubert Street) with some girlfriends and was lucky to find one off the rack that I loved and fit me to a T.
Megan Joy says
That is incredible! Also, so fun that your friends were there to share the experience with you : ) I have a friend who had a 4 month engagement and still found the perfect dress. Anything is possible!
Melanie says
Wow thanks for sharing! Looks like it all came together so beautifully! Love the headband to accessorize!
Megan Joy says
Thanks Melanie! I was sooo excited to wear that headband : )
Elaine A (TOBeautyReviews) says
So, so beautiful! I love weddings and I’m so excited you’re sharing yours 😛 I’m actually super giddy hahaha! I got married so long ago – dresses and photos are just so much better now – I want to get married again! (same guy of course 😉 )
Megan Joy says
I literally just said that the other day. I want to have a 5 year wedding do-over so I have an excuse to get a new dress hee hee!
I only got married 9 months ago and already there are so many new trends that I’m like “dang I wish we did that!” lol
Carly says
Awe! You look beautiful Megan
I always love hearing how people decide to pick their wedding dresses.
Megan Joy says
Thank you Carly! I feel the same way, everyone’s experience is so special and unique
MizzJ says
I love this post! You look so beautiful in that dress and it really is true that the dress just kinda chooses you. I was trying to convince myself to get a more practical dress, but you’re totally right, the fancier one was calling to me – you only get married once so go big!
Megan Joy says
I couldn’t agree more. For me anyway! : )
fiona furtado says
You look so beautiful Megan and the dress is lovely.
Megan Joy says
The ladies at Paula’s Elegant Bride did a great job helping me find the perfect dress. Thank you