(advance apology for lack of embedded photos...we are too far in the dress recap for me to post anything revealing that fiance might accidentally see.)
So back home, and this was definitely THE dress. Much online shopping was done, comparison of sites (definitely include shipping and taxes when considering these things), and I could have had a shop near me order the dress, but I would have had to pay sales tax and they also didn't have the best prices to begin with. The only benefit would have been to work with a shop which had been heretofore unable to assist me, though I did call the kindly L&H bridals to check their price. In the end, I decided on TheBridalShop.com, whose physical store is in New York (yay, no sales tax!). Not the fanciest web site, but definitely the best deal.
Next step was to phone the shop, for a number of reasons.
1) I didn't see anywhere on the site that specified whether they were an authorized dealer, so I wanted to ask.
2) I was hoping to get some advice on sizing and delivery time.
3) I wanted to request a swatch.
4) There was no way I was ordering something this important and this expensive without speaking to someone at the store!
I was not disappointed. The phone was answered by the store manager who was incredibly helpful. He assured me that of course my gown would be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, I should be measured by a pro before deciding on a size, if I went with the size I thought I would, they actually had one in stock at the manufacturer so it would be shipped out immediately, and he would put a sample swatch (not exactly from my dye lot) in the mail right away. My swatch came a few days later, I was measured by a local shop, ordered my gown, and in about 5 weeks a surprisingly small box arrived with my dress and the promised certificate of authenticity enclosed. It didn't arrive exactly when the shop fellow said it would, but a quick concerned follow-up call revealed that it had been delayed from the manufacturer and would be coming about a week later than expected. With about 8 months before the wedding, this was no problem.
That night, I tried it on by myself (this went terribly, but I couldn't resist) and it's a good thing I spent that hour "assembling" the dress, because otherwise it would have cut into champagne-hazed bridesmaid dress trying-on the following evening. The evidence of this can be seen here and here. <---Fiance, do not click!
Since then, I've been looking for shoes, and it has not been easy. I will definitely be a two-shoe bride to accommodate the previously mentioned dancing and also my comfort for the majority of the evening.
Anyone else made a big-ticket online purchase? How did you go about it?
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