THE perfect dress period - Amsale Flagship Salon

Alright, so we all know every bride out there has a budget, for me, a designer wedding dress wasn't really at all that possible considering i didn't want to spend more than a thousand bucks on a dress. i plan on wearing three dresses on my wedding day, so to spend more than a grand on a dress i will not wear for more than 3-4 hours regardless of amount of pictures i will be photographed in it or how i will treasure this item for the rest of my life yada yada... i just couldn't justify it...UNLESS and i quote this "can't eat or sleep thinking about that dress, i will not spend more than a grand on it" i said this to my mother on this morning i'm heading to Amsale.

Now living in NY has its perks...many of the BIG designers out there hold their sample / stock sales here before the holiday season and once more during the spring/summer months...on this day i scheduled an appointment to the Amsale sample sale. Frankly i was not expecting to find my dream dress here, i figured even at deep discounts i wouldn't be able to afford a couture wedding dress...Amsale retails for 3500-12000 for her dresses, so you can imagine how cheap a sample sale can really get...NOT THAT MUCH is what i'm thinking. but i decided to go anyway just to get the experience of trying on those beautiful couture confections...

i check in with my consultant Rosemary, pretty young girl, looks to be about my age, instructs me to select three dresses, and she will handle it from there. she also asks me what i'm looking for and what i would like...and she was off...i selected my three and proceed to the fitting rooms...Boy, talk about designer bridal salons, it even has a different feel! the dressing room was huge, airy and comfy, in creams and leather couches, giant mirror for me to check my beautiful self out in and plenty of comfy space for mom and bridesmaid Lil.

Chris you should go away if you're reading...

first dress i don was the Ibiza dress:

(source: amsale.com)

mom hated it, and kept saying this sample was so dirty, unflattering, every bad thing you can imagine she said it haha, and i had to agree, it was super cute on the model and hanger, but on me it was a disaster, i was a train wreck in a pile of taffeta...

next i tried on this one but strapless version (try to imagine it, i don't know the name so i can't look it up now, but this is a good reference)

(Source: amsale.com)

it was a size too small, did not fit, NEXT!

Rosemary shows me the Amsale Sofia that she picked out for me, talk about coinky dink...if you will remember in my RK post, i mentioned that it was not comfortable for me to walk in... so you can imagine the disappointment..it was like teasing me with chocolate when i'm on a year long chocolate fast...but i put it on anyway to show my mom what it would've looked like...BUT, something very miraculous happened...the Angels in my head sang and the fireworks exploded...i've reached dress shopping nirvana...for whatever reason this dress not only FIT, it moved, breathed, LOOKED fantastic...Lil loved it, my mom was speechless (very good sign), Rosemary is grinning from ear to ear and asks me if i would like to see myself in the mirror outside to get a better look, i nod and go...

Outside in the salon, i'm on this pedestal and i can't believe how amazing i look in this dress, it was perfect in every way... i love it...i ask rosemary if she can lend me a veil to see how i would look in it, she combs the cathedral veil into my hair, i look at the mirror and i got butterflies in my stomach and i kid you not i was going to cry like a baby! i ask Lil "do you think chris will go WOW when he sees me in this?" and she looks me in the eye and says "yes i think he will" everyone else that walks by comments on how perfect the dress is, it was made to be mine!!!

so i know you're all at the edge of your seats wondering how much this baby will cost me...i was a little scared to look at the tag, because well i fell in love with the dress before i looked at the tag...it was $1400...firstly my eyes popped out of my sockets... i couldn't believe it...it was $500 LESS than the Marisa look a like, felt better, fit better, moved better, it was perfection! without hesitation i told Rosemary to wrap it up for me and handed my credit card over...

My Amsale Sofia dress was in pristine condition...it might have been a dress that was made and cancelled so Amsale is forced to sell it at a sample sale...but whatever it was...it was now mine, a brand new designer dress at a fraction of the cost came home with me that very day. i gave rosemary a hug, she handed sofia over to me and i left the salon happiest girl on the planet at that moment.

Christopher, this is your last chance, if you go any further you will regret this for the rest of your life
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yea yea i know its bad lighting but this is the best i can do for now :-P

funny side-story: my other MOH rachel was supposed to meet me at Amsale, but she was running late...i was only in the salon for 30 minutes tops so she missed the whole thing...but the kicker was, i was so excited to get my dress, i forgot to wait for her after the purchase and hopped on a train to go home TOTALLY ditching her! my mom was like "what are you doing jenny?! you ditched rachel!!" wow i felt bad, but luckily rach loves me and understands the gravity of the happy situation and just hops on the next train to brooklyn to see Sofia on me in the flesh, the photo above was snapped by her... i love you roomiekins!