Surprise! It's David's Bridal!

I stopped by David's Bridal last week with one of my brides, and I was really surprised by what they have going on there! I was living about 3,000 miles from home when I got engaged and during one of my Mother's visits she was really anxious for me to try on dresses even though I wasn't ready yet and didn't have appointments at any bridal salons. So I agreed to go to David's Bridal and just look. That was about 4 years ago...and it was not nice. Everything was beaded and bedazzled to the extreme - I think to mask the fact that the fabric was cheap and would not look nice on it's own. That was then...

But now, I was really impressed. I'm not turning traitor to my own *slight* brand obsession or the value of expensive dresses...but it was so refreshing to see that there are beautiful dresses out there for every budget. My companion did not end up getting a dress there, but I was watching one young woman and her mother shop and I'm pretty sure I saw a "this is it!" moment between them with this dress.

I think the real find, for me, was the bridesmaid dresses. There were countless styles, in a great variety of colors, and they seemed to be of very good quality. Throw in the fact that David's Bridal is EVERYWHERE and you are dangerously close to making it just as easy to be a bridesmaid as it is to be a groomsman renting a tux from Mens Wearhouse! I know....it's scary, right?

My bride actually is planning her wedding around a great color scheme from the store's catalog and I'm in in love with it.

So, lesson learned - give second chances, open your mind, allow yourself to be surprised.