Actual day wedding gown dilemmas and my evening gown.

I have finally decided on my actual day wedding gown but it wasn't an easy path to get there. When we first got engaged in March last year, I went for quite a few gown try-outs at different bridal stores with darling and girlfriends Ammie and Daisy. But I just didn't find one that felt right and now I'm glad I didn't buy on impulse because I'm really happy with the final decision that I made.

My initial dream gown was a princess-like, ball gown type of style, which is similar to the one I tried on the right. But I couldn't find many of those styles in Melbourne, either that or it was too expensive and way over budget. There was definitely more choices when I went back to Malaysia. So we came to a conclusion that maybe it's an Asian thing for liking "pong-pong" (a.k.a poofy) gowns! Ha-ha...

The gown I tried on the right is from Venus Bridal, the shop in Malaysia which I did my pre-wedding photoshoot. It was a rental (pre-loved) gown and the shop assistant quoted me RM2500 which is about AUD$840, to buy it.

That was within my budget and I was really close to getting it, but the put-off was that I couldn't take it back with me to Melbourne until after June because they already have two other brides who are renting it for their wedding.

And so after the dress measurements at Aunty Margaret's (Mum's friend) place that day, we went to check out the other bridal shops across the road from Venus Bridal. We chanced upon Miosa Couture and the girls were really friendly and nice. They don't have a website but the link shows you a photo of the shop.

After trying out countless gowns, I settled for this ivory/white poofy gown with organza fluffs on the right. It was also a rental gown but as the shop wasn't as high end as Venus Bridal, the price quoted was quite a difference; RM1200 for it.

Among the gowns, the shop assistant picked out a newly made, ivory coloured gown with very beautiful embroidery at the train and it was really suitable to walk down the aisle with it. Mum, Aunty Margaret, Len and the shop assistants all swooned over it, but I didn't take a fancy then because it wasn't "poofy" and was too simple for me.

After settling on the wedding gown, I decided I want an evening gown too since the prices were within budget. I tried a few in different colours but didn't take any fancy. Then I was shown another of their new designs; this blue and loose flowing evening gown with silver embroidery. Darling's favourite colour is blue and it was really gorgeous when I tried it on; so I went with it.

I happily paid for the ivory "poofy" gown (centre right) and the blue evening gown on the right - for a total of RM2700. That's equivalent to about AUD$900; for two gowns I'd say that was quite a steal! The price included dry clean and alterations. I collected them the day before I flew back to Melbourne.

Thinking back now, I was annoyed that I didn't check the wedding gown properly while packing it for the flight. It wasn't only until I got back to Melbourne did I realise that a crystal bead on the wedding gown was missing! It was quite a prominent one, positioned on the right hand side near the waist. That kinda devastated me because the wedding gown is one of the highlights for the day and it was truly one thing that I wanted to be perfect. And though the gown was dry-cleaned, it somehow still looked a little old and faded.

The shop assistant apologized for it and were really helpful in trying to resolve the matter. But that wasn't the only reason why I don't want the wedding gown any more. I showed it to friends and even the future mother-in-law and all they did was manage a small smile and say "ah okay..."; trying not to sound offensive. I knew deep down that they didn't like it. My colleagues were more honest in telling me up-front that the elegant ivory a-line gown (with the embroidery at the train) was definitely more gorgeous and I should go for it.

So I had two choices:
1) The shop assistant would find the missing crystal / get me a new one and post it over to me or
2) I can post the "poofy" gown with the missing crystal back and for an additional RM1000, they will tailor make a brand new one of the ivory a-line gown for me.

I think you know which choice I went for because I wouldn't have posted the "poofy" ivory gown in the first place if that was really my wedding gown. ;) Having a tailor made gown meant I could add in a special request; like asking the dressmaker to make the chest area a little more heart-shape styled. The gown will take about a month to be ready and mum will bring it over for me when she comes.