Bride to be

For those who haven't heard, yes i'm engaged to get married!

So now that i'm loaded with free time, i've been flipping the pages of STYLE|Brides and clicking through forums (singaporebrides.com and perfectweddings.sg). These forums are god-sent really, especially for the clueless like me.

One thing i know for sure - i'm going to find THE dress, like how i found THE shoe.

I've visited 6 bridal shops so far. And if you don't already know, there are 2 types of bridal shops in SG - one-stop shop (where you get all kinds of bridal services) and the designer shops.

Simply put, if you're lazy and think you can settle with a decent gown, go for the former. That said, be prepared to sit through lengths of sales-pitches as you attempt to 'browse' through the Tanjong Pagar stretch of shops. Now, don't despair. Their gowns are really quite beautiful and some even have tie-ups with professional photographers. And you really save a lot of time without having to search through individually for makeup artists, photographers and videographers.

On the other hand, if you prefer a more personal bridal experience, pay the designer studios a visit. I guarantee you it will be worth it. You learn things that you'll never get at one-stop shops, you speak to people and really feel their sincerity to help you find that dress. :)

Ok i'm gonne do a quick update.
Here we go:

1. DiGio
I browsed through their collection online and i loved what i saw - lots of elegant lace! Helped too that my gf, Kelly said they weren't the pushy kind. So together with 2 of my closest gfs, we marched to Tanjong Pagar.
My sales consultant was Qin Wen - she's pretty nice. Did not try too hard to sell, answered all my queries and allowed me to try on 4 gowns (actually only 3 is allowed, but she was kind enough to make an exception). No photography allowed. But erm, i think my gf's camera accidentally captured a couple? =X

[insert pic]

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Package wise: Abt $3k with everything in. Photography looks good too.

2. White Link
Saw a very pretty short dress and popped in to take a look! Little did we know that a longggggg sales lecture was about to haunt us. This lady called Hazel, went on n on n on. One week after the visit, she's still calling me! Oh my goodness, this bridal shop really did it for me. I'm not going to anymore of these pro-selling people.

But i must add the dress is really pretty!

[insert pic]

3. Danny L
Sandra, the lady at Fairy's Inc told me to check Danny out 'cuz his designs are pretty good even though he's new. The day i was there, he was away in Beijing, so his assistant, this very kind lady, Alicia helped me out. Boy, she was god-sent! She let me try on gown after gown after gown and she did not show any sign of frustration. None, zilch! I mean after the previous 2 bridal shops, i was really hesitant to try anything on. But not only did Alicia help me choose some gowns, while i was wearing a piece and swooning away with my bridesmaids, she was running around to find a veil, a belt, etc to complete the look. 

I was truly blown away by her sincerity. If not for the fact i haven't met the real guy, Alicia totally convinced me already. :)

Go to Danny if you're looking for two-piece gowns to mix & match. 

4. Olive Suite
 Unfortunately, I was kinda disappointed with Olive. Before i even got engaged, i somehow chanced upon their fb page and found myself scrolling and daydreaming away - it was that good! But when i was there to browse their pieces, there weren't many to begin with. The lady there looked so young like she just came out of school! I'm not trying to be mean but honestly, i don't see how any bride would leave their dream gown in a student's hands?!

5. Kai Bridal Couture
Kai carries beauuuutiful lace gowns, and the pictures lead me to him. He was nice, we didn't completely gel and i could hear an awkward silence while i was in the changing room and my HTB and Kai were waiting outside. =/ Well anyway, he seems to be flexible with pricing since he owns the place but i chose against this bridal shop because i did not find THAT dress. And also because Kai mentioned his shop lease was up and he might use the chance to go on a long holiday. Which would inadvertently mean if i buy a gown from him, and i need alteration, he will be in some other part of the world.

6. Silhouette The Atelier
Wow, we were served TWG teas and Nespresso coffee?! I'm very impressed. Ok, back to topic haha.
Their rack of gowns were...SO BEAUTIFUL. Almost every one i touched, i liked. Kenji was the designer assigned to me and he was friendly. I also loved how honest and clear they were about additional add ons and pricings, etc. He allowed me to try on 3 gowns, all of which were different cuttings and i have that happy problem where everything looked amazing, i couldn't even decide on a style (wtf, so much for one step at a time and forums tell you to first choose a cutting that suits your body shape). Of course i did not sign on my first visit. I promised myself to never do that and regret. So i told Kenji to let me think about it and i will be back.

And guess what, i did go back.
With reasons being:
1. The gowns here are the nicest so far. I'm not sure if i found THE one, but from what i saw on the rack, i felt very safe that we shared the same taste in gowns, and i was willing to leave it to them. Something just told me my gown was there.
2. Good selection of bridal and evening gowns (and i mean they suit my taste, not carry a wide selection)
3. Good service - no hard selling, no pushing, no pressurizing. Just all friendly smiles and genuine comments.
4. Nice shop with a very nice location - this is a good-to-have considering you will be here often! You need to like the place!
5. I really liked the possibility of having more TWG tea. (shuddup, haha)

Advice for BTBs: Look around, do NOT sign up at roadshows if you haven't already gone to their shop to look around and feel the ambience, ask about both bridal and evening gowns. Do not concentrate on the white gown and be left to worry about the other! You aren't only wearing ONE dress, remember that! Most importantly, take some timeout from the sales pitches, go home and ask yourself if you have faith your dress is in that shop. Consider the style, the range, the material, the cutting of the gowns, workmanships, everything. At the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what anyone else says, because YOU are the lucky lady wearing that gown, and this is the one day you get to choose what YOU think makes you feel like a million bucks.
All the best!!!