Search for the Perfect Dress: Finding My Way in San Jose (Part 4)

When I last left you, I was exploring the wonders of suburban wedding dress shops at Gesinee's Bridal.  Despite the awesomeness of that particular store, by far the best Bay Area bridal salons I have visited are in San Jose.  Why?  Well, space is a big factor.  Cheaper land + lots of people and thus lots of brides = massive, well-stocked wedding dress shops.

Of the ones I visited, two stand out as particularly awesome.  The first I visited was Bay Area Bridal.  In spite of its deceptive name, this salon is technically located in Cupertino, but whatevs, close enough to San Jose.  Anyway.  This was the first salon I visited that had lots and lots of choices, many of which were in fact in my price range!  That's the other great thing about the suburbs:  they're cheaper than city salons.  I found several princessy dresses that I was very happy with here, and while I remember nothing about them now, I was elated to have such a variety of dresses that actually meshed with the image I had in my head.  If I remember correctly, this shop convinced me that I wanted a dress with pick-ups.  As a plus, the sales lady was very nice and was pretty good at finding dresses that fit my tastes.  Definitely check this place out if you live in the Bay Area.

My other San Jose success story was the salon in which I found The (4th?) One.  Elegant Lace Bridal is without a doubt the best experience I have had at a bridal salon.  And I'm not the only one who feels that way.  Both of my wedding buddies found and bought their dresses there, and after visiting with them, I was sure I would buy my dress there as well.  In fact, I'm still strongly considering it.

The sales lady who helped us (whose name I'm blanking out on.  Perhaps Laura will leave a comment with her name?) offered unparalleled service.  She was helpful, flexible, and good at finding dresses that fit our styles but without being pushy or dishonest.  Basically, she was everything you could want in a salesperson, and she made all of us want to buy our dresses from her.

The dress selection is definitely extensive, and they have a large range of prices, even some dresses around $500.  It was nice not to have to worry too much about falling for a dress I couldn't afford, especially after the $5,000 dress drama.  And boy did their dresses woo me.  Not only did I find a few dresses that I had wanted to try for a long time but couldn't find elsewhere as well as my beloved Monalisa, but I found what I thought at the time was the absolute perfect dress.

Sad to say, I'm not 100% sure what said dream dress's style number was.  I'm pretty sure it was this dress:

But it may actually have been this dress:

both dresses are from Private Label by G

It was everything I wanted:  beading on the bodice ending in a V, sweetheartish neckline, symmetrical, defined waistline at the waist but still with a smooth transition to the skirt, pickups, and most importantly (and most novel) a beautifully beaded train AND beading on the front of the skirt.  I was in love.  I thought this dress was perfect, and I was convinced I would buy it.

And I probably would have had I not broken off my engagement a month after trying it on.

I haven't worn that dress in over a year, and I definitely want to try it on again before making a final decision.  However, one of the things that stopped me from buying it right then was this dress
which really doesn't want me to post a picture right now.  Anyway, you might remember it from this post.  Or this one.  Elegant Lace had it's sister, Monalisa, and I tried it on there for the second time and still loved it.  It didn't have the perfection of the Private Label dress, but I wasn't ready to give it up yet.

Good thing I didn't.  I was not ready to buy a dress at the time, but that didn't tarnish the perfection of Elegant Lace Bridal.  If you live anywhere within driving distance of San Jose, you are obligated as a bride to pay it a visit.  You will not regret it.