The wedding fairies in the universe gifted me an appointment at Kleinfeld Bridal 6 weeks before the global pandemic hit. I’m grateful that I was able to invite my two maids of honor and my parents to witness the most meaningful shopping experience of my life. I know times are different now, but as I went back to the store this week to do a fitting for my dress, I still felt that same magical feeling walking into Kleinfeld Bridal as I did pre-COVID. I couldn’t help but reminisce on the truly magical experience it was during both of my visits. For those of you considering shopping at Kleinfeld in the near future, I have highlighted the precautions they’re taking to keep their brides safe at the bottom of this post.

I love having you all along on this exciting journey with me and thought I would tell the story of how I found my dream dress. You can also watch this story play out on TLC’s Say Yes to the Dress. Typically, you would book an appointment online up to a month in advance. My experience was a little different because I had been selected to film the show. When I got this news, the little girl inside me couldn’t help but feel giddy inside.

What it’s like “Saying Yes to the Dress” at Kleinfeld Bridal

Upon walking up to the grand glass doors on 20^th street, my entourage and I were greeted by the front desk while our coats were whisked away to the coat room. We had shown up 20 minutes early to our appointment, but it wasn’t long until our consultant, Lisa, greeted our group with the friendliest smile I’d ever seen. She felt like family before we had even exchanged hellos, and I could tell I was in good hands.

The producers conducted our pre-show interviews of what kind of dress my family thought I would pick versus what I was hoping to find. I had my typical princess expectations of the largest ball gown in the City. I said that I wanted long sleeves and a high neck, with the elegant Grace Kelly as my muse. The funny thing is that’s not what I ended up with at all.

To be efficient in the appointment, I had perused the Kleinfeld website and came prepared with photo inspiration of my favorite styles. This is a great way to give your consultant direction and not waste time. You only have an hour and a half, after all! Those 90 minutes really go by fast, especially considering trying on a dress and showing your entourage takes a good 15 – 20 minutes per dress. For time’s sake, I hope you’re a little more decisive than I was when you’re shopping for your wedding dress. 😅

Randy was such a bright ball of energy in his perfectly tailored suit, just as stylish as I imagined him to be from seeing him on TV. He brought in dress #1 which was exactly what I had asked for. With geometric snowflake appliques adorning each long sleeve, I slipped on this dress that had every detail I asked for. Since I’m a people pleaser, I said I loved it, but I could feel that something just wasn’t right. I didn’t know how to communicate it to the group or put my finger on it just yet.

Dress #2 had two straps, a V-neck, and was sheer with pearl beading above the waist of a big tulle skirt. The second I came out, my family and friends got emotional and were totally quiet. From those reactions, I think I was trying to convince myself that I loved it, too. So, I told everyone that this was the one! I thought to myself that this was a really beautiful dress, so I might as well make myself love it.

I felt this dress looked nice enough and thought, “maybe you don’t really fall in love with a dress? Or maybe it’s just me that won’t be able to feel that ‘this is the one’ feeling?” 

Walking back to the dressing room, a rack around the corner from the veil room caught my eye. I don’t know what drew me to it, but a creamy floral lace dress almost looked like it was hanging alone waiting for me to find it. I asked Lisa if I could try on that one just for fun, to which she replied, “of course!” I think my fairy godmother had sprinkled magical wedding dust on that dress because the second I put it on, I could feel the waterworks coming.

I never knew that you could fall in love with a dress the way you fall in love with your future husband, but, this one made me feel like I would be the only girl in the room on our wedding day. I finally had that feeling — you know the one. The feeling that everyone talks about and makes you want to shout, “I’m saying YES to the dress!” 

I had my family blindfolded so they couldn’t see me before I was ready standing on the podium in front of them in dress #3. I wanted to see their first reactions for myself so I could savor that memory for the rest of my life. And then the moment they uncovered their eyes, their tears mirrored mine because we all knew this was the one.

I recommend you watch the show (Season 19 Episode 1), as I don’t want to put too much detail into words about my wedding dress until our big day. As a bride-to-be who was wary that I might not get that special feeling – my best advice when wedding dress shopping would be to shop with confidence knowing that the perfect dress does exist and you really can feel something the moment you zip it up for the first time. Kleinfeld Bridal and all of their consultants took wonderful care of me and I get a little emotional thinking about this appointment I’ll never forget. I truly am grateful and will forever consider Kleinfeld Bridal like family.

 

How Kleinfeld is Protecting Their Brides during COVID-19 

I returned to Kleinfeld 6 months later for my first dress fitting. The team was so kind as to let me try on a few other breathtaking gowns while I was in the salon to share with you in this post. I went on a Monday when the shop is typically closed, so I had the whole store to myself (hence no mask in my pictures). They gave me a private tour of the bridal salon where I got to play dress up in the dresses you see in this blog post. From my visit, I learned about all of their COVID policies & precautions to protect brides shopping for their big day:

1. Temperature checks upon entrance
2. Everyone must wear a mask
3. Glass dividers sectioning off each bridal pedestal
4. Only 2 guests allowed per bride
5. Instead of the consultant dressing you, your guest will do this with guidance from the consultant. This minimizes contact
6. Sanitizers placed all over the store
7. Security guards placed at entrance/exit to help with traffic flow

 

Best of luck when wedding shopping & always remember to go with your gut! Your dream dress does exist and it might be a completely different style than you thought you wanted. But that is the magic of Kleinfeld Bridal, they have over 1000 styles from 60 designers around the world and are experts in making you feel special during your appointment & beautiful on your wedding day. But now you have to make me a promise when you go in! Please tell Randy & Lisa I say hi!