After my first bridal gown shopping experience at Kleinfeld, I thought it would be best to try a few other places locally in Sweden and Denmark. I was lucky enough to have my best friend and bridesmaid, Helen, with me to visit some shops. We started in Sweden with a few small shops in Malmö, but quickly realized the search would have to continue. I researched bridal shops that carried designer wedding gowns and came across a small bouquet bridal store in Copenhagen, Denmark called, Maria Fekih (http://www.mariafekih.com). They are one of the few stores I’ve found that carry designer wedding dresss such as: Vera Wang, Alberta Ferretti, Jenny Packham, and her own collection. I had been watching the site closely when I found a date that the shop was having a sample sale. I thought it would be the perfect time to visit them not thinking I would actually find a dress that would fit what I had in mind.
As Helen and I were walking and approaching the store, we saw through the window another bride holding up the most gorgeous dress. Instinctively, we both said, “Oooh…” at the same time. When we walked into the small show room, we realized that other brides had the same idea. We had to wait in line to see the handful of dresses that were available for purchase. I eyed a ball gown by Vera Wang and a few others, but I couldn’t get the dress that we had seen out of my head. It was game time. I told Helen to stand outside the dressing room of the bride that was trying on our dress. If she didn’t want it, she was to grab it and bring it to me while I tried the Vera Wang. The dress was gorgeous, but overwhelmed my small frame. It was a definite no go. I tried on another dress, this time a bit more slim, but it didn’t give me the feeling I wanted.
I was so excited when Helen brought the dress we saw through the window into the dressing room. At first, I wasn’t sure about it and it was totally not what I would have picked for myself. It was beautiful with intricate details and expert beadwork by UK designer, Jenny Packham whom is a favorite of The Duchess of Cambridge (aka Princess Kate). The “Eden” wedding dress had been one of the designer’s top selling bridal gowns in different variations and was being discontinued this year.
The delicate floor length satin sheath dress and the beaded overlay made the dress ultra feminine and romantic. Which were some the characteristics I wanted in my dress. When I opened the dressing room curtain with the dress on the reaction from Helen was priceless. She was teary eyed and said quite confidently that this was my dress. I could feel the other brides waiting in line eyeing my dress.
I stepped in front of the large mirror and got chills. I loved the dress, it was gorgeous no doubt. The feeling was undeniable, I didn’t want to take it off. It was my dress. We made some adjustments to the dress by adding an underskirt of tulle to give it a little more volume.
What was more exciting was that I was able to leave that day with my dress and it was at a discount since it was the sample size. I felt so relieved that I found my dress and even more excited for the big day.