She rode in on a white horse

So many woman have dreamt about their wedding day, their dress and their future husband since they were little girls. Oddly enough, I never spent a single moment lost in those thoughts. I don’t know why I never contemplated it as a little girl, but the older I got the more I didn’t think I’d ever get married. It’s not like I thought I would never find my person, I just didn’t see the importance of marriage. I never understood why anyone could envision having a ring, a party and how a piece of paper would make you more committed to your partner than you would be without. With all that said….I’m getting freaking MARRIED!!!!! Hahahahah it literally makes me laugh out loud at how excited I am for something I thought I never wanted. I’m the type of girl that doesn’t like to make a fuss out of anything, and I don’t like the idea of so much attention directly on me. So the thought of going wedding dress shopping, having a bridal shower, a bachelorette party and a wedding is a bit overwhelming for me. Early on I decided I didn’t want to do any of that. Nope…just not happening!!! But people are so ingrained in tradition, that I immediately started to get push back from all the women in my life. So, I had decided that I would make 1 bridal appointment just to appease everyone else. But, in all honesty it gave me a bit of anxiety and I really didn’t want to do it so I quickly canceled the appointment, but didn’t mention it to anyone.

I then spent hours, and I mean A LOT of hours searching for the right dress online. It is seriously like a wormhole, if you’re not careful you can get sucked in for days!!!! And when I say I spent “A LOT of hours” I mean that it may, or may not have added up to a week or so. Considering how much time I spent scouring the internet you’d think I’d come out with a few dresses in my cart right? SOOOOOOO WRONG!!!!! At first I had a really hard time finding a dress style that fit my aesthetic, I wanted something a little sexy, a little boho, a little romantic and not so bridal. This seemed next to impossible when looking at the bridal shop websites! Everyone goes to bridal shops for a typical “bridal” dress!!! Finally I started to find a few dresses that were just my style, but then my problem came down to my size. As you know, I am no sample size, I wear a 12/14 in street clothes which makes me an 18/20 in bridal. The dreamy boho dresses I was finding could only be ordered in a bridal 14, maybe a 16 if I was lucky. Then to add insult to injury if I wanted a dress made to my size it added to the timeline and to the price of the dress. Oh did I forget to mention that the dresses I found (that I actually liked) were over the price of our entire wedding budget?! So here I was, back to square one! I decided that maybe I should do a bridal shop, but one that carries dresses that you can buy off the rack. Once you buy a dress off the rack, you still need to pay for alterations, which is fine, but it made me a little sad not to love the dress and to know that  so many other women would be able to buy the exact same dress….where is the special in that?!

Enter my night in shining armor. SHE rode in on a beautiful white horse to rescue me and I couldn’t be more excited! When I say “she” I refer to the ladies at Anomalie. They are a newer company made up of mostly women (which I LOVE), and they are literally every girl’s dream come true. NEVER in a million years would I have thought that I could have a custom wedding dress made perfectly to fit me and my vision….and to have it be affordable! WHAT?! This is a dream right? Someone pinch me! This process has been so incredible and I genuinely feel that more brides need to know about their services. They cater to your every day woman but make you feel like a celeb! You can take pieces of every dress you’ve found and that you love, provide them the details and they will work to create your one of a kind dream dress all while starting at a more reasonable price point of $1,000. It’s hard to find a pre-made dress in a bridal shop for less than $1,000 and that doesn’t include alterations. We are still pretty early in the process of making my one of a kind master piece, so I thought I’d share where we are currently and what’s to come.

Step 1: You can go to Anomalie’s site (HERE) and click “get started”. They will ask for basic information and schedule an introduction call. They will talk about the company and what the process is like, you can ask any questions you’d like at that time! They’ll ask you to provide some inspiration photos into your lookbook on their website. Which is actually where I am now. Below is a little sneaky peaky into the inspiration behind my dress. EEEEEEKKKKKK I cannot even contain my excitement!!!!!

After you’ve loaded your inspiration you will have another call with your stylist, during this design consultation you will talk about every detail of your dress and what you want. Your stylist will then follow up with a price quote.

Step 2:  Anomalie literally brings your dress to life! You get a custom sketch of your dress design and they’ll send you fabric swatches for you to choose the perfect material and color of your gown. And in the meantime they will also set you up with a local tailor to complete your measurements.

Step 3: You will continue to get production updates from the workshop and they will even send photos and videos of a mock-up of your dress. This way you can really see what it’ll look like and you can approve the design elements.

Step 4: Your custom dream dress is delivered right to your door step in a keepsake box from Anomalie. But Anomalie isn’t finished with you yet, they will help arrange any follow-up alterations to the dress with your tailor before you walk down the aisle.

For me, this process has really taken a huge weight off of my shoulders. I don’t have to spend a ton of time going to different bridal shops, I get a real say in my dress, I get updates as to how the production is going and most importantly I feel really special without having to spend a fortune!

P.S. They also have an online magazine called Unboxed. It’s perfect for anyone newly engaged brides that are feeling overwhelmed or unsure of what they want or where to start. You can check out the blog/online magazine here: https://dressanomalie.blog