Exquisite Bride – Once Upon a Time at Exquisite Bride
By: Katie DeVito
Follow me on Twitter @kdevito
Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time there lived a girl… and a boy. They met, fell in love, got engaged and started to plan a wedding. The girl wanted to find the most perfect dress to marry the man of her dreams. Here, the now married girl tells the story of finding her dream dress at Exquisite Bride.
I can’t believe a year has come and gone already. On October 12th I will have been married for one year. Boy did time fly by!
Recently my husband and I have been drifting down memory lane thinking about the craziness of planning a wedding, how much fun we had at it, our relaxing honeymoon in St. Lucia and how stressed out I was about finding the perfect dress.
Let me tell ya… it wasn’t easy. My mom and I sure ran up some mileage on our cars travelling all over to find this perfect dress. We went everywhere from Bloomingdales to David’s Bridal. We even checked out a few stores in Pennsylvania. Price was not a huge factor in me finding a dress, I just wasn’t finding anything. Nada nilch zip. I scoured the pages of every bridal magazine looking for dresses, new stores I’d yet to visit.
I’d reached my breaking point. I was never going to find my perfect dress. So I figured, I guess I will have to design it myself. I started doing some sketching, while continuing to read my ridiculous amount of bridal magazines, when all of a sudden I found a beautiful gown. The fine print stated Exquisite Bride in Princeton Forrestal Village carried it. What? Exquisite Bride? That’s right around the corner from me and I had yet to go there. I immediately called and scheduled an appointment with Remy Quinones.
I went to Exquisite Bride (by myself during the week) to meet with Remy. This was the first time I didn’t have an entourage with me looking at dresses. I figured why drag them around again. Big mistake! Just walking up to the store I had a good feeling about it. I walked in and was greeted by Remy. The store is the most beautiful bridal store I have ever seen. First off, they have amazing designer couture gowns. Not to mention the store is just beautiful. The dresses aren’t all squished up next to each other where you have to tug and pull and rummage to see what they have. All the dresses are perfectly placed and separated. You can just walk up and see the dress in its entirety without even having to touch it.
Remy was super helpful. I chose a few dresses to try on and so did she. She really listens to what the bride is looking for, while taking into account the brides body type and what would look the best. Just because it looks good on the rack or in the magazine doesn’t mean it’s right for you.
I tried on all the beautiful gowns… but I saved the best for last… the Romona Keveza gown. The moment I put the dress on I knew it was the one. We walked out to the fitting area and I stood on the platform and stared at the mirror. It was perfect. I immediately started crying and wish I had my back up entourage with me for support. Remy grabbed a pair of shoes for me to put on. Then she put a veil and headpiece in my hair and gave me a faux bouquet of flowers. The tears just kept flowing. That was it. I was done. I instantly called my mom and I scheduled another appointment so my mom and matron of honor could see the gown. We came back a few days later so they could view this perfect dress. When I came out and stood on the platform in front of them, they immediately started crying and of course so did I… again. Once again, Remy brought out all the trimmings so they could see what the gown would look like all pulled together. It was unanimous, this was the dress.
The following months were great. I went for a number of fittings and because of the cut of my dress, the seamstress sewed my bustier into my gown so I didn’t have to worry about it sticking out of my dress and constantly readjusting myself. I also purchased my veil and vintage inspired hairpiece from there as well.
Exquisite Bride not only has amazing gowns and accessories, they also have the best customer service, are extremely helpful and so passionate about what they do.
Here are some of the designers they carry:
Princeton Location:Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Millburn Location:
Cymbeline Paris                       Alvina Valenta
Jim Hjelm                                Amsale
Lea-Ann Belter                        Anna Maier – Ulla Maija
Marisa                                     Anne Barge
Matthew Christopher             Badgley Mischka
Rivini                                      Christos
Romona Keveza Legends        Junko Yoshioka
Simone Carvalli                      Kenneth Pool
Vera Wang (coming soon)Â Â Â Â Â Â Lazaro
Liancarlo
Novia d’Art
Reem Acra
Rivini
Romona Keveza Couture
Vera Wang
Accessories & Shoes:
Cheryl King Couture (Veils, jewelry & headpieces)
Erin Cole (Veils, jewelry & headpieces)
Toni Federici (Veils)
Benjamin Adams (Shoes)
Pink (Shoes)
Grace (Shoes)
La Duca and Bella Duca (Shoes)
Dresses range from high $2K – $5K. Their Millburn location carries a number of other designers and if you are interested in one, the Princeton location can obtain the dress for you so that you may try it on in their store. How convenient! They even carry full figured gowns to fit “real womenâ€.
Exquisite Bride holds trunk shows pretty frequently, information is provided on their website and is constantly updated. This is a great opportunity for a bride-to-be to check out some great dresses, receive a discount, all while sipping on champagne. They also have an ongoing sample sale, stop in or give them a call to see what’s on sale.
My dress was a huge hit especially with my husband and the other night I even received a message on Twitter asking me who designed my dress (the dress being my profile pic on Twitter of me in my wedding dress).
The girl and boy looked fabulous on their big day, had the time of their life at their wedding and lived happily ever after. The End
Come in and visit Exquisite Bride and enter a raffle to win a bridal shape up package, including personal training from Phrog Fitness (valued at $700).
Exquisite Bride
Princeton Forrestal Village
117 Main Street
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 452-7200
www.exquisite-bride.com
Follow them on Twitter @ExquisiteBride!
0 responses to “Once Upon a Time at Exquisite Bride”
Here is to “happily ever after.”
I write a blog about marriage and how men can better love their brides. I hope you and your husband will check it out.
http://whatsheneedsfromyou.wordpress.com
Thanks,
Great writeup, Katie!! 🙂 Congrats and Happy Anniversary!! –Lawlor