We've moved!

We have officially moved this blog to our website, shopthedress.com!

Please visit us at www.shopthedress.com/blog for future news and stories from The Dress by Nicole. We hope that you will enjoy the new look, and maybe even poke around our brand new website to see what else is going on.

Thank you for reading!

Allie Found The Dress @ The Dress

 Allie Found The Dress @ The Dress for her May 2012 to her fiance Chad. The couple met at a college party. Chad popped the question over dinner at a church that was converted into a restaurant in front of Allie's two best friends that she would later ask to be her maid of honors.

They chose to keep the wedding close by and stay in Wheaton where Allie was born. Gary Methodist Church for the ceremony and Arrowhead Golf Club for the reception of 215 guests. "I wanted a spring wedding, and the locations were not only familiar but spectacular." They stopped and took photos at popular downtown Wheaton spots, like the super-cute Popcorn Shop.

When Allie went to choose her wedding gown, she wanted something romantic, that reflected the current times, without being too trendy. She also wanted something that would never go out of style. She selected a gorgeous Enzoani gown called Fatima. She added some glitter with beaded trim on the bodice and her Swarovski crystal veil, all from The Dress by Nicole.
She also had a pair of The Dress by Nicole's best kept secret...super comfy custom ballroom dancing shoes trimmed with rhinestones as her something blue.

"I chose green because it is my absolute favorite color! During my wedding research the most elegant weddings to me, were the green themed ones…. And green hydrangeas are my favorite," said Allie.

Her favorite moment of the day was, "that moment during the ceremony when you realize, hey this isn’t scary, it’s actually quite amazing."

Allie's favorite or unique detail, "this is soon becoming not very unique, but the photo booth was such a blast, people went nuts for it and I never stopped getting compliments on it.  Looking through the pictures that were posted online during the honeymoon was a solid hour of hysterical laughing."

Advice for other brides while planning: "Learn how to negotiate politely and know how to speak like you’re in a business meeting, especially if it is a complaint.  It will be taken so much more seriously and responded to faster than if you go off on a rant.  I feel like some of my college business classes paid off for wedding planning.  Also, don’t fight with family!  My mom and I became even closer during wedding planning because we were calling each other nightly instead of 2-3 times a week and will never forget all of the memories we made working those exhausting DIY hours."

Advice for other brides the actual wedding day: "Make sure your photojournalistic photographer gets a picture of your parents together…  Also make time for your parents, if I didn’t intentionally seek my mom and my dad out during the night we would have gotten so caught up in trying to talk to everyone, we wouldn’t have seen each other at all, and I think a lot of people don’t realize that."

The couple chose Playa Mujeres, The Excellence Resort (North of Cancun) for their paradise honeymoon. Allie said, "It was Fabulous!"

Thank you Allie and Chad for sharing your special day with us! If you would like to be featured as a bride that found The Dress @ The Dress contact us!

2013 Fall Events at The Dress by Nicole

The Dress by Nicole is so excited to host several events this fall! The first thing we want to share is that we are proud to announce that we are expanding! We hope to enjoy our new space just in time for our 5th Annual Sample Sale September 20th. We'll have more fitting rooms, more mirrors and more space for you to enjoy our amazing selection of bridal, bridesmaids, moms, flower girls, homecoming/prom, tuxedos and accessories! Join us on Sundays 12-4pm starting September 8th - November 3rd for our busy fall season.

We also would like to introduce The Tux by Nicole! We are now a full-service store for all your wedding needs! We can help your groom, groomsmen, ring bearers and dad look their best! Stop in today to hear more about our tuxes.

Homecoming 2013 is in full swing! We have a great variety of homecoming dresses from Faviana, Clarisse, Angela & Alison, and other super-cute designs. We have homecoming for all budgets and sizes! Don't forget to keep us in mind for prom dresses and prom tuxedos this spring! Remember, we only sell one dress in one color to one dance...we promise!



The 5th Annual Sample Sale is September 20th-29th. Select sample bridal, mother of the wedding, bridesmaids, flower girls, special occasion, prom and accessories will be 20-80% off. This is our biggest event of the year! Don't miss out on some fabulous deals! This is also a great time for our high school customers to grab a great deal on a prom dress for the spring. It's never too early to start planning!

October 11th-13th we are hosting an Ellis Bridal Trunk Show. This 100 year old British company is new to the USA and brides love their elegant yet cutting-edge designs. Don't miss this chance to try on their newest designs as well as their best carryover styles. Brides will enjoy 10% off all Ellis orders during the event.

Ellis Bridal style 11364 at The Dress by Nicole

We are honored to have Kitty Chen Couture's brand new 2014 collection straight from the runway at New York Bridal Week! We are the first store in the country to debut her new collection! The collection is not even online yet. You can only see them at The Dress by Nicole! Special incentives for purchases that weekend for all Kitty Chen orders. 

Kitty Chen Dior at The Dress by Nicole

 

Aria Samantha 289FA at The Dress by Nicole

October 25th-27th we are hosting an Aria Bridal and Bridesmaids Trunk Show. We are proud to be the exclusive Chicago Aria retailer. Don’t miss this chance to try on their newest designs straight from New York Bridal Week as well as their best carryover styles. Brides and bridesmaids will enjoy 10% off all Aria orders during the event. 

 

 

Amy Kuschel's Pearl at The Dress by Nicole

Our last but not least, event of the fall is our Amy Kuschel Viewing Party November 1st-3rd. Come see Amy Kuschel's vintage-inspired designs with a modern twist. Special incentives for purchases made that weekend and gorgeous keep-sake signed gown sketch by Amy! The Dress by Nicole is so proud to be the only store in the Chicago area with her amazing couture collection! This will be our last open Sunday until January.


Be sure to make your appointment today for our fabulous events, space fills up quickly! We hope to hear from you soon :)

Joyce Found The Dress @ The Dress

 

 Joyce found the dress @ The Dress to wed her fiance, Michael, at their August 2011 wedding. The couple met during their first year in college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where Michael was studying computer engineering and Joyce was on the pre-med track. A mutual friend introduced them and the rest is history!

How Michael popped The Question... "Michael surprised me by taking me to the Chicago Botanic Garden. I had been wanting to go for quite some time. It also happened to be one of the days during the Bonsai Festival, and bonsais have a special meaning for us. We walked around, bought some bonsais and on our way out he stopped me at the pond by the entrance and nervously got down on one knee to propose!

The couple chose August because they wanted a month that was free of major holidays or family member's birthday. For the ceremony location, "We definitely wanted a church and one with great stained glass windows - I think we found just that!" The ceremony was at St. John's Lutheran Church in Lombard.

The Morton Arboretum was chosen for the reception of 175 guests. "For the reception we absolutely wanted a place with windows to allow natural light, a nice-sized dance floor and excellent food options."






Why Joyce chose The Dress... "I had originally fallen in love with the style of the Aire Barcelona collection: dramatic yet simply elegant, with lots of lacy/flowy features."
After trying on several gowns at The Dress by Nicole she chose the Blue by Enzoani "Cincinnati" style that embodied all of the qualities she was looking for.

The dress was made of soft tulle and netting with lace appliques. The fitted trumpet silhouette was perfect for Joyce and the beautiful straps that created a V-neck were used for a little more coverage in the church. The straps were later tucked in to make the dress strapless at the reception. Her tiny waist was accented with a gorgeous sparkly ribbon sash and a beautiful elbow length veil.

Joyce wanted a bright and colorful wedding that was tastefully done. Her favorite color is yellow so she made that the primary color and worked from there. She loved the fall colors of deep purples/reds and burnt yellows and tweaked that a little to work for the late summer wedding. Her color palette ended up with lemon yellow, coral, and magenta and she loved how it turned out. Her gorgeous flowers were by Fleur Couture in Downers Grove.

Joyce's favorite moment of the day was their ride from the ceremony to the reception. "Where Michael and I got to sit and do nothing except for soak in the whole experience and smile, while enjoying the company of our families." :)

Her favorite and unique detail at the wedding was "Hora Loca! It’s a carnivale-themed hour of the reception where the music is fast paced the whole time, there are balloons and masks, and an overall electrifying mood. Everyone loved it and I’m glad they got to experience a piece of Colombian wedding culture!"

Joyce's advice for other brides while planning is... "The earlier you start the better! Get on Pinterest, Gawker, etc. and start figuring out what you like and what you don’t like and, most importantly, the overall theme for your wedding; this will guide the rest of your planning! Her advice for other brides on the actual wedding day... "All of your hard work has paid off! Relax and enjoy :) this was possible for me thanks to our wonderful wedding coordinator!


Thank you Joyce and Michael for sharing your day with us! If you would like to be featured as a bride that found The Dress @ The Dress contact us!

Vicky Found The Dress @ The Dress!

Vicky found the dress @ The Dress for her April 2012 wedding to her fiancé Patrick. The couple met at a bar in 2006. They both accepted their first jobs out of college in the Milwaukee, WI area. “Although we lived only a couple of miles away and hung out at all the same places, it wasn't until July 3, 2007 that our paths crossed.” Vicky was out celebrating her 23rd birthday and Pat was out on the town for the 4th of July, both with co-workers at the time. After kicking the night off at Vicky's friend's place it started to rain. Conveniently, one of Vicky's favorite dive bars, Jo-Cats, was only a couple blocks away. Upon walking into Jo-Cats a group of men on the dance floor were quickly noticed. Pat and a few others stood around and laughed as their one friend busted out some "sweet" dance moves in the corner. Vicky quickly made her way to Pat and introduced herself. Pat hung out with the "PPG Crew" the rest of that evening and called the very next day. From that moment on we have never gone a day without talking to each other.

 

How Patrick popped The question…In early January 2011 they began looking to buy a home together.  They quickly found a few places that we were very interested in. The week before Patrick proposed he had many restless nights, and blamed it on the excitement of the house search. Although Vicky was skeptical, she was also very excited. “Then on Thursday, January 13th Patrick suggested that we go out for dinner that Friday. I thought it was a little strange to be planning a Friday night out ahead of time but figured he had some Groupon's to use so sounded great.” That night Patrick said he wanted to go on a quick run before dinner but strongly suggested that Vicky take a shower and get ready for dinner at a local sushi place. “As we walked to the door to leave Patrick said he had one thing he wanted to show Vicky before they left. In our den in River North with the city as the backdrop, Pat got on one knee and proposed. He continued with the surprises by telling me to dress up as he had reservations at Spiaggia to celebrate. It was an absolutely perfect night. :)”

After much debate the couple was very tempted to do a destination wedding in the Florida keys because Vicky grew up in Miami. Although, they knew that it would limit the number of friends and family that could make the trek. That being said, they did not want to lose sight of an outdoors as an option. “Downtown Chicago was tempting, but as we began our search we agreed to stay true to ourselves. Pat had fond memories of the Morton Arboretum growing up so we decided to check it out. We loved it instantly. One of our favorite features was that even if Chicago’s unpredictable weather sent us indoors for our ceremony, the Morton Arboretum’s Gingko Room’s floor to ceiling windows would provide an unforgettable backdrop (good thing, it was a little too cool that day!). We decided on a spring wedding to avoid some of the summer heat and enjoy the Arboretum as it began to bloom!” It was the perfect setting for their 175 wedding guests.

 

How Vicky found The Dress…"I actually started my dress search looking for something completely different! I wanted something flowy, with a larger flowery skirt, something dramatic! With my small figure though, I just got lost in them all. Four stores and way too many dresses later, I came across           The Dress by Nicole.



When viewing the website I followed the links to Amy Kuschel’s site. I knew from the second I saw her ‘Kennedy’ dress that it was THE one. I texted my mom a picture and said I had to try it on. She had been begging me to try on something more fitted and also loved it instantly. When I made it to the shop to try it on, there was no question. The detail of the lace and the form fitting, yet comfortable body were unmatched. The dress was feminine, romantic, modern and classic all at the same time. Perfect!”  The Kennedy style by Amy Kuschel is an Alencon lace mermaid gown trimmed with silk Mikado that is tied in a bow in the center back. Vicky also selected a gorgeous glimmer tulle veil that was flat on the comb but fuller at the ends for a soft, romantic look.

Choosing her colors was the easiest decision. “We started with Pink, Gold, and Blue because I love Pink and Gold and Patrick loves Blue! As we put together our color inspiration board (yes Pat had to sit through this), the colors just came together naturally! As the planning continued the colors evolved to include a lot of green in addition in order to compliment the beautiful backdrop of the arboretum!

 

Vicky’s favorite moment of the day…”I think it would come down to two moments: exchanging our vows and our first dance. There’s not a second of my wedding day that I did not love. Everything went perfectly and I just could not stop smiling, but at those two moments I will never forget the way Patrick looked at me and the overflowing love I felt for him.”

Her favorite or unique wedding detail was her place card table. “I absolutely loved our place card table! The beer koozie favors were also a huge hit! Lastly, we made our table numbers by hand after some online inspiration. One of my co-workers actually cut down a tree for me and Patrick and his dad sharpied on all the numbers and the Mr.  & Mrs. I loved them!”

They chose the very romantic and beautiful city of lights, Paris, for their honeymoon! “There is nothing more romantic than standing under the Eiffel Tower at night with your new husband!”

Her advice for other brides planning is, “Don’t be afraid to do some things yourself to save money (we did our programs, menus, place cards, table numbers, candy table, etc, super easy!) but if you are, ask your family and friends for help! I was so stressed two weeks before our wedding trying to do it all myself. When I finally just asked for help everyone jumped right in and they were happy to do it.”

Her advice for the day of…“Cry all you want, but only happy tears. Don’t spend one second over analyzing a detail or worrying about a vendor or guest. It’s the best day ever! One of my bridesmaids found out as we were changing to leave for pictures she had grabbed the wrong dress from home! It all ended up working out (thankfully the dress was in a near suburb), but you know what, if it hadn’t I wouldn’t have cared. Some of the best, funniest memories are the ones you did not plan.”

Thank you so much Vicky and Patrick for sharing your beautiful day with us! If you would like to be featured as a bride that found The Dress @ The Dress contact us!