Dress Looks Better In Person Than In Photos?

[xtinabe]

Hey everyone! I am recently engaged and am planning a destination wedding in Cancun this October (moved up from Feb 2016!).

 

I recently found an amazing dress that I feel beautiful in and, according to random people in the store and the store staff, look great in. I was unable to take pictures in the store, so after looking at published pictures online, as well as pictures of the dress on "once used" type of sites, I noticed that they do not do the dress justice and I am nervous about it not photographing well. This might seem silly, but I feel that spending $2k+ on a dress for 1 day should translate into photos as well. Has anyone else had this problem? If so, what did you do?

 

Thank so much!

[Victoriabride]

Ohmigosh!!! I had the EXACT same issue as you.. you are not alone..

 

I went to visit my sister in San Diego and we went dress shopping as they have way better selection/prices than where I live in Canada. I bought my dress (first one I tried on). As soon as I tried it on I felt so beautiful in it.. like a princess and had that feeling like it was the one. My sister loved it and told me it suited my personality perfectly. The people in the store said that it looked great on me too. I was so happy and excited to have found my dress. I was disappointed to hear that the dress had been discontinued and there weren't any more in size. So, I bought the one a size up off the rack and they had it cleaned and fixed up so it would look new again. It would take them a week until it was ready for me to pick up...I was really happy leaving the store that day until...

 

I got back to my sisters house and started searching the dress online and was really disappointed in what I was seeing. The dress really didn't look that good on anyone I saw it on (not even the models).The pictures did not do it justice.. And the pictures that my sister took of me weren't that good either. I started loosing sleep over it and obsessing that I made the wrong choice. When we went to pick up the dress the following week, I tried it on again and liked it again when it was on me. So, I took the dress home with me to Canada... through 3 airports...12 hours, 3 flights, stuffing it in the overhead compartments. I got home and tried it on right away and had second thoughts.. tried it on for my mum, friends, dad, brothers.. I needed all the input I could get and everyone said it was a nice dress... Although my mum did say it seemed a bit heavy for a beach wedding (ballgown dress)... I then started noticing that it looked warn and that started to upset me.

 

I started to feel like I was missing out on dress shopping and went to try on others that I liked way better and looked better in pics....

 

I'm rambling here.. long story short, i ended up calling the store and although it was a final sale they accommodated me and i sent the dress back for a full refund. They were so accommodating and even paid the shipping (78$).

 

I should have thought about it more before rushing into buying that dress... I think you should go back to the store, try it on again with friends/family and get them to take pictures of you in it.. then go home and look at the pics and think about it some more. Maybe try other dresses on too? I think if you are having doubts about the dress you should try on others dresses and get one of your friends to take pictures of you in them!! Just don't rush into buying anything if you are uncertain.. I hope this helps!

 

Good luck

[acw271011]

I'll be honest. This is the first time I've heard of this. Good luck to both of you. @@Victoriabride I'm glad they let you send yours back. You definitely got lucky there.

[AllieH]

Mine looked pretty awful on the rack (and hanger) - in fact I almost didn't try it on to begin with. my friend convinced me to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did. It really was perfect. In those days after I bought it and before it arrived, I looked at the photos endlessly. I finally decided that the photos on the model didn't  do it justice.

 

If you loved the dress when you tried it on, and felt beautiful in it, then don't worry about what it looks like in someone else's photos on someone else's body. 

[xtinabe]

@@Victoriabride

 

Thank you so much for your reply! Glad I am not alone in this :-) It's awesome that youwere able to return the dress.

I have tried on other dresses and am waiting on one more to come in and try on before deciding. The other 3 are amazing on and in pictures which makes this one (least expensive, of course :-P) so disappointing. I definitely want to take my time, but knowing how long it can take for dresses to come in after ordering is making me nervous. The 2 stores with the dresses I am deciding between have policies about taking pictures before purchasing. Not sure why. I'll update after I figure it all out!

@@AllieH

I totally understand what you are saying. Most dresses I have seen look way different in the rack than when you put it on. In regard to this dress, it is more about the look of the material in photos and not the fit.

[TinkerSofi]

I think this happens to most dresses but at the same time you still want something that you'll like on pictures (even if it's not as great as the real thing). Maybe think about it, but if you're not convinced it might be better to hold off on getting it.

 

Another thing you have to consider when looking at other brides is that they might have a different body composition than you so the dress doesn't look the same to begin with on them as it does on you. It kind of reminds me of the whole "who wore it better?" on magazines. Things can look extremely different on different people. 

 

Good luck! 

[GingerBride]

@@xtinabe that's too bad you were not able to take pictures.  I was able to and I am so glad I was because the dress i thought I was going to say yes to did not look great in pictures.  The first dress I tried on was the only picture I kept of me as it looked the best so that's the dress I ended up ordering!

 

Good luck, I hope you find your dream dress!

[calgarybride2015]

I agree with AllieH.  

 

Not everyone looks the same in the dress and not every website has worthy photos that they post!  Some of David's Bridal make me laugh, but others on their site are fantastic.

 

If you feel like a million bucks in it, then I say go for it!!!

 

Professional photographers can do so much more to highlight your dress than I think we realize. Every time I saw pics of me in my dress I was like 'booo it is so much more beautiful than that' and then when I look at my wedding photos I know why I loved it.  my camera did it no justice.

 

But ultimately it's your call - I wish you the best of luck.