Dressing for Saks-cess

It's official. No, not the wedding. I mean, the wedding is official, obviously. But I'm talking about THE DRESS. T got her dress! She brought her wedding posse -- aka my grandma, aunt and mom -- to New York City, and I met up with them at Saks Fifth Avenue. We were expecting somewhat of a mob scene, considering it was day five of the Saks Sample Sale, but instead we were greeted by one very calm, upbeat sales lady and a quiet lounge (with a comfy sofa!) full of gorgeous gowns.

The tricky thing about the sample sale is that it's not advertised. So like any mother of the Bride-to-be, my mom called Saks on a weekly basis starting in the summer and continued all the way through the fall. We set a date that coincided with the wedding posse's schedules, which happened to be the fifth day of the sale, which needless to say, had us all a little nervous. Would there be enough dresses left? Would we be the sad little wedding posse with all the scrappy leftovers nobody else wanted? It makes me sad just thinking about it (ok, get a grip).

The answer, luckily, was no! There were over 300 dresses in every shade, style and cut imaginable. And even better, there were almost no other people there! So we practically had the whole bridal boutique to ourselves, and made an afternoon out of shuffling my sister in and out of gown after gown. The other two brides that showed up during our three-hour stint also found dresses. Everybody's a winner at the Saks Sample Sale.

And I should say this -- the sales staff was completely helpful, even though these gowns were discounted so their commission was likely considerably less. They let the crazy wedding posse take photos, browse through gowns, rest on the couch, etc. If you want a designer gown but don't have $6,000 to throw down OR aren't completely crazy and even if you have the $6,000, would rather spend it on a honeymoon somewhere on the beach, then the sample sale is the way to go.

Fact 1: All Saks sample dresses come in sizes 8 and 10, but since they are designer dresses, that is about the same as a regular 6 and 8. Most brides (I've been told) have to get their dresses altered anyway, so you're not really losing anything there, even if you're a size 2 (in which case, nobody feels bad for you anyway).

Fact 2: On day one of the sample sale, there were over 3,000 gowns, but also a herd of brides, creating a much more hectic atmosphere. There are fewer dressing rooms to go around, the gowns are all being shuffled from person to person, and the high-energy environment might feel less personal than the low-key loungefest T, the fam and I exerpienced. Take this bridesmaid's advice and get your sample on during the third, fourth, even fifth day of the sale.

By the way, T looks BEAUTIFUL in her gown! She's going to bring the house down on her wedding day.

PHOTOS (from top: T and our aunt in dress action, The wedding posse outside Saks)

Happy planning...