Overall, I like the Jenny Lee dress better.  It's better quality and is a "nicer" gown.  However, I am concerned about two things:  whether it is too shiny, and whether the side/profile view is unflattering and not "weddingy" enough.  For those two reasons, I am considering the Paloma Blanca dress.  The Paloma has a beautiful profile, and the skirt is a little more "weddingy".  It is also less shiny than the Jenny dress.  But I love the back of the Jenny dress much more, and I THINK I like the front more (but I like the Paloma front okay, too). 

I am concerned about the side of the dress, because this will show up in a lot of un-posed pictures, such as the first dance, standing at the altar, etc.  I want to look good in my wedding dress, not look like I'm wearing an ill-fitting prom dress. :)  So keep these things in mind when you look at these dress pictures.

Also, Sara, I know you haven't been shopping with me yet, so you don't know the kinds of dresses I vetoed already.  I tried on dresses with beading, lace, a few ballgowns, a few A-line, some trumpet dresses, sweetheart, etc.  I think I tried on a wide variety.  If you don't like EITHER of these two dresses, that's okay...tell me why and give me some suggestions for what type of dress you think I SHOULD try on instead. 

Thanks in advance for your opinions, guys!  I know this webpage is ridiculous and incredibly nitpicky, anal, and just obsessive.  :(  I just want this dress to be perfect and since I'm getting so close to making a decision, I am starting to get nervous and am just naturally playing devil's advocate with my choices.

Paloma Blanca # 3712

I would take off the flower.  I am a little concerned about the drape/split/extra layer of fabric in the front (that it looks cheap or a dress that was the style 5 years ago...I feel like a split in the front is very over-done), but I love the silhouette (fitted but still looks wedding-y, and I love the ruching, and how the fabric doesn't look TOO shiny in the light.  I like how the fabric has a little bit of structure.  At the same time, it could look wrinkly, I think. 

I like how the skirt flares out just a little at the bottom.  I want my first dance photos to look nice.  Also, since our photographer will do a lot of unposed, photojournalistic shots, I want to be able to look good from all sides.   

I think this dress looks really nice from the side.  This is my favorite dress from the side.  I don't know if it's because the side pictures from this dress are up on the box, and that makes it more flattering?  Maybe the reason I hate the side photos of the Jenny Lee is because I'm slouching and I was standing on the ground. 

I love the buttons on this dress, and how they go all the way to the ground.  The buttons on the Jenny Lee dress stop mid-back, but I can extend them all the way to the ground if I want.  One thing I love about the Jenny Lee that this dress doesn't have, though, is the v-seam on the back (lower down, around the knee area).  I also think that the actual back line of the Paloma dress may be too low and hit me in an unflattering spot.

This back line may be a little low...I could slouch and my back fat could come pouring out over the top :) 

Hmm.  I don't really love it in this shot...seems kind of plain or something.

I think these buttons all look different in the actual dress...I think they give you button loops with the actual dress so the buttons lay flat.  I hope so, at least, because this shot looks like the buttons are about ready to fall off!  I like how the Jenny Lee dress has ruching over your butt.  I feel like this plain fabric over your butt may be a little unforgiving in this dress.  I don't really like the seam where the ruching stops right above my butt.  I also don't really like the back line of this dress and where it hits me.

I do like how this fabric is a little sturdier, so the train lays nicely.  The fabric of the Jenny Lee dress is a little flimsier, so I think it just hits straight down and then the train kind of pools at the bottom.  I don't want to feel like I'm wearing a column and then have a pool of a train. That is my #1 concern about the Jenny Lee gown.  Once again, I don't really like the look of my butt in the Paloma dress. 

This is a shot of the Paloma dress without a flower, hanging up.  When I first saw this picture I just didn't think it felt wedding-y enough.  It looks like the material is really light.

I can't tell if her dress looks pretty and gathered, or if it looks wrinkly and kind of thrown on.  You can also see the split front in this picture much better.

I like this side view...you can see her train angling down.  I like that...

 Please see this girl's married website for a LOT more pictures of her in the dress.  Please check it out to help compare!!  http://community.theknot.com/cs/ks/user/page.aspx?username=bkbistro

Jenny Lee # 503

 I love the back of this dress much better than the Paloma Blanca.  I like the front of both dresses about the same, although I know the Jenny Lee is cut better.  I am worried I hate the side view of the Jenny Lee.  That's my main concern about this dress.

At first I didn't want to try this dress on at all, because I didn't want a "band", like this has at the top.  But I am okay with the band now.  It isn't too noticeable, I think. 

This dress is better quality, you can tell.  It fits better, and this is just a sample size.  It's clamped in the back (both dresses are), but you can still tell it fits better.   The pattern/cut is much better.   Does it matter that much for a dress I'll only wear one day? Hmm...probably not.  But it's something to consider.  I can definitely tell that this dress is "better".

My only concern about the front of this dress is that it is too "shiny" and would look cheap or like lingerie/a slip in pictures.  I have a choice of three colors : white, ivory and blush (this is blush), so maybe another color could help with the shiny problem.  I wish I could get this dress in a heavier/sturdier/more stable fabric.

Just another shot.  Anna was trying to hurry, so my posture in all of these is very poor. 

Not really a fan of this close up, but it gives you an idea of what it looks like.  I think the blush color almost looks a little dirty.  I don't know which color I'd do.  I tried on an ivory version of this dress at another store, and it looked better.  Do you think the band neckline looks too "david's bridal" or cheap? 

I look like I have a gut here, but I'm hoping that it's just beause the clamp was slipping.  Also, this dress has a side diagonal seam that is about three inches below my fingertip.  You can see it in this picture.  It will fall a little differently once it's hemmed to my height, and it won't pool and push the fabric up in the front.  I think the diagonal seam could look really cool, as long as it is laying right.  I like that it's different. In this picture, though, it looks wrinkly and not very attractive. :)

This looks horrible, but I think it's because the dress is too long and it's not able to hang the way it's supposed to.  Also, it looks SO freaking shiny in this picture!

This looks disgusting.  This is my #1 concern about this dress.  If I saw someone in this, I would tell them to not get it.  My boobs look kind of pointy (I think that could be fixed with proper lingerie, though).  Also, the silhouette from the side is ugly.  However, I think it's because it's only clipped to get the dress to stay on my body.  It would dit differently when it was my size and altered, I hope.  In the front, it would just come straight down, I think, instead of having extra fabric in the front like it does now since it's too long.  Would that look too much like a Grecian dress or a prom dress?  I hate the look of the train from the side... how it's straight down and then pools in what looks like a perfect circle...yuck.  This is the ONLY part of the dress that I wish was more "A line".  I wish it would look like a bridal gown from the side.  I kind of like the length of the train, though.  You can see the bustle in a picture below.

Yuck!!!  I am hoping this is due to poor fit but I'm not sure.  These side pictures could be the deal breaker for this dress, even though I LOVE the back more and probably like the front more, too.  I'm worried!!! I would look like crap in my first dance pictures and pictures of us facing each other at the altar.  Also, the seam that is below my finger doesn't match up... you can see that it's about an inch and a half lower in the back.  I will ask about that, because I think it looks cheap if  it doesn't line up on the side!!!

But...this back is beautiful (at least I think so).   I love the v seam below the butt, and I love the back line and the ruching all the way down past the butt.  At first I was worried it made my butt look too big and shapely, but I don't think so now.   I like it more each time I look at it.   I can get the buttons extended all the way to the bottom if I want.  That was pretty much the only thing I liked about the back of the Paloma.  I love the cut and shape of the back of this dress.  Too bad only about 10% of my wedding pictures will be of my back.

I LOVE the back and I love the shape of the train in the back.  Too bad it can't look like this from the side!  In this picture it looks like the train is a little more "A line" from the side, instead of dropping straight down.  Since we can't see the side, though, who knows.

I love this back line better than the Paloma, since it's a little higher, but it's still a v-shape, which I like. 

Don't mind my hands...I think I was talking. :)  This is a close-up of the back.  Once again, I could extend the buttons.  The fabric is a little shiny, but not bad.

The seamstress is trying to stretch the fabric to show how the dress will look when it's my size.  A little more fitted and won't look too baggy in the butt. 

I love the V-seam below the butt.  Does the fabric look too shiny, like it's a slip or lingerie?

It looks WAY shiny in this picture...yuck.  It may just be all the mirrors, but I will have lots of candles at the reception, so I don't want to run into that problem.  Also, my boobs look very lopsided and I don't know why.  I would obviously fix that with a bra that cost more than $5, which is what I have on. :)

In general, I think I like the shape of this dress better.  It's more flattering to my figure, but is it "weddingy" enough?  Will I regret this shape later?  I just love the cut of this dress, though.

It's not a bubble hem dress...she just tucked under the fabric so we could have an idea of what it would look like once it was hemmed.

I'd obviously have on spanx or something to make sure I don't have my gut sticking out or anything like that, so the ruching could lay properly.  I think hemming it would solve that problem, too.

A picture of the model.  This doesn't look shiny at all...I wonder why?  I want it to look like this on me.

This picture makes me concerned.  The side of this dress is doing the same column and then pooling thing for this girl. 

I would want the front of my dress about a half inch longer at least.  Do you think it looks weddingy enough?  Also, the band on this girl's dress is much more defined.  Also, it looks just a little bit baggy on her.  I'm not worried about my alterations, really, because the woman at the shop is a really good seamstress.  I just want to make sure the dress itself (side view and shine) would be okay.

This is what it looks like with the bustle.  I like it!!  From the back at least.  I wish I had a side-view of this!!!

Meh...not the biggest fan of this picture, but I think it looks distorted because she's pulling her dress from behind her to the side. 

I like the dress here...I definitely think it looks weddingy enough here.  Not too shiny, either.

The girl in this picture ended up not being a fan of this dress, and said that her dress was shiny.  (I read a review of hers on the knot).  She is wearing the blush version of the dress, which is what I tried on.  I wonder if the ivory and white versions aren't as shiny.  I tried on the ivory version at a different store, but I wish I had pictures of it.  Hmm.  I think the dress looks okay here, but nothing special.  Not that great.

I love how it looks on the model!!!  Why can't I just look like that? :)