Some people say that it’s the most important dress you’ll ever wear. And there are so many boxes it needs to check – flattering, expressive of your style and photogenic, just to name a few. That’s a lot to ask of a dress. These local brides share how they found the gowns of their dreams – and offer tips so you can, too.
Kiesha
It was important to Kiesha Bamiro that the dress she chose for the ceremony, cocktail hour and traditional parts of the reception flaunt an open back and match the wedding’s “very elegant vibe.”
When she tried on the Solaris dress at Vow’d in Brookfield, it felt right.
“I went to at least four or five different wedding shops on weekends with my best friend and my mom,” she says. “For this dress, when I tried it on, I loved it. It just looked so elegant and classic. I wanted a low-back dress and this was it. It was the lowest back that I found. It wasn’t scandalous.”
A veil wasn’t part of Bamiro’s vision, but things took an unplanned turn. “I was adamant about not wearing a veil. I wanted my back to be out and people to see it, but when I put on a [floor-length] veil, I cried.”
Bamiro ended the evening in an exuberant dress that honored her husband’s Nigerian background. “The colors went along with our wedding colors: mauve and navy blue. My head tie [a gele] was blue but my dress was a lighter pink. It was full of glitter all over,” says Bamiro.
Kiesha & EB Bamiro
Date: Sept. 1
Location: Discovery World
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Jaimie
Even before she walked into her first bridal boutique, Jaimie McCarthy knew what her eventual dress would look like. “I had a vision of what I wanted,” which included a strapless gown and an off-the-shoulder bolero.
At Ultimate Bride in downtown Chicago, she found her dress, which she customized by removing the straps. The boutique also custom-made the bolero to complete her initial vision. “I went to a few bridal boutiques in one day, and Ultimate Bride was my second. Before this one, I had tried on seven or eight gowns and even afterwards I still tried on others just to be totally sure. My mom says that I seemed like the happiest [in this one],” says McCarthy. “The material was also lightweight for August. It was easy to dance and walk in.”
For the reception, she removed the bolero for a more casual look. “It was easy to take off, not complicated,” says McCarthy. “I thought about getting a second dress but I never found one that was super special. Keeping it on all night is fun. When are you going to be able to wear it again? It’s a special piece of clothing for a special night.”
Jaimie & Kyle McCarthy
Date: Aug. 5
Location: Whistling Straits Chapel
Maria
With seven years to look for the right one – due to their long engagement – Maria Briggs lost count of how many gowns she tried on.
“I tried different boutiques in the Waukesha area and Chicago. I ended up finding the gown in a mom-and-pop store in downtown Los Angeles, Luv Bridal,” she says.
When she slipped into the dress, she immediately knew she’d found “the one.”
“I liked the details,” says Briggs. “It had a lot of beads. It had a corset. I didn’t have to wear any other undergarments, such as a girdle.”
As a 38-year-old bride, she says, “You’re looking at gowns and you see these models who are super young. You know the dress is not going to fit the same way. I wanted something simple. I’m a little older. Although those little gowns are beautiful, it just didn’t seem right. I’m Mexican. We’re all about sexy, curvy. Mine is perfect. It’s not too showy.”
Briggs’ groom accompanied her on her many dress-finding forays. “He saw the ‘nos’ but he didn’t see ‘the one,’” she says, until the wedding day.
Maria & Samuel Briggs
Date: June 23
Location: Delafield Brewhaus
Molly
Before she went dress shopping, Molly Mueller had already picked out her dream gown. “I found it online and told [the store] I’d like it to be one of the dresses I try on,” she says.
With her mother, sister and bridal party in tow, they made a pilgrimage to Anthropologie in Minneapolis. Mueller slipped into the gown she had been eyeing and fell in love.
“It fit me in a very flattering way in all the right places. I could picture myself getting married in it,” says Mueller. Another plus: the design meshed well with the aesthetic of the historic venue. “It wasn’t the most formal gown, but it was able to show my personality while also being formal. It was the vibe that I was going for.”
Still, to ensure this was the best option, she tried on three other dresses that day. But the first one was the one – and she loved it so much she opted not to change into another dress as part of her wedding-day events. This meant hemming it to one length for greater mobility and doing without a bustle and train.
In the end, it worked out perfectly. “I had the one dress that worked for all the events going on during that day,” says Mueller.
Molly & Kurt Mueller
Date: July 8
Location: The Howard, Oshkosh
Suzanne
Suzanne Groth was in search of a gown that showed “a little bit of leg but not too much. Sexy but still classy.”
It was also important to Groth, who was 50 on her wedding day, that the style suit her age and body type. “I didn’t want to look like a princess. I wanted to look sophisticated,” she says. “I have curves and a lot of the dresses are meant for somebody who has no curves or boobs. I felt like a lot of the stuff wasn’t in my zone.”
But the clock was ticking. It was March, and Groth’s wedding was in September. If she didn’t find the one soon, her back-up plan was to pursue a custom-created gown.
After trying on more than 20 dresses, Groth finally found a winner at a&bé Bridal Shop in Portland, Oregon. “This was the fourth shop I went to. I just loved how the material felt. It was so silky and luxurious and I loved that it was a classic, simple silhouette of a dress. I didn’t want to take it off. I told my friends I wanted to wear it to bed. It just felt like the best pair of pajamas.”
Comfort and sophistication, all in one neat package, and just in the nick of time.
Suzanne Groth & Stephen Tufte
Date: Sept. 23, 2022
Location: St. James 1868
Leila
Honoring her Moroccan heritage in her wedding was important for Leila Laasiri. Festivities included a pre-wedding henna night at South Shore Pavilion. For that occasion, she wore a red-and-gold dress her mother had custom made in Marrakesh. “Red is a very dominant color in my life. I wanted that articulated in the dress. Having touches of gold wrap around the dress, in a very delicate way, was also important to me. I wanted something that was not too tight. I wanted to be able to dance in it,” she says.
Post-ceremony, “I wanted pattern and something to bounce off the lighting, a little party,” Laasiri says.
But for the wedding ceremony itself, Laasiri wanted something “simple and elegant, in silk or satin.” She found what she was looking for in a Chicago boutique, the name of which she no longer remembers. Laasiri’s sister was in town, and they just happened to wander into the shop. “When my sister and I walked in, I said, ‘I’ll never buy anything in here.’ There were 12 dresses on mannequins and that was it,” she says. “It was the third dress I tried. I just knew the second I put it on. The hair on my arms stood up. My eyes started filling with water.”
Looking back, Laasiri ended up pleased with all three of her dresses. “I wanted to feel like myself. I knew I was not going to be able to find one dress to capture everything. That’s not who I am,” she says. “I thought about it for a year before I even started.”
Leila Laasiri & Nicholas Grabowski
Date: June 3
Location: Villa Terrace and Jan Serr Studio
Lizzy
With the garden-party wedding theme already set, Lizzy Martinez-Ortiz sought out a dress that would fit right in. She found it at the first shop she visited, Bliss Bridal in Brookfield.
“I wanted something different but with the things that I liked: simple, no lace, no beads,” says Martinez-Ortiz, who tried on dresses with lace and beading anyway, just to make sure she was truly lukewarm on those design details.
Of the 10 dresses she tried on, Martinez-Ortiz chose the last one. “I wanted to keep an open mind. I wanted to try on as many as possible.” She was so certain of her choice that she immediately canceled appointments at other shops for the following weekend.
The sleeves and bows drew her in, while the elegant crepe fabric sealed the deal. “It added a little something to it without being too crazy,” she says. This dress also meshed well with the garden-party atmosphere: “Flowers everywhere. Very whimsical,” says Martinez-Ortiz.
Before the dance floor opened, the couple changed outfits (a short mini dress for her and sparkly jacket for him.) “We were able to go from garden party to disco garden party,” says Martinez-Ortiz.
Lizzy & Joe Martinez-Ortiz
Date: Aug. 26
Location: Pritzlaff Building
