DORÉ

I spent the past weekend wedding dress shopping for one of my best friends. As someone new to the duties of “bridesmaid,” it was a complete trip–seriously one of the most exciting, overwhelming, emotional, beautiful and fun experiences!

First of all, bridal culture is a world of its own. There are unspoken rules, expectations, lingo, etc. that can turn the journey from “fun-ohmygodthisisexciting-overwhelming” to “scary-ohmygodwhatamidoing-overwhelming” in seconds.

So, we were beyond lucky to start our shopping weekend off on Saturday morning at Floravere–a new bridal boutique in the heart of Tribeca. The beauty of Floravere is that is truly “boutique” in the best of ways–it is small, intimate, chic, modern, personalized.

Upon our arrival, we were escorted to a private sitting room, which immediately made the experience more comfortable. Our bride did not have to feel overwhelmed by having to see every single other engaged woman and her mother parade about in tulle (like at some of the other shops we visited).

On another important note, there is FREE CHAMPAGNE. This is not a joke, they continuously kept refilling our flutes!! It made the moment all the more delightful, keeping the energy high and any potential harsh opinions at bay. A genius move on the Floravere team, in my opinion.

Then, there are the dresses–which are absolutely breath-taking. And shockingly accessible in price-point, compared to aesthetically similar gowns. And, all the dresses are named after amazing, full-hearted, creative women throughout history! A beautiful touch that we all enjoyed.

Our consultant, Laura, was incredibly knowledgeable and personable–managing to satisfy all of our (“the entourage’s”) wishes and opinions, while putting the bride first.

Though our bride did not say “yes to the dress” on Saturday, I imagine further visits to Floravere are in our future and I’m definitely not mad about it. :)