Designing My Dream Wedding Dress in Nashville

I! Have! A! Dress!

disclaimer: this is not that dress, obviously)

Last March, I went wedding dress shopping with my people days before the pandemic officially hit the US. 10 months later, it’s so weird to think about — that was the last day I ate in a restaurant. Peyton’s grandmother came and wore a mask, but we didn’t think that days later the entire state would be in quarantine.

Anyway, we went to 3 shops: LVD, Ila Bridal and Olia Zavozina’s flagship boutique. I had a very vague idea of what I wanted — I knew the shape and that I wanted a white dress, but that was about it.

Ila Bridal and LVD are both off-the-rack shops with beautiful dresses. After trying on a handful at each, I knew a little bit more about what I did and did not want (read: no cape; thought it would be fun to try, bridesmaids immediately shut that down).

We went to lunch and I felt a little defeated. I tried on a lot of dresses that looked incredible on, but nothing that I loved enough for Peyton to watch me walk down the aisle in. At that point, we all decided that the day was more for research purposes and that we would re-group once I had a more clear vision of my dress. Peyton’s family was meeting up with us for the last appointment, but I was at peace with not finding my dream dress that day.

….until about 2 minutes into my appointment with Olia. Any expectations were far surpassed — she made us feel so welcome from the very beginning, which was huge.

Throughout the whole wedding planning process, it’s shocked me how ‘ready’ most everyone in the industry is, from venue coordinators to florists to planners. Everyone we have spoken with has expected us to have every single detail planned which makes everything so much more overwhelming.

Olia was the complete opposite — she was SO patient and kind, and somehow understood exactly what I wanted…even when I couldn’t put it into words! Without saying too much, we ended up taking the top from a dress I loved and changing the bottom to reflect what I pictured. I just had my first viewing yesterday and words can’t describe how I felt. There are a couple things we are looking at changing and adding since it looks like we won’t be able to have our summer wedding as planned due to the pandemic, and I am soo excited to see the finished product.

Her mother makes all of the veils by hand, too — this is going to be such a special look and I am SO happy we went this route. I think what really shows how great our experience with OZ was is the fact that while we were there, my bridesmaid scheduled her appointment and ended up designing her dream dress with Olia, too! My mom loved that she was looked to for ideas and Peyton’s mom kept saying that she would be coming back when Peyton’s sisters were looking for wedding dresses.

I could sing this lady’s praises all day long, but my point is — if you are in Nashville or Chattanooga and need a wedding dress (or a reception dress, or a mother-of-the-bride dress, or a suit…really, anything), GO TO OLIA.