Saying "maybe" to the dress

After about 6 weeks of searching for the perfect dress (which happens to fall in the price range of under $1500... Ideally under $1000...) I have come to the conclusion that the St. Louis bridal salon's selections are limited. Realistically I shouldn't have expected any stores to carry a designer's full line. Also, I probably shouldn't have looked at desinger's websites and picked out potential dresses before I found out which ones were actually carried in the area.

More specifically, I really shouldn't have fallen in love with the Mikaella 1209 dress, only to find out that: 1.Only two stores in the St. Louis area carry Mikaella, 2.There are no samples of the 1209 dress at either of these stores, and 3. This particular dress is from last season's line, so it may be difficult to find it anywhere.

So, having found all this out 2 weeks ago, I began researching alternatives, and found one option that is potentially awesome, or potentially awful: I found the 1209 dress, size 10, silk-satin, natural, at a Westwood MA bridal boutique, being sold online as a prior sample gown. The dress is priced at $800; regularly retailing around $1400-$1800. Wow!

Of course this is a bit scary given that this would mean buying my wedding dress online, without even trying it on first... Ill-advised, I know.

So, I investigated further- first I called the customer service line- I wanted to make sure this was a real Mikaella gown, sold from a real authorized retailer. I talked to the boutique's owner and she assured me that this was the case. She emailed me several additional close-up pics of the actual gown- showing the zipper, seams, etc. The gown is in excellent shape, and the only signs of wear-and-tear from being a sample are some small pulls near the zipper. Since this dress is a size 10, and I fall in between sizes 6 and 8, these flaws should be able to be elimated when I get my alterations done anyway. So the finished product will be flawless. Finally, she assured me that if the dress wasn't in a condition I considered acceptable, couldn't be properly altered, or any other reason- even if this just wasn't the dress for me- I could return it for a 100 percent refund! No restocking fees or anything sneaky. My only cost, then, should I decide to return it is the $15 it would cost me to ship it back.

So... This being my dream dress... And probably my only way to afford it... With no other viable options in sight... Is it worth the risk?

What would you do?

Well...
I did it!!! I ordered it Saturday morning and it will be here today! I'm really excited to see it, hopeful it looks and fits great in person, and that I can stop saying "maybe" and finally say "yes" to a wedding dress! Wish me luck!