And while I loved the dress I eventually purchased, a simple silk-satin A-line gown from the now-extinct Soho studio Wearkstatt, I could have done without the panic to find, order and get fitted for it within six months (since when is half a year considered nearly too little time to find an outfit for a party?). I know I could have been happy walking down the aisle in a dress that cost me one-fifth the price, that I tried on in the privacy of my own home, that took less than a month to order, and twirled just as prettily on the dance floor when I busted out my best moves.

Now, seven years later, I am heartened by the current availability of off-the-rack, simple-cut bridal gowns —perhaps due to the increasing popularity of destination weddings, which necessitate a low-key, pack-light ensemble, not bulky beaded gowns or dresses fluffed wide with multiple underskirts. Couture houses are also picking up on this trend, designing slimmer-lined gowns — many with shorter hemlines — from ethereal fabrics like chiffon and simple lace-overlays, volume in ruffle-y layers rather than in boning or stiff petticoats, and delicate details like bubble hems, knife-pleats and pintucks.

It could also be that brides are just sick of all the drama: The cost and the rigamarole of ordering a gown, hoping it shows up on time and looking like you expect it to, and then going back to the salon for fitting after fitting. Or maybe brides just started picking up on a trend their bridesmaids started: Buying wedding-worthy dresses from non-bridal stores in ultimately wearable, uncontrived cuts (and normal sizes, thank you very much — how is it that my usual size-4 self needed to order my wedding dress in a size 10?) and utterly palatable prices.

Retailers, such as J.Crew, picked up on this years ago, and have since categorized their offerings into specific “Weddings & Parties” or “Celebrations” attire. The selection of gowns for brides is perennially small but well-curated — a handful of bride-appropriate options includes this perfectly beach-worthy halter-style Jenelle (pictured at top) or the classic but sneakily sexy, U-backed Mimi.

But J.Crew’s strength is its standout options for ‘maids, where each attendant can choose a different cut of dress in a unifying color, or go traditional and all pick the same cut. Girls all over the country can order their dresses without having to be measured or guess at sizing; exchanges and returns are not only possible (ever try to return a ghastly fitting bridesmaid’s dress to a specialty bridal boutique?), but also easy, with lenient return policies and generous time frames. Ann Taylor — where bridesmaids have been shopping for years — was wise to create a “Celebrations” section that includes not only the familiar, aisle-appropriate styles that have always been easier to shop for and more reasonably priced than their bridal salon counterparts, but also a smattering of full-length white gowns, like the lace-over-silk Denielle.

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