The Dress...

This piece of wedding planning deserves a post of it's own because I think to any bride, it's hugely important. Even if you aren't the girly girly type, you care about what you wear on that day. Even if it's only because the pictures will be ones you look back to for the rest of forever, you care about what you are wearing.

To be honest, I wasn't excited to start shopping. I was engaged almost a year before I went out to try things on for the first time. I was terrified nothing was going to look good on me, or worse, the only things that did look good were going to cost me an arm and a leg.

I had an idea in mind of what I thought I wanted. I wanted a full, princess, ballgown. For. Sure. I wanted a pick up skirt with a long train...lots of embellishment...no lace.

When I got to the first salon, I put my little rings around all the dresses that I thought fit the idea I had in my mind. As soon as I put the first dress on, I knew what I was envisioning was NOT what I would wind up buying.

I'm very petite. I'm only about 5 feet, so when I put on those huge skirts with all the pick ups and craziness it was like WHOA...that's a dress. I got lost in it. The dresses were pretty, and they looked nice when I was standing on the little table, but not so much when I stepped down.

So...new plan. I was thankful that the consultant I had was a veteran and had spent many years outfitting brides. She knew it wasn't going to work and could explain to me exactly why. Different body types require different things. There's actually a science behind it! It's not to say that a small girl can't pull off a ball gown, it's just that there need to be other factors involved to balance things out.

She pulled some dresses she thought would be better and I liked them. I even found one that I thought I might love. It was stunning, A-Line, light beading and rouching...long, gorgoeus train...but I had barely shopped! Everyone I talked to said, when you find the dress "you just know"...I didn't feel that way, at least not yet.

So off I went to the next appointment. I kept trying on that original dress and it continued to be my favorite. But there were no tears or that feeling that I had to have it. I shopped with my mom, I shopped with my bridesmaids. My maid of honer had "a moment" with my favorite dress, but I hadn't had one yet. I felt like, I know this is the one...but why am I not bawling??

But then I started to find myself looking online at it when I was at home, and when I started to think about the day, all of a sudden I was wearing the dress. When I went back for my final appointment, I brought my mom, my maid of honor, my (future) sister in law, and my (future) mother in law. They all cried when I put it on. The dress made me feel great. It was the dress, and I finally knew it.

It's crazy because I was so worried I wasn't having that "Say Yes to the Dress" moment, I stressed myself out over nothing! I'm not a publicly emotional person, so to think I was going to start sobbing on the bridal block is just silly. I am POSITIVE I found "the dress", but it took me a minute to feel really sure, and I think that's OK. I am glad I took the time to wait until I was sure rather than having anxiety about whether I selected the right one or not for months!

Now, come the first fitting, I might feel totally different! But for now, I know I made the right decision. Plus I really enjoyed shopping around. I got to experience different salon styles and make some great memories with all the ladies involved in my wedding. Just thinking about it gets me all excited!

So...this blog has been kinda boring doing all my backtracking. I'm thinking I want to switch gears a bit. There is much more to my crazy life than just wedding planning!