Friday, February 21, 2014

I said "yes" to the dress!

The day finally came.

I'm totally that girl who has been planning her wedding since I was very young. I had it all planned out, I just needed to snag a dude who had good taste in jewelry. Luckily, I did that, and last weekend it came time to dress shop for THE dress!



I had a dress in mind since I was 17 that I saw online at David's Bridal. I was in a 3 year relationship from high school into college and looked online all the time for dresses and venues. When Pinterest came around, my obsession quickly (and easily, thanks Pinterest!) grew to have my whole day planned before I had any bling on my left hand. Then....someone wore MY dress. How dare them!

Fast forward to June 2008 and I met my Kyle. I've said it once and I'll say it a million times in our life - I knew he was "the one" at our first kiss (insert "ewww's" here). I was done for...head over heels, and I didn't care how long I had to wait, I knew I'd be his wife one day. 5 long years later of dating, moving a million times, him graduating and moving 2 hours away, me graduating and moving 2 hours away with him and life finally settling down - he got me the most perfect ring and made me feel everything I was supposed to feel in that moment where someone wants to very publically declare their love and tell the world they want to spend their whole life with you.

After the shock wore off and I stopped staring at my hand my thoughts turned to venue and the dress that would be most appropriate for our location. I always pictured a huge, tulle, sparkling, bedazzled cupcake dress. However, with the weight I've lost I realized these would just swallow my new shape and at the same time I was terrified of a fitted dress and if I'd even be able to get into a sample size at all.

All fears aside and notions of what I thought I wanted out the window, my entourage and I met up last Saturday morning in the Bridal District in a suburb of Cincinnati named Reading (also the hometown of my MOH!) at a shop called Bridal & Formal. I knew my sister had gotten her dress there along with pretty much everyone else in Cincinnati and heard they had a large selection of gowns. I brought along my step-mom, grandma, sister, MOH and one of my two other bridesmaids was also able to be there with me.

They had a trunk show going on where designers send some of their new line for a short time, and my dress actually came from this showing! My lucky day!

I had heard about how they had all of these dresses but the customer service wasn't great and you got dressed in a big open room with everyone else trying on dresses at the same time and I was a little scepticle going into the appointment. We arrived and met my consultant, Maura, and she was the sweetest! I told her my budget and what I thought I wanted but that I was open to whatever was going to look best on me. My girls and I took to the racks and pulled a few gowns. I had 2 pictures of dresses I knew they had at the store and was disappointed that they did not have either dress available to try on. Plan 2 was just to go with the flow, and that's what I did.

The consultant gave me everything I asked for and the second dress I tried on of the 8 or 9 ended up being the one I chose! I got "jacked up" as they say on the show Say Yes to the Dress, got on the platform and utilized the web cam to show and get my mom's approval as well. I said when I had it on the first time that it was something my Aunt Lisa would have chosen. In January we remembered her on the 10th anniversary of her death and a few weeks before getting engaged my grandma actually mentioned that when it was time to go dress shopping one day that she would really like to come with me as she never got to have the experience with Lisa. I wouldn't have had it any other way and our shopping day fell on what would have been Lisa's 54th birthday. We all agreed we felt her with us and there was no other explanation for how I came upon that dress other than she was there.

(No, this isn't what I'm wearing, it was $700!)

No, I didn't cry, and no, neither did my group, but I had my "bridal moment" where I knew it was the dress for me. I can't wait to wear it - 294 days to go!

2 comments:

  1. OHH I was so hoping there would be a pic of your dress.....Can't wait to see what you picked. :)

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    Replies
    1. I know my fiancé reads so I can't give it away! There will be plenty of pics in December!

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