Dress DONE!

A few weeks ago, my maid of honor and I went to the bridal district in Cincinnati to do some wedding dress shopping. I had 2 appointments lined up - the first at Cincinnati Bride and the other at European Bridal (right next door). Cincinnati Bride had a ton of dresses to look through, and it was pretty well organized into different styles. But it was a Saturday, and it was pretty packed. In fact, the lady that I had an appointment with, was busy helping a girl that came in as a walk-in before me. So the whole time I was there, she was tending to both of us at the same time.

I picked out about 6 dresses to try on. Several styles of what I was looking for - A-line, drop waist, lots of bling, pick ups through the skirt - pretty traditional gown. But every time I put them on, I just wasnt impressed. It just wasnt me. Not to mention the fact that those dresses are incredibly HEAVY! I felt about 30 degrees warmer each time I had one on. And if I am that hot for the 5 minutes I have the dress on in the store, I can only imagine how it would feel on my wedding day, nerves going crazy, outside under the tent, dancing. No thanks.

The other times that I had gone shopping with my mom, she had picked out another style that she really liked on me, which was something I had not pictured myself in. So at Cincinnati Bride, I chose a few of those styles to try on, and actually really liked one. It was pretty on, and the material was so light and easy to move around in. I had the lady write it down and told her I would come back with my mom later in the week (everyone knows you cant make a dress decision without your mother present ;-)

On to the next appointment! Did I mention that Emily is 9 months preggo and has already peed about 6 times by now?? She was such a trooper and a great help :) Anyways, the next appt. was at European Bridal. Immediately walking in I didnt think this was my kinda place only b/c it was alot smaller and the selection wasnt as big as the other place. But they had a gorgeous dress in the window that was the A-line pickups style that I just HAD to ask about. The sales lady's reaction? "Ummmmm what's your budget?" LOL - thats never a good sign, right? I told her, and she proceeded to tell me that the dress in the window was a custom made piece that was $3,500 - FYI that is WAY over my budget ;-)

The good news is that she pulled out another dress that was sorta kinda like it..........in its own kind of way. What the heck, why not try it out. I put it on, and it happened. IT happened! That was the one. Emily agreed. I got a little choked up when I put on the veil and headpiece with it. And thankfully, this dress was in the budget :)

But you know the drill - I told the lady to write it down and I made an appt to come back on Monday evening with mama. So Monday rolls around and I loaded mom up in the car and drove back to Cincy. Now keep in mind, that every other time mom has been dress shopping with me, her response is always the same when I come out of the fitting room. "Oh now that's pretty" or "Oh wow" or "Oh I really like that". But this time was a little different. I walked out and she said "Oh wow. Oh double wow. That's the one."

I feel pretty in this dress, and isnt that what every bride wants on her wedding day? But not only do I love the way it looks, I also love the feel - I can move! I can breathe! It doesnt weigh 5,000 pounds!

The real kicker of this dress is that its NOT the style I thought I was looking for. Instead, its the style that mom had picked out for me. Its different than any other gown I have seen in any weddings I have been to, and I like that. I like the "different" factor. I LOVE it. I also like the fact that dress hunting is DONE!