Saying "Yes" to My Wedding Dress!

The disadvantage to having a 3 year engagement is the amount of time you have to think and then over-think the definition of your "dream wedding." For the first 2 years of our engagement, I was told it was "too soon" to really dig into the details so I mostly tried to pretend that it didn't exist. Aside from physically saving up money, life was the same as it was before we were engaged. Once we (finally) hit the 1-year mark before the wedding day, I gave myself full permission to go into planning mode!


Before I continue, I should address the "elephant in the room" and briefly talk about the disappointment of deciding to not have our destination wedding in Cancun. We were told that the resort would help us put together the wedding of our dreams. We were supposed to talk to one wedding coordinator for the duration of our planning period and this person would also be on-site for the entire event. As it turned out, most of the time it's too good to be true!


During the Cancun Wedding planning process, I was informed that chair rentals for just the ceremony on the beach ran $8/chair and the dance floor was $638. Table decor and set-up was $300/table and the nickel and dime-ing continued from there. My frustrations began to mount and upon discussing my cake options (chocolate, vanilla, or cheesecake) I finally asked myself, "Is this what I really envisioned?" The sinking feeling in my stomach got worse and worse. Finally, Alek and I discussed our options and decided to keep the wedding in the Buffalo area and dive into planning!


A feeling came over me that I didn't expect: excitement! I felt like a BRIDE! I hadn't realized it until that point; but I never let myself get excited about the Cancun Wedding because there was so much that could go wrong. I couldn't rationalize the full ball gown I always envisioned as a little girl because Cancun is so hot and muggy, so I settled on finding a tea-length wedding dress. Then I was flooded with the creative ideas I kept turning off in my head because they would be too difficult to plan from afar. I thought I was the only one feeling this way until Alek took my hand and looked at me with a big smile on his faced and asked, "Is it bad that I'm excited about this? I'm sorry Cancun didn't work out, but for the first time this all feels real."


Now, let's get back to wedding dress shopping!! And no worries - there are no spoilers here! "THE" Dress is not pictured!


To keep within my budget, I decided to start with David's Bridal for my first boutique. I called a month ahead of time and secured a Tuesday appointment so that things weren't too hectic. June 19th, to be exact! I cleared the date with my Mom, my MOH (Monica) and my Bridesmaid (Jessica). I even took the day off from work!


It was the Thursday before the Tuesday appointment, and I was having dinner with my Mom and Alek at a local Chinese Buffett. I had received several Emails during the week about a huge semi-annual sale at David's Bridal, but the sale was ending the day before my appointment. To be sure I could get the pricing, I called David's Bridal and asked a sales associate if they would honor any sales pricing a day later. On the phone, I was told they would. But during dinner, I got a funny feeling that told me perhaps the sales associate was misinformed. I asked Alek and my Mom if they would mind stopping at David's Bridal since we were close and just re-check in person.


I gave my gut instinct a high-five as the sales manager apologized to me and said while she couldn't honor the sales pricing the day after, she would happily move my appointment to an earlier date. I completely understood the situation as I realize it's a franchise and pricing isn't determined by individual stores. The manager also gave me the opportunity to try on a couple dresses that day and come back Saturday as well!


My inner princess twirled with excitement! I had been counting down the days until I could finally try on gowns and now it's happening 3 days sooner than planned! Luckily, I was already wearing a strapless bra, however; my shamrock socks made the footwear situation interesting! I felt a little sad that Monica and Jess weren't there, but I soothed my guilt by telling my Mom and Alek that no final choices were to be made until Saturday (the earliest!).


I never intended Alek to be with us for dress shopping, but I wasn't bothered by his presence. He's always been honest about how I look in clothes and he's been known to tell me an outfit I was wearing looked silly. I so enjoyed dress shopping with him on that Thursday, that I also asked him to come back with us on Saturday!


The first dress I tried on was one I had book-marked in magazines and iPhone Apps. I was so sure that it would be "THE ONE!"

The First Dress I Tried On!

The sales associate, Karen, helped me into my first-ever wedding dress and I shuffled outside to my on-lookers. My Mom LOVED the dress and didn't want me to try on any others. Alek also nodded and said I looked beautiful. I liked the dress, but I wasn't prepared to stop at the first dress I tried on. Also - the dress was HEAVY!!! I tried to see myself wearing it for an entire day and I just couldn't. 

The Second Dress - Vera Wang's "White" Collection

Karen had asked me to describe my perfect gown, and I immediately said "ball gown!! The bigger the better!!" She came back quickly with the gown and helped me into it. I walked out, and was again told I looked beautiful (isn't Alek so wonderful??) but I couldn't see ME! All of the hard work at the gym was hidden under what felt like a TON of fabric. I felt like my radius was about 4 feet!

The Third Dress - also Vera Wang!

David's Bridal associates called this one the "fern" dress. The fabric was so light and airy and gave me such a wonderful shape! It became a contender to be "THE" dress! Check out the back!!!

Buttons all the way down! Gorgeous!!

And then there was the final dress I tried on Thursday night - the dress that completely added to the confusion and became the 2nd contender to the "THE" dress! Jess later (on Saturday) nick-named this one the "buttercream cupcake" dress.

Buttercream Cupcake!

I walked out of the bridal boutique very confused! I never thought I would be the bride stuck between 2 dresses! My Mom and Alek tried not to sway me, but I knew that I wasn't going to decide anything until Saturday. Monica and Jess would certainly help me out with this decision!


The next day, after sleeping on those 2 dresses dancing around my head, I decided I should try on MORE dresses! There was just one dress out there for me, and I shouldn't have to choose between 2. There is a dress out there that would blow the other 2 out of the water! My Mom didn't agree - she told me she was already too confused! I made a list of additional dresses I wanted to try on at my appointment on Saturday.


Saturday finally arrived and me, Alek, and the ladies were ready to rock! This time I had my heals and headpiece with me too! We also had an adorable little addition to my posse: Avie (Jessica's 9 month old)! Alek took on the role as baby wrangler and the girls really focused on helping me find "THE" dress!

Avie!

Isn't she adorable?!

Don't worry - Alek had a blast watching Avie! She's such a great baby!!

 

This was the first dress I tried on for Saturday's session! This dress was so forgettable that if Monica hadn't taken pictures of me in it, I wouldn't have remembered trying it on!!! 

The next dress was "THE" dress!!!! And every dress afterwards was compared to "THE" dress! No pictures here, though!!! 

Dress Three 

Dress Three

The third dress was actually picked out by Jess - and had I not been comparing every dress to "THE" dress, this one would have been a contender! The shape was flattering and it had the ball gown feel without being overwhelming in size, but it just wasn't "THE" dress!

The Fourth "Feather" Dress

The feather dress was fun and flattering - not to sound like a broken record, but it wasn't "THE" Dress!! 

The Spanish Dress

This one was brand new to David's Bridal and was drop-waist (which didn't do anything for my figure). I had no problem nixing this one!

I felt huge in this one!

I felt like the lace-up back made my rear look HUGE! 

Me in the "buttercream cupcake" Dress!

Just to make sure I still loved "THE" dress, I tried on the 2 dresses that had me confused on Thursday. I suddenly didn't like the Buttercream Cupcake Dress as much! 

Me in the "Fern" Dress!

Same deal for the "Fern" dress - it was pale in comparison to "THE" Dress! 

As a finale, I put "THE" Dress back on and felt my smile from ear to ear. Other brides and associates kept walking by and commenting on how great I looked! My Mom loved the dress and all were in agreement - I had found my dress!! Karen handed me a bell and I rang it and everyone in the shop clapped! It was a wonderful feeling!! To make matters even better, my Mom handed me an envelope with cash that paid for the entire dress!! I felt like the luckiest girl in the world! 

Above all else, I am so happy I trusted my gut and didn't try to decide between 2 dresses! I would also like to call attention to how different I look in the dresses in comparison to the size 2 models! I am relieved I wasn't tempted to purchase my dress online. 

I have been asked if it bothers me that Alek knows what dress I'm wearing - my answer is: Not At All!! He's my best friend and the one whose opinion really matters on our wedding day. 

As for seeing "THE" Dress - you'll just have to wait til the big day!!!