Let's Talk Wedding: The Dress, Part 3

Shopping again! This time, it was sadly without my mom. She and my dad went to Texas to visit my grandmother right before she passed away. If you remember from here and here, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. I was able to introduce her to Ken before she passed (which you can read about here)! I thank God for that!!! I didn't think it would be a big deal anyway b/c I was just going to David's Bridal...little did I know that God was about to show me the perfect dress! :)

My main goal was to just try more dresses on so that I could get a feel of what I was looking for. David's Bridal was a place that I could try on A LOT of dresses and they would have my actual size too. Michelle, Finley (Michelle's daughter) and Raley (my niece) were all in tow. Michelle and Raley would also be trying dresses on, but that will be saved for another time. I wasn't very impressed with David's Bridal. Even if you are on a budget, I still found dresses to be quite pricey for the material they were made with. Some of them felt like shower curtains. Now, I will say that if I had found a dress that I LOVED there, I totally would have bought it...I'm just saying that I was surprised to see dresses over $500 when I could go to most bridal boutiques in OK and find the same prices. As you will see below, DB did help me decide what my favorite style was. Here are the dresses I tried on at David's Bridal:

I would have liked the above dress if it had been less "full". You can see below how I'm pulling back the bottom part so its more fitted....I liked it MUCH more as a fitted look! I really loved the bust of this dress and how it was pleated. I love the rouching (I have no idea if thats how its spelled...but its the gathering on the bodess of the dress). Outside of how "full" the skirt was, this was my favorite so far. I just thought it was really flattering.

I didn't really like this next dress at all. I think I just tried it on b/c the sales-woman brought it to me b/c it was similar to a style I wanted that they didn't have anymore.This was the second to the last dress I tried on. As soon as I saw it on, I knew that this was the exact style I was looking for! There were a few things I didn't like about it...1.) the seam that runs hortizontally right above my knees; 2.) the points at the top of the dress on the bust-line (in the second picture, you can see me tucking them in to see what it looks like); and 3.) I still really liked the bubble on the train of the first dress I tried on at Meg Guess. I had finally found what I was looking for though.

This was the last dress I tried on at DB...I love halters, but I thought this was a LITTLE MUCH for the wedding!

After David's Bridal, we all went to eat at Olive Garden! YUM!!! YUM!!!

We decided that we were just going to TRY to stop by Bridal Showroom (the shop that Moe owns) and see how crowded it was. Much to our surprise, they let us pick out and try dresses on even though we didn't have an appointment! YAY!!!! And the FIRST dress I tried on, was "the one"!!! As soon as I unzipped the bag it was in and pulled out the train and saw the sillouette, I KNEW I was going to love it! I even said in my head (b/c there was a woman in there helping me) that this was "the one"! Immediately, once it was on, I knew that Michelle and Raley would LOVE it! Doesn't it look A LOT like the DB dress??? It was perfect! It had exactly what I was looking for....it was fitted, strapless, not points, no seam at the knee, and it had the bubble train. When I walked out, Michelle said..."This is it!!!! We're done!!!" I was a little skeptical b/c I wanted to keep trying dresses to make sure! But, Michelle and Raley were sold on this one. Every time I walked out in anything different, they said "Nope...the first one."

This one was not my favorite, but I loved the top part. This one gave me some stress b/c I really loved it. The one I tried on was one size too small and I just couldn't get a feel for what it would look like if it really fit. I just loved the "poof" at the bottom and how it was still fitted on most of my body. When I went back for my last fitting before the wedding, I STILL wanted to try this dress on again...but I knew that was a bad idea. I tried the first one on again. I knew deep down it was "the one", but I was really having a hard time not having my mom there. I think I wanted her approval. I didn't think I would ACTUALLY find it without her! I just didn't get that emotional feeling of "this is the dress". But I LOVED it and knew it was exactly what I was looking for. They started putting veils on, but never pulled one that I liked.

In the picture below, they are just showing me what the dress will look like when its bustled.

The four of us girls had a lot of fun! I am so thankful that Raley was there too! She was so much fun and I was grateful that she tried on Jr's dresses so I could see what we all liked best. :)I'm so thankful that I was able to find my dress and send pictures to Texas so my grandma could see it!!! I'm thankful that even though she didn't make it to the wedding, she was still able to celebrate this with me! My mom, grandmom and my aunts all loved the dress!!!! I couldn't wait for my mom to see it in person! :)