Getting THE DRESS!!

Jennifer, Kacie and I had done our homework--we had been to several bridal salons in the area to check out different dresses. Everyone always tells you that when you find the right dress, you know it right away. They also tell you to try on all different styles--even if you don't think you will like them because you might be surprised. Jennifer and I had done our research prior to going into any of the salons and picked out some different styles that kind of appealed to me and written down the style numbers in her wedding book. Jennifer has to be the greatest maid of honor to ever exist because in addition to helping me research everything, she also called to set up all of my appointments. I officially nominate her for MOH of the year. If anyone needs the best.....just give Jennifer a call.

The first place we went was David's Bridal. I felt I was pretty experienced with David's since my best friend and bridesmaid, Leigh, has worked for David's for over 5 years. They explained the process to us and told us we would have a bridal consultant and that our appointment would last about an hour and a half. In this time frame, I would probably try on 3-5 dresses. Jen, Kacie and I looked at each other in disbelief--seriously, we were here to try on dresses--a mere 5 dresses wouldn't do. Surely they didn't know who they were dealing with. We started pulling dresses off the rack--anything we even thought might look good on me we pulled. We quickly had our system down--Jennifer helped me get in and out of the dresses, we took pictures, Kacie wrote some notes about each dress, and then changed into a different dress. I think that we tried on at least 12 dresses and then switched to trying on bridesmaid dresses. David's Bridal didn't know what hit them.

The next place we went was Mia's. Jennifer and I had been there briefly one other time to look at bridesmaid's dresses for another wedding that she is in this May. It is a very tiny, crowded shop that seemed to stay exceptionally busy at all times. It truly is amazing how they can get so many people in there at one time! Again, we were back to the system-but poor Kacie (who is pregnant) got very hot and I think a little claustrophobic had to step outside for a moment. She has been quite the trooper throughout everything. We were paired up with the most awesome bridal consultant that we have met so far, Kelsey! She talked with me about what I was looking for in my gown, looked at the list that we had already prepared of dresses I was interested in trying on, and started pulling dresses for us. After I tried on a few and she got my feedback, she went a grabbed a dress that she thought I would like that wasn't on the list. Oh my God!!! I really liked this dress! It fit nicely, wasn't too fancy, was VERY comfortable--could this be the one? After getting all of the info for the dress, we were going to call it a day. There were still a couple more dresses I wanted to try on before making that final decision.

The next place we went was called the Gown Gallery. It was in Waldo very close to where I lived when I first moved to KC. As soon as we walked in the door, we were bombarded. First of all, they didn't seem to have very many dresses out--what was the deal? The original Gown Gallery had been destroyed by a fire about a year before and apparently, this temporary place didn't have as much room to display all of the gown, so they would pair you with a consultant and they would go to the back to pull the gowns and bring them to you. This I could deal with. The cool thing going on there was they were doing a trunk show. The featured artist was from Australia. Many of the gowns that they did have out were very pretty. I can't remember the name of the consultant they paired us with, but she was quite the doozy--in fact, we will just call her Psycho for the purpose of this blog. So, here is my list of complaints:

1. She kept going on and on about how much she knew about dresses and could absolutely pick the right dress for me (this lady just met me, she doesn't know jack about me!)
2. She took us to a ginormous dressing room with the dresses in it and in she walked (apparently, she was going to be in there with me while I tried on the dresses). I am not sure that I am comfortable with this!
3. She didn't give me a bra to wear while I was trying on the dresses (should have just left at this point) Now I know I am not comfortable with this...at least I wore modest underwear and not the usual thong.
4. She would not stop talking--the whole time she yapped and yapped.
5. She told us that we couldn't take pictures of every dress we tried on--it would just be too confusing and wouldn't work--we told her that we didn't seem to have a problem with it so we would be taking pictures.

So, we picked out some dresses and that is when I noticed the label--Essence of Australia--this was the same designer of the dress I liked to much from Mia's! And I got to meet her! That was pretty cool. This is also when I noticed that all of the dresses that were displayed started at $1000. While I am not opposed to people spending that much on a wedding gown, I sincerely thought I could find a dress that I liked for less than that. And, I wanted to be looking at dresses that ended in that range, not started. Then, the designer told us that the dresses we were trying on wouldn't even be ready until late November, early December--cutting it too close (should have left at this point!)

So, this is when I thought we might be kicked out--Jennifer then presented the consultant with the list of dress numbers we had chosen online to look at (we had done this at both other places and had no problem). Psycho looks at the list, looks at Jen and says to her "You expect me to just go in the back and pull all of these dresses?" Okay, if I wasn't standing there in my underwear attempting to hold up a dress to preserve what little modesty I had left, we would have walked out right then and there before my scrawny little sister opened up a can of whoop ass on Psycho. Jennifer then looks at her and says "It is your job, isn't it? And the lady I talked to on the phone when I made the appointment certainly didn't have a problem looking to see if dresses were available." Okay, really, were we going to have a throw-down in the dressing room at the bridal salon? Psycho tried to make light of the situation by reaching up to put her arm around Jennifer and say "Oh honey, you know I was just kidding you."

Apparently, my opinion meant nothing to Psycho because every time I tried to tell her what I had in mind, she wouldn't listen to me. We tried on a couple more dresses and then left and went to go eat pizza (the only thing besides Thai food that Kacie has craved since she got pregnant)

We had planned to have the dresses narrowed down to less than five and have my Mom come out one weekend to get THE dress. Mom came out the first weekend of March, and we had appointments made for David's Bridal first and then Mia's. We had a couple to try on from David's and then I let my mom and Stacy's mom, Opal pick out a couple for me to try on as well. We finished at David's and then went out for a quick bite to eat and then headed to Mia's. I told Kelsey that I wanted to try on a couple and then try on my favorite last. I tried on one that Opal and mom liked, then tried on a second one that was very pretty--actually had me really questioning the amount of fluff I wanted in a dress--this one had a lot of fluff and I really liked it. Then, I tried on my fave--I didn't look in the mirror at all--and let Mom, Jennifer, and Opal see it first. They really liked it. I asked them the crucial question--which do you like best? They turned it right back around and asked me which I preferred--then I looked in the mirror and knew that this was the one--My Wedding Dress. It was just what I wanted--no fluff, no puff, no beads, lace, embroidery, or sequins--just plain and elegant and ivory!! It suited me.

For all of those brides out there looking for a dress, here is my advice: You may not know right away, think about it. If you have tried on a dress that you compare all other dresses to, you have found the one. Don't let anyone try to talk you into something that doesn't suit your personality. Don't be hounded by a pushy salesperson. And, last but not least--for the love of all modesty--make them give you a bra to try on dresses and always wear your granny panties to those appointments--it is incredibly hard to keep your boobies covered when you are standing in front of people and trying to get dresses over your head. There comes a time when the hands come off the boobs and go over the head!!!!