Wedding Dress Fun Times!

Last Tuesday:

WEDDING DRESSES!!!!!!

What girl DOESN'T like to shop for wedding dresses?

My mom and I started the search for a bridal gown to go with my beach wedding last week.  We hit up David's Bridal (of course - we do live in Chattanooga), Prado, La Dean Shop and Cooley's.  I had a loose idea of what I wanted:  light and airy (NOT thick and heavy), flowy (NOT stiff), and figure flattering.  Empire waist dresses were MADE for the beach.  However, if you've got a belly pooch (like I do), they can make you look pregnant and can be pretty unflattering.  So I'm pretty certain the standard beachy empire waist dress is out.

I would not look like this model in that dress.

I have found two dresses that I LOVE so far, and neither of them are what I thought I was looking for!!  The first one is at David's Bridal, and the second one is at La Dean Shop (which is in Rossville).  The one at David's Bridal is currently WAY too poofy and long, but with the removal of the crinoline underneath and altering the length to significantly shorten the train, I think it would be perfect.  The second one would also need the train shortened for it to make more sense for the beach, but I think its "poofiness" is probably fine.  I didn't expect to go with anything even remotely poofy, but I just haven't cared much for any of the other dresses I've tried on. 

My mom and I still need to hit up Monica's Bridal to check out their inventory.  With the wedding being only two months away, I have to buy a dress off the rack, as there isn't any time to order anything.  And I know I could drive to Atlanta and really get my wedding dress shopping on, but I really shouldn't waste any more time and since I've found dresses here I like, why not go with one of those?  Also, since whatever I buy will need to be altered, I should probably get that on lockdown in the near future.

That reminds me......I need to look into cupcake bakeries in the Destin area and decide if I want to go with some cupcakes for the big day dinner.  :)


Today, a week and a half later:

I HAVE A WEDDING DRESS!!!

Last week, Mom and I did indeed hit up Monica's Bridal.  It went well, and they have a lot of pretty dresses and some really good prices on the discontinued ones.  The bridal consultant told me I was definitely a "Watters Girl", as she said that every dress I pulled to try on was by designer Watters.  Apparently I'm not into bling but I love chiffon and lace and delicate flowers and ruffles and such.  I tried on several pretty dresses at Monica's, and narrowed it down to a favorite.  Which meant that I had three favorites to choose from: one from David's, one from La Dean and one from Monica's.  After looking at myself in pictures of the last two dresses, I picked the one from La Dean.  But I didn't have a picture of the first dress from David's, so I decided to go try it on again and get some pictures so that I could make my final decision.

Dresses by Watters.

P.S.  All three dresses were EXACTLY the same price, so saving money wasn't a factor.

That same afternoon (Wednesday, I think?), I left the kids with my mom while I ran down to David's to try on Dress #1 again and get some pics.  While I was there, I went ahead and pulled two other dresses that I didn't remember trying on before.  When the consultant saw the dress that I was there to try on (and I did and I still loved it), she said, "I have a dress that I want you to try on."  She came back with a dress that I had seen hanging on the rack, but passed up because it didn't look like it would be very flattering, and I didn't think I would like the bottom half.

Well, I was wrong, and she was right.  I LOVED IT!!   And not only did I love it, but it was almost half the price of the other two as well, so super bonus.  So I went back up to my mom's house, grabbed her and the kids, and we bought ourselves a wedding dress that day - one that wasn't even a contender until that afternoon.  I still really love the other two dresses that I didn't pick, but this one is just perfect for both me and the beach location.

Too bad I don't have a reason to own all three.  :)

I really want to post a picture of it, but of course that's not going to happen.  Soon, friends.  Soon.  :)

Love.