For me, one of the most fun things about wedding planning was picking out my dress. Before I ever got engaged I had an idea of what kind of dress I wanted: halter top, lots of lace and little bling. I even had one picked out from the David’s Bridal website. So, naturally what I fell in love with at the bridal store was a sweetheart strapless with no lace and lots of bling! That’s what I get for thinking I can pick out my dress by looking at pictures online. Or maybe that’s what I get for looking that much before I even had a ring on my finger. Either way, I was put in my place! 😛
I wasn’t planning on doing anything big for the wedding before I graduated from Harding in December. I would have a good 6.5 months from January to July to plan while living at home with Pearson still in school and out of the way. But when I was home for Thanksgiving break, I couldn’t help myself. My mom and I went to the little bridal shop right up the street, Affordable Bridal, “just to look.”
I told the lady what I had in mind and we all picked out some gowns to try. At the last minute, right before I went into the dressing room, another dress caught my eye and I grabbed it. That was the first one I tried on and I fell in love with it. I tried 8 more on that day and just kept going back to the first one. It was perfect! I loved every detail! I loved the bling even though I never thought I would. I loved how flattering the neckline was on me and the train that wasn’t too long but long enough. I had found my dress. And guess what! It was very affordable! The bad thing was, I had promised a few people that they could go dress shopping with me, and I certainly wanted them there, but now it seemed the dress shopping was over. What would I do?
Well I gathered those wonderful people up a couple days later and we went back to that little bridal shop. I tried on several dresses just to humor them and take pictures, then I tried on The One. I told them I had already fell in love with it and they could all see why! With the support of everyone in the room, I officially ordered my dress!
| I have some fantastic friends and family! |
Now I also had an idea before hand of what I wanted my bridesmaids to wear: something loose fitting and modest that would be flattering on all body types. I actually stuck with this vision! So since a few of my bridesmaids/jr bridesmaids were with me at the bridal shop, they tried on the dress I had been looking at and they all liked it well enough (of course they only had one size and it was this yellow color so it was hard to tell). So I officially put this dress down for my bridesmaids as well.
I had the idea early on that I wanted to use my mom’s veil. I wanted her wedding and my wedding to be connected somehow. I needed “something borrowed.” And probably the biggest reason to do this was the fact that the cheapest veil I saw in the bridal shop was $300. I knew I wanted an ivory dress and I knew her veil was white when she wore it but it was pretty old and faded, so I brought it with me to the shop the second time and it matched my dress perfectly! I took off the flowers around the halo and put a tiara in their place.
My jewelry (including the tiara on my veil) came from the Hobby Lobby wedding line. That was my “something new.” I gave my bridesmaids necklaces and earrings from there as well. They have some good stuff for great prices. I had Pearson’s great grandma’s brooch on my bouquet as my “something old” along with a locket with pictures of my grandparents on my mom’s side who couldn’t be there for the wedding. I had a sixpence in taped under my shoe that my best friend brought back from her semester abroad. The sixpence was held by a blue penny holder for my “something blue” which I apparently don’t have a picture of and can’t find now 🙁 I’m hoping it’s at my mom’s house! I think that’s about all for my accessories.
My Advice: Don’t get stuck on a certain vision for your dress. Be willing to try on other styles you don’t think you would like. It might look perfect on you and you never know until you try! Also, bring supportive people with you. You want them to be honest about what you try on, but you don’t want them to be negative the whole time.
Who went with you to shop for you dress? Did you pick a style that surprised you in any way?
Thanks for reading!
