Real Life Bride: Week 6

I'm fairly certain that my dress shopping experience was not how many other people (brides and non-brides) would imagine, but it was definitely very "me." I visited one amazing little boutique (The Ivory Suite in Pasadena ~ highly recommed it), had a private appointment with the store all to myself, tried on about 8 dresses or so with the help of the two lovely owners and narrowed my selection down to one gorgeous dress. It was silk and strapless with floral brocade work around the torso just under the bust. I would say that I am fairly unemotional, and while I did not cry trying on dresses, I did think to myself, if I was going to cry, this would be a dress I could cry over.

I'm known to like to do things "now," but I controlled myself and did not buy that dress from the very first store. Our second stop seemed more like a bridal gown factory, with racks and racks of dresses (none that I could see myself wearing), a bride with her entourage of seven or eight people taking a picture in her ball gown complete with a tiara, and bridal consultants (isn't this what they call them on "Say Yes to the Dress"?) galore. Not quite the quaint experience from the first store, but I still wanted to try on more dresses "just in case." I also knew that they carried a certain brand that I was keen on, and the consultant politely informed me that they did have two dresses in the store by that designer, but that they were slightly outside of my budget. Well, ladies, I consider myself a strict budgeter, personally and professionally, but of course when it came to my wedding dress I let the wonder get the best of me ~ and when I put that dress on...I knew it'd be every penny's worth over budget!! Fortunately when she said "slightly," she really did just mean "slightly."

Being the reasonable person that I try to be, I left the store without the dress as I was starving and knew I couldn't make any decisions on an empty stomach. I contemplated continuing to look, but I was already deciding between two dresses that I could see myself marrying Ryan in, so why would I want to add another beauty to my already difficult decision?! I still really liked the first dress, but this dress from the second store was too gorgeous to pass up and fit in so perfectly with the look and feel of our wedding and venue. Plus, my mom herself was teary when I came out! Ultimately, we ended up returning to the second place, and I am very happy and excited to see my dress again in six months with a proper fit ~ bye bye heavy duty clips! I think I heard someone saw they are what they use on cable jumpers...intense. I am so happy to have shared the experience with my mom and sister and wouldn't have had it any other way. I look forward to surprising the rest of my family and all of my friends on my wedding day!

And no, I pretty much didn't do anything else wedding related the entire week =) But here are some pictures of my first visit to the Event Studio to meet with Beth!


Planning Status:
Wedding Dress - Purchased!