Ahhh, the dress...
Every girl dreams about it..
Wondering what style she will want on her big day..
A-Line.. Ball Gown.. Mermaid..
Lace.. Bling..
The list goes on.
For me, I really had no idea what I wanted and after looking through tons of magazines, I thought that I had decided on something lace, like this Allure gown--
I thought this was gorgeous and Coach even loved this too.
Of course I never told him this one was my favorite too because if it ended up being "the one", I didn't even want him thinking about it.
The first store I ended up going to was I Do I Do Bridal Boutique in Athens. My MOH Wendy
also my cousin
and her daughter Jaycee, one of my flower girls, met me there on a rainy day and the trying on began.
And because I am OCD, they are in order from 1st to final dress.
Lord, help me.
I think this is one of the fakest smiles I have ever seen!
I really did love this one..
I'm pretty sure its the same one from the poster in the background!
Lace, lace, lace!
This one was for fun.. I think it actually had a bit of a lilac cast to it.
And I ended up putting this one back on with a different sash.
If I remember correctly, when I left this store, I would be back to get it.
**There was one more that I tried on. It was similar to the Allure gown. I do not even have a picture because I looked so frumpy with the 'sleeves'. Even tho it was sleeveless I remember feeling like I had sleeves on to my wrists. It. Was. Awful. I walked out of the dressing room, Wendy got a glance, and sent me back to the dressing room to put on the next one. Definitely looks better on the model.
Next stop was my first and only Bridal Show!
Do bride's go to more than just one?
I really didn't have a desire to go to another one AND I got SOOOOO MANYYYY EMAILS from vendors. For me it was quite annoying since I already had a photog, venue, caterer, florist.. it junked up my inbox, I had to unsubscribe to every one of them. Which I know isn't THAT big of a deal but when you wake up to at least 10 new ones and they resend every other day.. yeah no thanks.
Mom and I had a fun mother-daughter day, sampling desserts, foods, looking at gowns, I think I even registered to win some rhinestone heels.
While I was there, I saw a gown on a poster from David's Bridal that caught my eye
so we made an appt...
Next stop- David's Bridal.
And here it is. The dress from the poster. It's a pretty dress but it just wasn't for me.
All of these dresses were pretty to me but I never had that feeling..
The following dress below everyone had a fit over.
I think what I loved most about it was the back. I love any kind of dress with the back cut out. Even one of my prom dresses had the back cut out of it. Then the front had that sort of sleeve look like the Allure gown and I did like the front and the shape too. In the back of my mind I did keep thinking that Coach would love this dress. It wasn't exactly like the Allure but it had it's similarities.
I even rang the bell, said yes to the dress, it was bought, but I still didn't feel right about it.
The next morning, it was returned and I went back to I do I do thinking I would for sure decide...
I ended up trying on two more different dresses than before.
How about that same pose?
At this point, I'm not sure what I liked anymore. I loved the lace but when I had it on I wasn't sure if it was me or not. I knew that Coach liked the Allure gown and I did too. And if you don't know that I love some bling too, I do. Bangles, rings, necklaces you name it. I love it so much that I think Coach maybe thought in the back of his mind that I would come walking down the aisle looking like one huge diamond.. (He is a very simple man-- doesn't like a lot of makeup, just wear cowboy boots, athletic wear, no frilly stuff you get the picture)
And then I think I realized, I wasn't looking for a dress Ashley wanted.
My search continued for another store to find that perfect gown.
And by word of mouth, someone told me about Elite Bridal.
Taylor was absolutely wonderful. I went by myself and took my sweet time. She didn't rush me, even when I went back and forth a gazillion times between two dresses.
And one of the dresses I was torn between was the Martina Liana gown that ended up being mine.
I was in awe!! It was absolutely gorgeous.. I loved the material.. it's dupioni silk, it was form fitting and had fullness to it all at the same time without being too mermaid, I could move in it, it had just enough bling on it for me without being over the top, and it was 2-dresses-in-1 with removable straps.. BONUS!!
When I had this dress on, I did NOT want to take it off.
I wanted to wear it out of the store!
THAT'S THE WAY A GAL IS SUPPOSED TO FEEL AND I FINALLY FELT IT!
The hunt was finally over and I felt like I could breathe again.
As I have said before, I felt absolutely amazing on the big day.
As any girl should..
AND, Coach loved it too.
Sitting in the airport waiting to come home from our honeymoon, he asked to see the other dresses I tried on and asked to see the one we even took back.
He told me the one I chose was still his favorite and he was glad I didn't keep that one that was bought.
I would still choose my dress 100 times over!
NO REGRETS!!
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