I Found My Dress!!!

If you were in the Tampa Bay area on Saturday, June 13 and heard a long loud screetchy, shrilly sound, I apologize. I FOUND MY WEDDING DRESS!!! The scream was all but necessary. This was not an easy process ladies!

Going into the search, I never thought it would be so hard to find the dress of my dreams. To be honest, I never really had these dreams. Maybe that was my problem. Going into the search I had no idea what style I liked. I had some ideas of what styles complimented me best but no thoughts on theme or fabric.

I went to 6 different bridal shops and tried on over 50 dresses. I had five favorite dresses that I had pictures of me in. I sent these pictures to my trusted advisors (close friends and bridesmaids) and so thoughtfully talked about such dresses as #2 or #5 referencing when they came up in the series of pictures. All 5 of these dresses had a very similar style.

Then I had a minor set back; a moment I am not proud of. Yes, I had a minor bride meltdown. Groomzilla and I had a deep conversation about whether men can wear cream under black suits. This was sparked by the fact that I had not bought my dress and did not know what color it was going to be. Groomzilla and I agreed that the dress should be bought before we determine the men's attire and therefore, enter bridal meltdown. The pressure was on.

This was a Monday. I was determined to get to a dress shop and get some of that fine designer material around my little body if it was the last thing I did! I called a bridesmaid who so diligently met me for my dress search therapy.

Dang. I fell in love with another dress. Worse, this dress was COMPLETELY different than the other 5 dresses. Argh! It seems that I was back to the drawing board.

So this time, I went big time. One of the biggest bridal stores in Florida, CC's Bridal. I've heard a lot about CC's but was hesitant to go in there. You see, they have all the big designers and the big price tags to boot. I already fell in love with a dress outside of my budget so I was in fear of this place, really, fear! I figured I had to bite the bullet. Besides I was running out of stores to try in the Tampa Bay area.

The girl at CC's was great. She sat me down for quick consultation about what I was looking for in a dress and said she had just the designer for me. Yeah right, I heard that before! What could she know?

My friend and I settled into my dressing room as she came in with several dresses. She plopped the first Pronovias dress over my shoulders and zipped me up. I glanced in the mirror and thought to myself, "dang, this girl might know what she is talking about." I simply loved this designer, just not the dress.

When I first looked in the mirror at "the one." I was taken aback. I had a big smile on my face which was duly noted by Friend. I stared at it for a long time, taking in every detail. I LOVED it. I mean I really LOVED it. I had to get some reassurance from my mom, who was unable to be there. So I called her and told her as many details as I could. She was on board with the decision and I knew I was sold. I didn't want to take it off. I just kept looking in the mirror and smiling. Oh yes ladies, I found the One!!

This is NOT my dress. I just thought the pic was beautiful. You can find it at Fashion Weblog