I might just be the teensiest bit excited. Ok, ok, that’s a lie. I’m a whole lotta excited. I picked up my wedding dress from the seamstress yesterday after having been separated from my dear taffeta friend for six weeks, so the sewing whiz could work her magic and create a bustle where none was before. And, friends, it is beautimous!
Let me back up just a tad. I’m getting ahead of myself in my hyperventilating state of over-excitement here. Let’s just rewind to the actual purchasing of said dress first. I was crazy lucky and found my dress early (we’d only been engaged a month!) during a visit to Raleigh. I had my mother, my future MIL and my sister/MOH in tow, and the day of trying on dresses had started pretty poorly. We started at David’s Bridal, where I tried on about half a dozen gowns. And every. single. one. looked yuck on me. It was so disappointing. I know plenty of people who have had success at David’s Bridal, but for some reason the stars were just not aligning for me that day. I had yet to have a moment where I walked out of the dressing room and felt bridal. With a case of the woe-is-mes, we headed to our next destination, a new boutique in Raleigh called A Bridal World. And this is where the magic happened. It was the second dress I tried on it, and it was that moment I had been longing for. I felt beautiful. I felt like a bride. The dress fit like a glove, like it was made for me. And my shopping companions seemed to agree. Their faces said it all. Whereas before, we had all shared looks that consisted of crinkled noses or raised eyebrows, everybody was all grins. I knew it was the one.
It was strange, however, because the one was nothing like I envisioned the one would look like. In all my pouring over bridal magazines and websites, I had created an image in my mind of what I wanted. I didn’t want strapless. Rather, I wanted straps or sleeves of some type. I especially liked bateau necklines. I also was in love with the idea of lace. I drooled over practically every photo I saw of dresses dripping in lace. It seemed so elegant, so timeless, so feminine. And I wasn’t crazy about the idea of a big skirt, with lots of poof. I wanted straight, streamlined. Ladies and gents, my dress is none of the things on my initial checklist. It’s strapless, it’s not lace and it’s a decently-full A-line. It just goes to show that looking at pictures and actually trying on gowns are two very different things. I realized after trying on the styles I liked on paper that they didn’t look good on me. Strapless was most becoming on me. And lace for some reason wasn’t working for me once I had it on. And man, do I love my flouncy skirt!
But, as I’ve mentioned before, part of the fun of this whole process is in more than just having a dress, it’s about creating an ensemble. And so I have been elated in the month and a half my dress has been gone to make some super fun ensemble purchases. I decided I liked the idea of poof – and color! – so much that I purchased a crinoline and dyed it purple. I also couldn’t let go of the idea of lace, and so I searched for a shrug or jacket that could bring some lace to my look. I ultimately found a lovely lace bolero jacket on tulipbridal.com that is amazing. I could not be more pleased with it. And, in the meantime I had also purchased my fabulous purple wedding shoes!
So yesterday’s reunion with my dress was a reunion of epic proportions. It was the first time I had the opportunity to try all the pieces together, and I seriously couldn’t have asked for better. I love my wedding day ensemble!
Though I don’t have many photos of the whole ensemble (it’s hard to take self portraits!), I have a couple of pictures to share.
My beautiful bolero jacket!
The shoes!
The crinoline looks more purple under the dress than it initially seemed to me after dying it. I'm pretty pumped about it.
The Frozen Southerner 
