2 Dress or Not 2 Dress Continued...

...So the next morning after debating with myself all night, I told my mom that I thought I'd made the wrong decision. At 8:20am the very next morning I called the dress shop and left a message saying that I thought I'd made the wrong decision, I knew she was going to order it that morning so I begged her to hold off. I called her 4 more times through out the day. My dad called her. But no answer. I remembered that she was taking that day off, but I thought she'd check her messages. She didn't.

In the meantime, mom and I had 1 more day to find my REAL dress. We had an appointment at a dress shop close to home to look at a Kristina Eaton Veil, which was OMG gorgeous online, but kind of not so pretty in person. But it was at that dress shop that I found "the ONE!" the REAL the one. I'd tried it on in Birmingham and it made me cry... even though at the time I didn't even think it was even in the running. So I got measured. And mom wrote a check for half the amount and we left. With another dress.

So I owned half of two dresses. From two different stores. In two different states. I called my dad to tell him the "good news". He wasn't as happy as I was. He recommended that we put a stop payment on the first check. So we did. And we called the first shop about 12 more times. When we got home we noticed on the first contract that it said 'NO REFUNDS. NO EXCHANGES'. I thought we were in big trouble. I thought for sure we'd end up in prison and I had terrifying visions that my "wedding night" would have to be a conjugal visit at the county jail. My parents were sure that they'd get sued. I was sure that I'd get disowned. It was a tad on the tense side.

Thankfully, early the next morning the first dress lady called us back. She was able to cancel the order. She wasn't happy that we'd put a stop payment on the check, but she didn't yell at me or call me names, or throw us in jail or sue us so I was grateful. She was really a wonderful woman. Her shop is Elegant Brides in Edwardsville, Illinois. PLEASE patronize her shop. She was insightful, professional, and flexible. She had beautiful gowns and a beautiful store and I'm a little dissappointed that we weren't able to get "the one" from her. "The one" came from Amore in Chesterfield.

Anyway, I'd obviously like to keep THE DRESS a bit of a secret... but it COULD BE one of these dresses.... Ps. Why can't we wear fuscia wedding dresses?? White looks awful on me. AWFUL. I mean, if a white shirt was all I had in my closet, I'd rather walk around nekked than wear it. It. Looks. Awful. :-(

Pronovias or dinner???

I love thrift stores. I really do. I don’t mind digging through a pile of ugly 1980’s sweaters with ginornous shoulder pads to find one cashmere v-neck from Ann Taylor… for $3! I know people get freaked out by wearing someone else’s clothes, but after you wash it or dry clean it, it’s like new! Plus, how many people have tried on those brand new jeans that you’re trying on at Banana Republic??? Anyway, it’s like a treasure hunt. Its almost cathartic for me to find the name brand clothes for less than I’d spend for lunch.

Last time I was home, my mom and I went to Good Will in search of clear glass vases/candle holders to make some mock up centerpieces from. They didn’t have anything, which was a giant surprise, but they did have THIS…

Photo Courtesy: Wedding Gowns Galore

A Pronovias, mermaid, lace gown covered in crystals. It was beautiful. 100% not what I want, but some very lucky girl is going to get a stunning gown for… get this… $50! Of course, it was in desperate need of cleaning, and likely some major alterations. But still. The fabric alone would cost WAYYYYYYYY more than $50! I was tempted to buy it and make a knee length dress out of it, maybe for the rehearsal? Maybe resell it?

But I didn’t get it. I left if for some girl that’s dying for a Pronovias, mermaid, lace gown covered in crystals but thinks it’s out of reach. And I sincerely hope she finds it!

I feel sorry for the girls that don’t think they can afford a beautiful gown. All they have to do is look in the right places, have a bit of luck… and have the patience to dig through the puffy sleeved monstrosities.

A Bridal Consultant's Worst Nightmare

My mom has been in town for the past week and a half. She leaves tomorrow and I miss her already. :-( We've had a wonderful time.

And what else would we do when we're together, but go dress shopping!!

I went to an Anne Barge trunk show several months ago. Ms. Barge was there. I was the only bride in the shop at the time so she spent my entire appointment bringing me dresses she thought would look good and telling me what she liked about one dress and disliked about another and what she thought would be best for me.



I was in bridal heaven. I mean, this amazingly talented, kind hearted, glorious human being spent an hour of her life helping ME become a beautiful bride. I'd love to walk down the aisle in one of her masterpieces. Unfortunately the ole` "ya get what ya pay for" mantra holds true in this case. Her dresses are magnificent, and lord help me, so are the price tags. As I've mentioned before, I have this problem with those pesky platinum tastes and aluminum budgets.

So mom and I decided to go on a covert couture undercover operation in the Anne Barge Atelier in Atlanta. We went in poised and confident and lied through our teeth about our budget. I tried on one that I LOVED. It was $4,170 + $600 to "open the bust" (whatever that means) and not including taxes or other alterations. We left agreeing that we had to "think about it". The consultant rolled her eyes.

This morning the first thing I did was google the style number. And lo and behold I FOUND it on http://www.preownedweddingdresses.com/ for $1000 obo!! Can you believe it?!?! I think it's too soon for it to be "the one" but I'm absolutely STOKED that my idea of finding a dress we love in a shop and ordering it online could REALLY work!