The start of planning

With our date chosen, October 6, 2012, I was finally able to start planning. Since my mom was in town for a few days more after the engagement, I decided to call up some bridal shops to see if they had any slots open for a last minute appointment. I was able to get one in for the day before my mom flew back to Georgia, which was great, because I wanted her to be there for the dress shopping, and her living so far away was going to make that difficult. I also invited FI's mom to join us, and she was delighted to. FI is an only-child, so the invite to join us made FMIL very happy because she wouldn't get any other opportunity to do this, as she doesn't have any daughters. I'm glad that our relationship is so great. Definitely no Monster-in-Law here.


So, the three of us piled into the car, and drove an hour and a half to the bridal shop. Now, if you are wondering, Rhody has quite a few bridal shops for being such a small state, however, I have had my eye on gowns by specific designers for a few years now, and the closest place to us that carried that designer was in Connecticut, so we took the plunge and drove over.


Having blog-stalked and designer-stalked for a few years now, I knew the general style and details that I did and did not want. I loved some beading, but did not want the traditional "Church dress beading," as I called it. I also did not want pick-ups, no halter tops, no lace, no satin or other shiny fabric, and not heavy. Aside from those not-so-minor requirements, I also wasn't so sure I was comfortable with strapless, so I was also looking for non-strapless options.


The first thing I decided was to try on different dress styles to figure out what looked best and was the most comfortable. I tried on probably fifteen dresses that day, but the unfortunate thing was that the salon did not allow pictures until you chose a dress. I was able to sneak a few with terrible lighting though, and I'm not afraid to break the rules every now and then (when they don't hurt anyone; that's important to mention).


I tried on a trumpet style dress with a lot of detailing on the bottom and decided that while I loved the way the dress looked, I wasn't all that keen on how it looked on me. I tried on a v-neck dress and really liked that shape on the bust, but then I tried on a ball gown.


This dress was gorgeous! It was strapless, and while I wasn't really that comfortable with the way my shoulders looked, it didn't give me the armpit-boob-fat that I thought it would. That's when I started reconsidering strapless dresses.

Personal Picture / Kenneth Pool "Amour"

Please ignore the face - was trying to get a picture before the consultant returned!

Now while this dress was gorgeous, it wasn't really fitting for a outside/backyard tent wedding, so while I liked the shape and the tulle made it very light, it wasn't the one.

The next one I tried on was more A-line and had some nice detailing that made it a little different than some of the other dresses.  

Personal Picture / Watters "Lasara"

I really liked the weight of this one a lot and I think it's a beautiful dress, but this still wasn't the one.

The last one I tried was another A-line, very simple, and by one of my favorite wedding dress designers.  It was light and airy, fell nicely, and it came in white - which was another requirement I had.

Personal Picture / Jim Hjelm Blush 1103

This one was the favorite of the day, however, with this being my first appointment, I did not want to commit.  So, we wrote down the style number and price thanked the salon and consultant, and drove back to Rhody.