The Dress (It’s Barbie… not Cinderella!)

After less shopping than I predicted (under 3 hours to be exact), I finally have what most brides think of as the pride and joy of their wedding – A WEDDING DRESS! I have to admit that on my list of priorities for this wedding, a wedding gown was the least of my worries. Not that I’m not fashionable or I don’t like to dress up (I like both of those things), I just think there are better things to blow money on. To be honest, I can hardly remember one bride’s wedding dress from any of the weddings I have been to (and even the ones I have been in), but I always remember the small details of the actual wedding and of course, the PARTY! So, to sum it up, I wanted a dress that was unique (we all know I insist on not doing things like everyone else), a dress that flattered my figure (duh!), a dress that made me happy, and a dress that Tres would like! Well, I have to say, I scored big time in Atlanta. I got a dress that was all of these things and more. Not to mention, it put a new light on wedding dresses for me – they do matter, and when you find one you love, all the other plans begin to fall in place.

Our first stop was Brides Against Breast Cancer where I tried on some beautiful dresses, but none of them were it. I hated that I wasn’t going to be a “bride against breast cancer” like I had hoped, but I bought a t-shirt with proceeds going to breast cancer and told them I would donate mine when I found it! At this point, it was 10 a.m. and I didn’t have another appointment until 2, so luckily on our way out the door, the ladies recommended a gown shop to visit in between our appointments. I called the place to make an appointment, and I was told on the other end of the phone that I was in luck – someone had just canceled for the timeslot I wanted. I turned to mom and told her that was a sign, and as it turns out, IT WAS!

The first dress I put on at this place, my mom started crying and loved it. I looked in the mirror and hated it but kept thinking, “Crap! The one mom cries about is supposed to be ‘the one,’ but I don’t like this dress.” So I tried on a few more until I really did put on “the one.” I had a hard time with “the one” at first because while I wasn’t too picky with the dress hunting, there were three things I knew for sure I didn’t want in a wedding dress: 1) taffeta (I have never been a fan of this fabric) 2) ivory (I was set on stark white) and 3) a train (I am not very traditional gal and for me, a train screams traditional). Well, guess what?! This dress had ALL THREE, and I was still pretty sure it was the one. I say pretty sure because I am crazy. No matter what, I have it in my head that there is always something better out there, and though I thought this dress was perfect, that thought kept going through my head. As they say, once you find YOUR dress, you don’t even want to try any more on, but my curiosity pushed me to do it. I tried 2 more on but didn’t even zip them all the way up before looking in the mirror and saying, “Ick, I don’t like this.” One was a ball gown. My reaction? “This is Cinderella. I am NOT Cinderella. I like Barbie so much better!” Mom’s response? “The other dress was definitely Barbie!”

So as every bride’s story goes, I put MY dress back on – several more times. My family took loads of pictures while I pictured myself walking down the isle of Southern Oaks Plantation on October 17, 2010 in what I currently saw as my reflection in the mirror that day. I had never seen a dress like it, and I knew it was the one. At one point, I got dizzy and I started feeling like I was going to pass out. I knew right then it was because I realized the reality of it all (and because I had squeezed in size 0 because the size 2 was too big in the butt). But it was more my heart than my large ribcage causing those feelings - I thought… I AM GETTING MARRIED! And this was a thought I never really had. Getting married was never a priority of mine, not a goal, not a wish or dream – it was something I would do IF I ever found someone who complimented me perfectly, which was something I believed was impossible. But here I was on this day with a perfect dress and an even more perfect man.

After much contemplation of still going to the 2:00 appointment (just in case I found something even more perfect than my already perfect gown), we took the dress! I walked out of that shop feeling the same way I felt walking away from the Golden Gate Bridge the day Tres proposed - knowing there was no looking back. I had found my one and only – DRESS AND MAN!

See a picture of me in my dress below.......

Haha... gotcha! It's a SECRET until October 17! But I really do have it on here at my parent's house!

An extra story to the trip…
The day I found my dress, I noticed Tres became very interested in where my family and I would be going to dinner. He kept asking, but I didn’t really think much about it. I kept telling him I didn’t know because I didn’t. Well, the next day came and I told him we were going to brunch and he asked the name of the restaurant. When we got to the brunch place, Murphy’s, we had a wait so I ordered a mimosa while sitting at the bar. The girl was a total wanch, and said since my license was expired, I couldn’t order one. I was shocked – I had gotten through airport security at least 6 times with this expired license, and she wasn’t going to let me order a drink!? So, my mom ordered one for me, but the girl wouldn’t even let my own mother order me a champagne drink! I was like, “so… you’re telling me I’m with my mom, and my license says I’m 26, and you STILL won’t let me have a mimosa?!” The wanch said, “It’s against the law, sorry.” I found out later, it’s actually NOT against the law, she was just a complete WITCH! Anyway, I was so mad at this point that I started texting Tres telling him this woman had ruined my day. He acted really worried about it, and I wondered why.

Once we got to our table, we kept seeing waitresses and hostesses walk by our table but didn’t think too much about it then. UNTIL – our waitress brought us a bottle of champagne, and said “This is from your fiancé, Tres!” I was so confused, but then I realized then why he kept trying to figure out where we were eating – he wanted to deliver congratulatory champagne to our table because I had found my wedding dress! And the waitresses and hostesses were trying to get it delivered to the right table! When I realized what he had done, I couldn’t believe it… what a surprise! I couldn’t believe he thought to do that and it reminded me once again how truly blessed I am to have someone so caring and thoughtful! I cried it made me so happy, and my family joined in on the tears. Here we were in the middle of brunch crying tears of joy because we all knew I had one of the best guys in the world!

I called Tres ecstatic, telling him how excited I was! He told me he had called to have the champagne delivered to our table before I got told I couldn’t drink, so he had to call AGAIN and talk to the manager! What a job… haha! I didn’t do it, but what I wanted to do when I walked out of that place was bring the empty bottle of champagne to the bar where the wanch was and say TA-DA… look what I had!!!!! :)