I Said Yes to the Dress!

Yesterday, with my mom, grandma and three of my bridesmaids; Liz, Amy and Kristin in tow, I found my wedding dress. I didn't expect to find the dress of my dreams on my very first outing, but I am very pleasantly surprised that I did!

Some of the amazing dresses I got to try on.

We started the day off at my first appointment at One Fine Day. The owner, Autumn, and her mother sat us down and got some information about the wedding and what I thought I might be looking for. She let us all loose and helped us all pull dresses. Since it was my first time looking, I said yes to almost everything anyone pulled and ended up with probably close to 15 dresses to choose from to start with. I went back into the dressing room with Autumn and my mom, slipped into a robe, and started trying on gowns. The first time I saw myself in a wedding dress was an indescribable feeling. It made everything seem so real! Walking out to show the others and stand on the pedestal in front of the mirror was something I had only dreamed about while watching marathons of Say Yes to the Dress. 

As the appointment went on I was surprised how easily I was saying "yes" or "no" to the different dresses. For someone that is an extremely indecisive person, I wasn't having that hard of a time feeling like something wasn't right for me and when to add something to my "favorites". By the time I had worked my way through all of the dresses we had collected I had a group of 5 left in my favorites. Although I loved all 5, there were two that I just KNEW it was going to be between. I tried each back on and felt amazing in both. Autumn added jewelry and a veil and I was surprised to find myself tearing up. By the end of my appointment I had one dress that I absolutely, positively loved and was ready to take. But, we had lunch and a second appointment planned, and to make a day of it I left the store empty handed.

The gang out at lunch.

We had a great lunch together at a very nice restaurant and it was so wonderful to have some of my very best friends by my side along with my mom and grandma to share in such a special day. All through lunch I kept thinking about the dress I had fallen in love with and was really debating whether I even wanted to go to my second appointment. After some convincing, we all headed down the road to appointment number two. After walking in and looking through the dresses on their floor, I just couldn't find a dress that came close to the dress from One Fine Day. When someone finally came to start the appointment I changed it to a bridesmaid appointment, hoping that we could find a dress for the girls while Amy was home. After not coming across anything we liked, we left the appointment early, called Autumn at One Fine Day, and headed back to my dress. The rest is history. I put back on the dress I had loved so much and just knew it was MY dress. I couldn't stop smiling and was getting a little emotional thinking about walking down the aisle to Joe in it.

To be honest, my dress is definitely not what I thought I would have chosen. I knew that it was important to try on something that may not completely be what you want, but I didn't know that that would end up being the dress that I, and everyone else, would fall in love with. They say you just know when you've found your dress, and I can definitely agree with that. The second I put it on I felt a different kind of calm and excitement. I wanted to jump up and down and never take the dress off! Even as I sit here I am thinking about my dress and wishing I could try it on again! The whole day was great. From having a great experience at One Fine Day, to trying on dresses, to being around three of my best friends, I don't think it could have been better. I was only missing two of my other lovely girls Meredith and Emily, but was able to update them and send them pictures of the dress! I can't wait to see the finished dress in five months (SO FAR AWAY!) and try on the dress I will wear on my wedding day!