Out of all the wedding-related tasks ahead of me, dress shopping was definitely one of my most anticipated to-do’s. This was an event that I had looked forward to for a long time (shout out to you, dad, for letting me watch hours of “Say Yes to the Dress” after I had my tonsils taken out), but truly, I had started to wonder if it would still be a special process for me.
I knew for me that meant making sure to shop during a quiet moment in the salon and having my loved ones around me. I chose a Tuesday morning, so we had the Ellynne Bridal gallery completely to ourselves. My mom, Brian’s mom, my sister and a few close friends in town graciously took off work to be a part of the process. I brought mimosas and breakfast treats for my group to snack on and started pulling gowns into one of Ellynne Bridal’s spacious suites. Since we were the only appointment at the time I got to change in the suite with Nichole and Mackenzie, amazing consultants and friends, helping me. I then came out to a larger mirror in the gallery to show off each possible choice to everyone - I loved that this way I got to see each dress in two types of lighting, which really did highlight different details about each sample.
To start off trying on all the gorgeous gowns in a fun way, my mom had my grandmother’s wedding dress cleaned and pressed and I got to try it on for everyone. If you have a family wedding heirloom I highly suggest this fun idea. It took a lot of pressure off the first gown I chose to try and was a meaningful way to feel the tradition of weddings past. I would be lying if I said I didn’t already have a pretty strong idea of a gown that I believed to be “the one,” so to me having a larger group added to the moment of trying on gowns that I had seen on many bride-to-be's before me. I should have been prepared to keep an open mind because some of the samples I tried on ended up making me feel much prettier than I ever thought they would. Ultimately, I saved my favorite for last and when I came out I knew right away it was still the one. Lots of happy tears, Skype calls and hugs later, I was measured and wrote up my order for the most beautiful dress I will ever wear. That is how I officially became an Ellynne Bride.
