I set out on a mission on Friday afternoon to check a very important task off of my to-do list, and I'm thrilled to announce that the quest for *the* dress is finally over! I'd hinted in a previous blog posting about the fact that I've probably spent more time than I should have trying on too many dresses. It all started back in late January, so this search has exceeded 6 months worth of time, and has encompassed at least 8 stores in 4 towns between Kearney and Omaha.
Jerad's mom made the trip to Kearney on Friday morning, then we drove on to Lincoln to start the day with lunch with my mom and step-dad (1st meeting of the parentals). After taking Jerad's mom and my mom on a mini "inspiration" tour (we checked out the church and reception venue), we headed over to the Bridal Gown Outlet. I truly cannot say enough positive things about our experience there. I'd actually already visited the store a couple of times, so had my dress selection pretty well narrowed down, but I knew Jerad's mom was excited about dress shopping, too, so I had delayed making the final decision and purchase.
The consultant that we worked with, Courtney, was so helpful and accomodating. She was there every step of the way, from helping pull different styles to try on, to getting the gowns on & off the hangers, lacing the corset backs, and offering ideas for different styles or accessories. She didn't even bat an eye as both Jerad's mom and mine pulled additional styles of dresses to try. I think I ended up trying on 11 gowns during that visit (per my mom's official count). At the end of the day, I stayed true to my initial love of satin and ruching by choosing a Mori Lee design with a little bit of glitz for the New Year's weekend. Here's a sneak peak of the dress (though we may change things up a bit with the alterations)...
The owner of the store even took the time to call me yesterday, letting me know that she was putting the order in, and we were able to start talking about the needs I might have for alterations. I know at some stores, you're on your own for getting alterations taken care of once you've purchased the dress. Because mine was designed for the curvaceous bride, the smallest size that it can be ordered in is still too big for me. Jennifer instilled in me all of the confidence in the world when she told me about alterations they'd done to make a size 20 dress fit a size 6 bride.
Now that I have the dress, I'm excited to start accessorizing! I also need to finalize the pick for what the bridesmaids will be wearing. One of my girls will be 9 months pregnant (due within a week of the wedding), so I've been rethinking some of the initial designs I was eyeing, and I'm somewhat torn between having the same dress for all of the girls or allowing for some variation with a mix of similar styles. No matter what, everyone will be looking fabulous, of course! :)
Question of the week: when it comes to to the trend of mixing bridesmaid styles, do you love it or hate it?
150 days to go!
~Katie
