The appointment to look at/try on wedding dresses was one that I was not looking forward to. I am not a dress person and have the tendency to tug and pull at dresses because they always feel so foreign. Another dread with trying on dresses was that I am not at my ideal weight so wasn’t really wanting to see my squish; let alone show my mother/fiance and friend (Nathan, my mother and Coleen went to the appointment with me).
When we first got to Bridal Exclusives, the lady who would be helping me pulled me aside to warn me of the dangers of taking my fiance dress shopping. Apparently, she’s seen a lot of brides bring their fiances in and that it never ends well. She was sure to tell me (very quietly) that I need to remember that my tastes will differ from his and that in the end, I choose the dress. I’m going to be honest: I was a little scared at that point and nervous that Nathan and I were both going to be leaving the bridal shop unhappy. After all, this woman has definitely seen enough brides to know what she’s talking about…..or so I thought.
At the beginning of the appointment, I was shown different sections of the store and told to choose one or two dresses from each section that I liked and wanted to try on. The sections were made by dress style (Ball gown, etc.) and each section had several variations of the particular style. My mom and I went down the rows choosing one or two dresses from each rack. Nathan insisted that we add a dress to the list that the rest of us really disliked (Surprisingly it became a favorite and was narrowly defeated in the end).
The first style we tried on was a sheer Roman-Style, which really liked in the magazines. I quickly changed my mind immediately after puting on the dress and we decided that the empire waist and sheer flowing fabric is very unflattering on me. Here’s a dress similar to what I tried on:

The Bridal Consultant had me try on a wrap-style dress next. I was really not a fan of the idea and was concerned that I’d look chubby or pregnant in it. After putting the dress on, I loved it. The fit was really flattering and everyone liked it so far. Of course, we still had several other styles to try on. Here’s an example of the wrap style:

Each time I tried on a dress, I had to decide if it was my favorite over the other ones I’ve tried. This seems like it would be easy but it’s not…..it’s actually nearly impossible. There’s so many choices and each dress had something I really loved about it that the rest didn’t. For instance, I fell in love with a dress that was perfect – except I hated the neckline on it. Also, having your mother, fiance and good friend there being brutally honest can definitely make the decision more difficult. If I liked a dress, someone with me hated it, and vice-versa.
The last dress that I tried on was called the “Grace” by Maggie Sottoro and when I put the dress on and came out to show everyone…everyone was quiet at first – and no one could find a negative aspect to the dress.
We were now split between two dresses – The one Nathan picked out in the beginning, and the Maggie Sottero dress. To help with the decision, I tried on each dress again. The dress Nathan picked was beautiful and very flattering, so I thought the decision would be impossible….until it was time to try the Sottero again. The bridal consultant grabbed the veil that went with the dress for me to wear so we can get the whole effect.
When I walked out of the dressing room to stand in front of the mirror and my family, everyone stopped talking as soon as I was in sight. Once I reached the platform and looked at myself in the mirror….I froze. The reflection I saw at that very moment was me – with all of my soul on view to the world. I felt beautiful and was immediately seeing myself walking down the aisle with my dad. The emotion hit me so hard and I started crying…first just a couple tears as my eyes welled up, but then my mom mentioned how beautiful it was and came up to hug me, and I was sobbing. Coleen and Nathan were still very quiet but they definitely shared the emotion of the moment with us (they just weren’t sobbing obnoxiously).
I don’t think that I’ve ever been brought to tears by clothing in my life (Unless you count trying to fit into old jeans) but the fact that this dress brought that much emotion on me definitely told me something: That I found the dress that I want to walk down the aisle in.
We immediately ordered the dress and I am now patiently (kinda) waiting for it to arrive. Without further delay – Here is the dress I chose:
