As I said before, I was feeling pressure to make a decision about my dress. Most places say to order it a minimum of 8 months in advance and since I was approaching 6, I needed to decide asap to make sure it comes in on time.
I went back to store number 2 a few days after my parents left. I tried on the one-shouldered gown again and despite all the things I loved about it, I was still hesitant. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I just wasn't ready to pull the trigger. It didn't help that they were offering a free veil if I made my purchase by the end of the month, which was the next day. I left there feeling completely unsure and confused.
The next day, I had a total breakdown. My first wedding breakdown. Dress stress, combined with a bad dentist appointment and the post office not having the stamps I wanted, all before 9am, led to full-on sobbing in my car. Luckily, my mom is awesome and she helped bring me back to my senses. I took a few days off the wedding dress search to figure out what I wanted to do.
Michael had told me that a store near his office was doing a bridal expo so I decided to check that place out by myself that Friday night. The consultants there were great and I found three dresses that I really liked there. Going there alone was tough, and it confirmed to me that I couldn't buy a dress that my mom had never seen (no pictures allowed here) or alone. I was back at square one - dressless.
I asked my mom if she could come down again. I knew it was a lot to ask but I just needed her there with me. She and my dad worked it out to come the next weekend and I was really happy. I made appointments at store number 5 (near Michael's office) and store number 3 again so I could try on my favorites from there.
At store number 5, my mom and I agreed on the dress we liked the most. However, there was something about the cut near the arm pit of the dress that was driving me bonkers. My mom kept telling me "If it bugs you now, it will be bug you forever." She was right, but this dress was so close for me that I thought I might be able to get over it. We left there with an appointment to come back the next day, as we were fairly certain that could have been the one. Just as we were leaving, I asked about adding extra length to the gown, as it was too short for me in bare feet. The charge was unbelievable. My mom and I looked at each other and said "Nope, not the one."
On Saturday, we went back to store number 3 and met up with Megan again. She is so great! Seriously, if you're going shopping in the Cities and need a rec, I would recommend her in a heartbeat. She pulled my favorites from before and when I put the second one on, I felt good. Really good. And I could tell my mom was thinking the same thing - this dress was the one. Funny enough, I ended up getting a free veil from them so the whole stress of the free veil from store number 2 seemed comical.
I now totally understand why one of my girlfriends went shopping a ton of times and tried on the same few dresses every time. I understand why another friend told me she stood in her dress for about 45 minutes when she picked it up. You want to be sure. And once you are sure, you don't want to take it off.
I'm not going to post any pics of the dresses I tried on - if you google one-shouldered wedding dresses or look at my Pinterest page, you'll see many of them. But the dress I brought is not on my Pinterest page so don't think you've found it :-) The only thing I'll say is that it is - SURPRISE - one-shouldered.
I can't wait until it comes in! 185 days!
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