After months and months and months of searching high and low, I finally found my dress and was able to say yes to the dress.
I never thought that my search for my wedding dress would be so difficult! Of all of the things that I had to do on my long To Do List, finding my dress was on my top 3 list followed behind the venue and bridesmaid dresses. I got engaged almost a year from now, and I started researching styles and designs a month after. I took a break from my search process for a couple of months while my fiancé' and I were figuring out our living and work situations.
I returned to my search shortly after we found our venue and paid the deposit last August. I visited a couple of bridal shops in Atlanta, one being the famous "Say Yes to the Dress" at Lori's Bridals. My Matron of Honor and Maid of Honor as well as two of my hostess joined me during the fittings. After a couple of hours of trying on several dresses, I had narrowed down my search to two dresses, but I was not ready to commit to either one of them. I wanted my parents to be able to come down and see the dress on me and seek their approval. All my friends had agreed on liking the same dress, but I wasn't convinced.
I went to a few other bridal salons in the area, but nothing was taking my breath away and I wasn't comfortable with choosing any of the dresses.
My parents and brother scheduled a trip in November to Atlanta to see my try on some of the bridal dresses. I scheduled three different visits. We went to another bridal salon that had the same dress that everyone had fallen in love with but was about 1000 cheaper than the same dress at Lori's Bridals. After trying on several dresses including the "favorite," I had narrowed my selection to two dresses, but still was not settled on either one.
December came and went, and I knew my time was growing slim, because the ladies in the bridal shop kept reminding me of that. As January was moving by, I started to get very uneasy because I had not settled on a dress for myself or for my bridal party.
I decided to take a 4-hour trip to SC to a bridal shop that had both the "favorite" dress for another $300 less than the cheapest bridal salon here in Atlanta, and they had the dresses I was interested in for my bridal party. Therefore, I took a day off from work and traveled to SC with my Line Sister who is also one of my hostesses. I really enjoyed my experience there and the selection of dresses on me pleased me immensely. However, even after all of that, I still was not settled on anything.
Upon returning back to Atlanta, we decided to visit another bridal salon that carried the Sophia Tolli dresses, which I thought were gorgeous; however, they didn't have many of the dresses that I liked from their collection. I tried on a few of them and took pictures.
Later that evening, I sent my family photos of the dresses I tried on that same day in SC and Atlanta. My parents selected their favorites, but I was not ready to make a choice yet.
It was now the last week in January, and I started to get very anxious that I had not selected my dress yet. Therefore, I decided to go back to the bridal salon my parents visited with me. My line sister went with me again.
I tried back on the two dresses that I had narrowed it down to the last time I was there. I still liked both of them, but I decided to try on a few more dresses I hadn't tried on before. This experience like the bridal salon in SC was a great one. I liked so many of the dresses I tried on this time compared to the last time, which made it even harder to make a selection. They ladies were very helpful, but them reminding me that I needed to narrow it down and make a selection was unnerving at times, because I was fully aware of that.
After spending a couple of hours in the bridal store, I had narrowed it down to 4 dresses, the two before and two new dresses. After words from my bridal consultant to help me with narrowing down my selection, I was able to narrow it down to the "favorite" dress and a newcomer.
The "newcomer" had just gone on sale, but I didn't want the sale price to influence my decision and I still wanted confirmation from my family on picking my dress. They had seen the "favorite" but not the "newcomer" Before leaving the salon at closing, the lady who was assisting me told me the sale price and it was so unbelievably low that I knew it was going to be hard for me to pass up, but I knew that it wasn't going to influence my decision because I wanted the dress that I bought to be the dress for me that I felt beautiful and comfortable in.
I thanked my line sister for being such an amazing friend and being there for me during this long journey and coming with me on every bridal visit since last October. During our conversation, I told her that I still was not sure as to which dress was my dress. She told me which dress do you see yourself walking down the aisle in and Fred looking at you in. Which dress do you actually see yourself in on our wedding day? That little piece of advice was enough to help me move closer to a decision. Then she ended by telling me to go home sleep on it and pray about it.
I knew that I was going to have act quickly because that sale on that dress was not going to stay on the rack for long. I went home and sent my parents and brother the two dresses I was deciding between to get their insight. They all chose the "newcomer" because they thought it looked best on me in a photo. In person, the "favorite" probably was a prettier dress, but in photos it wasn't as flattering on me and pictures are what last for forever and are the memories you live with.
I went to sleep, prayed about it and woke up the next morning still without a clear answer. But when I thought about it "the newcomer" was the dress I felt the most comfortable in, I liked the way it looked on me from all sides, and I realized that if I bought this dress I knew I would have no apprehensions about wearing it, and I had no desire to look for another dress like I had with all the others including the "favorite."
Therefore, as soon as the bridal shop opened at 10:00 am on Saturday during the first week of February, I called the bridal shop and bought the dress. After I bought it the dress, I was at peace with my decision, and that is why I knew I made the right decision for me.
