We have a winner!! Tell them what they won Bob!

So to continue my wedding dress shopping experience saga.....it is finally coming to an end.

IF YOU ARE MY FIANCE......DO NOT LOOK ANY FURTHER!!!! SPOIL ALERT!

I spent Christmas in Aurora, IL (yes, WAYNES WORLD....WAYNES WORLD...party time...EXCELLENT! sorry I just had to!) with my family this year and it was the first time they had seen me and John since our engagement (Side note: my family is spread out so my parents live in Florida, my oldest sister lives in Aurora, IL and my middle sister lives in CT). I decided that this would be a great time to look for a dress since I wouldn't see my parents until March for my sisters baby shower. I was super excited to show my mom the 'WOW' dress that I tried on in my previous dress hunt. I decided to call the bridal salon where I made my appointment to see if they had the sample dress available. The lady informed me that they did not have the dress sample and that it was sold a few weeks ago. NOO!!!!! So I decided to call 3 other bridal salons in the area and to no avail! Ugh! So I kept my appointment anyways and went in with an open mind.

It was the day after Christmas and I was super excited to try on dresses especially since it meant a lot that my mom could finally see me in a wedding gown. This moment was very special to me since I dreamed of this since I was like 4. So my sisters, my mom and I arrived and it was a tiny salon but the staff was very warm and welcoming. The consultant asked me what I was looking for and I rambled off two style numbers by Paloma Blanca and she quickly took them from the rack. We then proceeded to look at other dresses while I explained my budget and what I was looking for. My mother came with me while my sisters planted themselves on the couch. I found a few dresses and we headed into the dressing room to start trying them on. The first dress was big and beautiful and heavy! It had beaded straps that wouldn't even stay up and the train was loooooong. I walked out of the room and I shook my head and went right back into the dressing room. I kept staring at the Paloma Blanca dresses and wanted to just go straight for them but the consultant told me to wait and try some others on. Boo! So I tried on some more dresses and to be honest it kind of a was a blur, nothing screamed out at me "PICK ME!" and my family wasn't fond of any of them. Finally I tried on the 'fun' Paloma Blanca dress that I had on in my last escapade with the cool pockets. I liked it but I didn't LOVE it and my sisters response was, "it makes you look pregant." Gee thanks! So I nixed that dress and went to try on the other dress that I hadn't tried on before but loved it from the website. This dress was also one that my mother picked out on the website. It was not strapless too.

I used to think that lace was not something for me but this dress just molded to my body and amazed me once she zipped it up. The top is lace with an open back that is just stunning.

http://www.palomablanca.com/

It fit like a glove, well a tight glove. It was beautiful and so I walked out and my mother and sisters gasp and I knew they loved it. During this time there was also another bride trying on dresses and since it was a small shop we had to alternate viewing the dress in the big full length mirror. Well she seemed to hog the mirror most of the time so I could only really see the dress from the waist up in a mirror where my family was sitting. I had this dress on for an hour and I still kept saying to myself, 'that other dress is still in my head'. I started to worry that I would cave and by this dress because everyone else in the store loved it. And don't get me wrong I loved it too but that other dress was bugging me. We tried on veils and figuring out what would work since the top was lace. Finally the other girl and her family left and I got the opportunity to really see the dress in full length and walk towards the mirror like it was my FI and then BAM! That's when it all sank in and the overwhelming feeling of joy and happiness set in. This was it I told myself. Twirling around and walking with my back facing the mirror to see what it looked like and I knew this was the dress.

This picture does not justice to how it looks in person, trust me! I won't need to have much alterations since the length is perfect (i'm not wearing anything but socks) and it fits almost perfect. When I say almost I mean it's a tag snug and the back fat needs to disappear which means I need to get my butt in gear. So depending on how much I lose will determine if I need to have it taken in.

So I told the lady, 'I'll take it!' and we also celebrated! Then I asked the sale girl how much it was and she dropped a bomb. It was $500 over my budget and my jaw dropped. I realized that I picked this dress before I told the girl my budget. ugh!!!! My mother slided over to me and said she'll pay the difference and that it doesn't matter since this is THE dress. I love my mother and it was such a generous offering and I will forever be grateful to my parents for this.

The feeling you get when you have bought the dress is one feeling I enjoyed having and honestly I still get when I look at pictures and think about the way it will look.