I bought THE dress!!!

Well, today is the day I made the plunge! There has been much debate as of late over the dress. I had been considering a cute short little number. Completely adorable, however not "the" dress. There has been much controversy over the short dress amongst my family. Mostly the reaction has been less than thrilled.

Today I took my family to view both my favorite dress, a Mikaella lace and chiffon gown, and the short dress. First we went to Ida's to see the Mikaella. Mom cried, the girls ooohed, and I got all teary and had the biggest shit-eatin' grin you ever did see. I looked like a bride. But, it's a lot of money. Much more than I wanted to spend. I had a lot of trepidations about spending so much, no matter how much I love it. So, I dragged everyone to the Gown Gallery to try on the short dress.

Like I said, the dress is cute. However, there were no tears on my side and there certianly weren't any from my family. It was pretty tough. I really wanted to be practical but I'm not naturally inclined to do so and my entire party was rooting for the long dress. I tried on a few others but just wasn't feeling it. Finally a voice of wisdom chimed in, my dad. He pulled me aside when I had on a gorgeous, albeit "not for me", dress.

"Kid, what are you doin? Get out of this dress and let's go. You don't like it."

"Dad, I'm trying to be practical. I can't splurge on every aspect of the wedding. If I get the Mikaella the budget is maxed out. There's no wiggle room for emergencies. What if something comes up? What if it rains and we need a bigger tent, there won't be any money for it."

"What if, what if, what if everything is perfect and you don't get the dress you love and regret it when you look back on your pictures?"

"Ok, you're right, as usual."

Another factor was that the room was packed when I came out. I was met with very mixed reviews. While I heard several "Oooh! How cute!" I saw many more raised eye-brows and crinkled noses. I even heard "That's just not right." I do not want that reaction on my wedding day. I know that I won't notice anything except my handsome fiance at the end of the aisle but I still don't want to hear about it later on. Especially since I've never felt "the one" feeling in that dress.

Plus, I really like working with Ida's soooo much more. It's not that Gown Gallery was bad, but Ida's was just wonderful. I always felt important and like we were on a quest to find my dream gown. At G.G. I felt more like they were trying to sell me a dress.

I would love to describe the dress but you know what they say about a picture. So, without further adieu... THE DRESS!!!



P.S. I have more pictures, but they're on my Dad's camera. I'll post when I get them. Also, I look like Hell. I'd been crying, don't have much make-up on, and had just finished a lunch of beer and salty pizza.