Yes to the Dress

After trying on no fewer than 25 dresses in 5 different shops and having about 18 "favorites," I finally selected a dress Saturday afternoon.

As I mentioned before, I suspected that I am not a person who would "fall in love" with a dress.  And I didn't.  I noticed a pattern emerging - the last dress that I tried at any particular store that I actually liked became my new favorite.  And I would go back and look at the photos later, and think, "eh, that dress wasn't so great, after all."  Because of this, I knew that I would have to go back and look at all of the photos of all of the "favorites" to come to my decision.


So, to back up a little bit.  On Friday, my BF and I went to Columbia Bridal Boutique.  Their website said they were having an off-the-rack sale, but their off-the-rack selection was very limited.  I only tried on a few dresses there, but found one that I thought would be "the one."  My BF tried to convince me to just quit looking and buy it, but I was determined to keep my appointments for the following day. 

On Saturday, we returned to Poor Little Rich Girl to try on this Cinderella gown.  It was beautiful and sooo inexpensive, but I just felt like it was too ornate for our outdoor farm wedding.  Looking back over the pictures, though, I think now that it would've been my second choice.  As promised, we headed up to Amanda Ritchey Bridal, to retry on the newly-discounted favorite from last week's trip. After trying it on again, I just didn't like as much as I did on the first go-round.

Finally, we went to K & B Bridal on Main Street in Bel Air.  One might say that I was destined to find my dress there, although I don't think that came to mind while I was shopping.  You see, one of the shops I had wanted to go to couldn't make an appointment with me that Saturday, as the shop proprietor was out of town.  So, I searched for another shop to try.  Thursday afternoon, I found that K & B Bridal was having a trunk show on Saturday, where the store samples would be 40% off, and the new designs would be 15% off.  Score!  So, I send an email to make an appointment, and get a response that they are triple-booked on Saturday, due to the trunk show.  Could I make an appointment for the following week?  I replied that I was disappointed, because I had been interested because of the trunk show, and that if I didn't buy anything dress shopping on Saturday, I would contact them for an appointment.  Lo and behold!  A spot opened up late in the afternoon.

The ladies at K & B Bridal were so nice.  They were very candid and not pushy at all.  I felt like they were regular people and not sleazy saleswomen...which may mean they are just really GOOD saleswomen, but I totally fell for it either way.  They had so many beautiful off-the-rack dresses, and the trunk show dresses were fantastic.  I really wanted to try on like, 15 of them, but restrained myself to something like 10 or so.  And which one did I go with?  The first one I tried on.  It was probably the fact that I needed to decide then and there if I wanted any of their trunk show gowns, as they would be full price if I waited and came back.  But I looked through the pictures on my camera again and again, and I truly believe it is my favorite.  It is so beautiful, unique, and perfect for the venue.  Most people will have to wait until the day of to see me in it, but for a sneak preview, here's the dress as it appears on the designer's website.  You'll have to imagine it a little shorter and wider, though.  :-)