I went up to Atlanta for my dress shopping and took my mom, my daddy, and my MOH, Rosalie with me. Everyone warned me to not take too many people, and I agreed! Now, a lot of people thought I was crazy for taking my daddy with me, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! Of course I had to prep him on what to expect from the whole ordeal, but he went into it like a champ :)
We knew going into the weekend that we had four appointments scheduled. I had a good feeling about the first store before we ever went, and boy was I right! We never even went to any of the other appointments. The first, and only, shop that we visited was J. Andrews in Peachtree City. I have nothing but WONDERFUL things to say about my whole experience there. Sue was my consultant and she was the sweetest lady! I told her that she reminded me of my senior year English teacher, Mrs. Blackmon, and that even though she didn't know who it was, it was one of the biggest compliments that I could give! Go to J. Andrews! Ask for Ms. Sue!So we showed up bright and early ready to go. They asked me the basics about style, designers, budget, and turned me loose! Talk about overwhelming! Rosalie and I started looking through a few racks. Mom just planted herself in a chair. My silly daddy went straight to one of the most expensive racks in the store and started pulling dresses left and right! Needless to say, my daddy wasn't aware of which designer he was pulling, nor was he looking at price tags. Daddy's picks promptly returned to the rack :)
After about 10 minutes of overwhelmed pulling, Ms. Sue brought me back to get started. Now, going into the appointment I was in love with two completely different styles of dresses. When I say completely different I mean COMPLETELY different. Get ready for a run down of the trying on experience...
Dress 1: This one was the closest thing they had to my mom's favorite. Well, let's just say we all know I'm not a stick thin tiny bride, and this sample was smaller than their usual samples. While I know that bridal sizes are different than regular dress sizes, it was hard to not feel like I was a sausage stuffed in a casing. It made it hard to like the dress as a whole. Though I told Ms. Sue a few things I liked about it, I was ready to get it off.
Dress 2: This one was the total opposite style from the first dress. I loved the fit and shape, but hated the excessive bling. Again, a beautiful dress, but just not quite me, and still no moment. Time to move on to dress 3.
Dress 3: This one was back to the same style as the first one. It was even smaller than the first one. I didn't just feel like a sausage, I looked like a sausage. I didn't even want to come out in it, but my mom insisted. Well there is a reason there are no pictures in that dress (side note... J. Andrews let me take a picture of EVERY SINGLE DRESS, not just the one I bought. Loved that!). After showing it to my entourage I promptly told Ms. Sue to throw that style out the window and not to bring me any more like it! I loved it in the pictures and on the hanger, but HATED it on me!
Dress 4: This was the first one where I felt like we were headed in the right direction. I really liked it. A lot. I got all "jacked up" as they say on SYTTD: Atlanta. It was pretty. But there was one thing I really didn't like about it. I told Ms. Sue what I liked, and what I didn't like. So we moved on.
Dress 5: I finally used the word LOVE. It was everything I liked from Dress 4, and nothing that I didn't. This could have been the dress. I loved everything about this dress. There wasn't a thing wrong with it. I got jacked up again. I answered all the questions. Yes, I loved it. Yes, I could see myself walking down the aisle. Yes, JD would love. Yes, I could move comfortably, wear shoes, sit down, etc. But there was no moment. I was worried all along I would be one of those brides that wouldn't have a moment. I was convincing myself this was the dress, but I just wasn't sold. I asked Ms. Sue if there was anything else like this, and she said she didn't think so. She left me to discuss it with the family.
Dress 6: Then, as I was sitting there with the family, she snuck by me into my dressing room carrying a dress that she clearly didn't want me to see. I saw just a glimpse of the dress and freaked out. I had to see it. I had to know what she had. It had to be the one!
I walked back into the dressing room anxious to see the dress. Before Mrs. Sue even had the door closed, I saw my dress in all it's glory for the first time. It was the perfect shape from Dress 2, but had everything style wise that I loved from the others. It was the PERFECT combination of the two styles I loved. I started crying while it was still on the hanger! I was having m MOMENT! Ms. Sue told me to hush up and get it together! She didn't want everyone to hear me (it's a rather small shop). I started begging her to get me out of Dress 5 and into Dress 6. The whole time she was getting me in she had to keep reminding me to take deep breaths. I was barely holding it together when I walked out to my family.
My mom took one look at me, gasped, and started crying. I started crying. I'm pretty sure that as Ms. Sue was getting us tissues she was crying! Rosalie, the ever present voice of reason, kept it together, but I'm pretty sure she knew this was the one too :) After only being out of the room for maybe 15 seconds I announce to the whole store, "This is my dress! This is my dress! This is my dress!"
Then it dawns on me... "WHERE IS MY DADDY?!?" Daddy had stepped back out to the lobby because another bride was standing there in her bra as they were measuring her for her fitting, and he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. My daddy had missed my whole moment! Well you better believe I high tailed it into that lobby to find him! Then in typical Daddy fashion this is the response I get when he first sees me...
"What the hell are you crying for?"
If you know my daddy then you know I wasn't upset at this. If he's not picking on you then he doesn't love you. He loved it. I loved it. Mom loved it. Rosie loved it. It was the one. I even announced again, "I don't care if I'm not on the show, I'm still saying YES TO THE DRESS!" Well I go jacked up again. Considered different veil/hairpiece options. Talked about shoes. Took a ton of pictures. The works. It was eventually time to get out of the dress and do the paperwork. Blah, the NOT so fun part!
As I was sitting down to do the paperwork, I noticed my mom and dad talking, and then my dad walking out the door pretty quickly. I later found out that my daddy had just asked one of the consultants how many dads really come to shop for the dress. The lady told him very, very few, and that my daddy should be honored that I asked him to come. Well, as he was telling this story to my mom, he apparently broke down crying, and that's when he left the store in a hurry. That's right. I got my daddy to cry :) I love him :) 