I know I already blogged about getting my wedding dress but I’m so ecstatic and still kind of reeling from how it suddenly happened, so blogging continues.

So I’m going to tell the whole story.

A couple weeks ago, I was on main street in east greenwich with Sean getting some hot chocolate, and we drove past three bridal shops. In the window of one of them was this dress with ruffles at the bottom, and, although I normally dislike ruffles on the bottoms of dresses, I liked this one. I resisted the intense urge to try on every single wedding dress in all of the stores and force Sean to sit through all of it, and moved on.

But I kept thinking about that dress. Sean and I went back to the store last week, but got there after it had closed, and finally went yesterday amid some adventuring and with the promise that I wouldn’t keep us there for very long. The dress wasn’t in the window anymore, and I didn’t even know if I was in the right store, but when I walked in, there it was hanging on a sale rack. I had to try it on. I just had to. 

I grabbed it, and a few others, because you can never just try on ONE wedding dress, and got a dressing room. It was the first dress I tried on and as soon as I stepped up on the pedestal I didn’t want to take it off. I immediately pictured CJ standing next to it in uniform and the image of my wedding fell into place. 

And then, as though the dress hadn’t already sold itself, the sales lady told me the price of the dress. I know it’s kind of tacky to talk about money and prices of things, but I’m so shocked I can’t help myself. The price of the dress was $3370. But then it had been on sale for $1200. And now it was on sale as a sample for $800. I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it. And then, she mentioned even better news that even with alterations and cleaning the dress still wouldn’t end up costing even half its original price. I was pretty much sold right there.

That evening I sent dad a text message asking him to come with mom down to see this, and a few other dresses. So they came down today and I brought them to the bridal shop. 

My mom and I grabbed the dress and about five to seven other dresses to try on. I tried on two extremely ordinary, although pretty, dresses and was unimpressed with them. Then I put on the dress with the ruffles. I knew again that it was completely the right dress. My mom agreed that it was beautiful and perfect. She loved the skirt and I could tell she was secretly deeply in love with it because the skirt reminded her a little of her wedding dress. Every dress I tried on afterwards simply received the response “it’s pretty, but it’s just not that other one.” And so we got the dress!

I’m so so excited with how everything turned out. I was expecting to have to spend way more than that much on a dress so I’m really thrilled. And I am so in love with it. I love everything about this dress: the sweetheart neckline, the dropped waist, and the even flow from top to bottom. It’s balanced in that no part of the dress is too plain or under or over decorated. The material, a silk organza, is light and flowy and moves beautifully, and looks gorgeous in ivory. Everything about it just feels so right.

I can’t wait to get to the rest of the wedding planning.