the search for "The One"

Who would have thought that looking for a bridal dress would be so complicated (as everything else in planning a wedding). Ha ha!

From silhouettes to necklines to embellishments or details, the options just keeps going and going!

Before you even begin to look around, research gowns. You should always have a bit of knowledge about dresses (and know some of the lingo) before you even set foot into a bridal shop. - check!

Decide on a silhouette. Wedding dresses are made in several different silhouettes. Before considering anything else, know which type of gown will flatter your figure the best. - check!

Envision your wedding. Picture yourself on your wedding day. What are you wearing? What silhouette is your gown? What fabric? Is it embroidered or beaded? What color is it? - check!

Consider the circumstances. A wide variety of factors can affect what makes a particular dress appropriate to the occasion. Formality, the season, traditions, etc. - check!

Decide on a budget. When deciding on your budget, you don't need to set a very specific price. Just make it a general range. - check! 

That's  five checks! As you can see, I have put a lot of thought into this already. LOL! 

may 1, 2011
This wasn't my first time trying on wedding dresses. In fact, this is the fourth bridal shop that I've been to! LOL! With that said, I already knew what I was looking for. My first "vision" of what I saw myself in actually didn't work out. Mainly because I'm short and it made me look shorter.

Going to the bridal shop, I already knew which dresses I wanted to try on. Unfortunately, the store didn't have the very first dress that I wanted. Apparently, some dresses are being discontinued to make room for the new designs coming in. After trying on at least 5 other dresses, I STILL was not close to finding "The One".

There was always something that just wasn't right. The top part may be nice, but the bottom wasn't. The bottom may have been nice, but the top wasn't. Some made me look really chubby (ha ha!), some just had way too much going on with it, some were truly just uncomfortable and some were just way too expensive.

After the 5 dresses, I decided to try on more of the one specific silhouette that worked with my figure. When the girl came back, she exclaims to me, "I found your dress!!" "My dress", I asked? She was talking about the initial dress that I wanted to try on that she thought they didn't have anymore!

So I hurriedly followed her to the change room. As she was helping me get into the dress (yes, you need help to get into the dress! LOL!), I told her I was nervous. Why, I don't know ...

As she opened the door, I slowly took a deep breath and walked out ...

The initial reaction from my mom and my siblings? ... They all exclaims, "Yeah, that's the one!"

My initial reaction when I saw myself in the mirror?

Finding "The One".

The dress literary took my breath away. It fit me perfectly everywhere. From the top to the bottom, side to side, everything about it was perfect. It wasn't too much, but it wasn't too little either. It was very comfortable to be in and not too heavy. It had just enough to make me look, dare I say it ... "beautiful".

AND as icing to the cake, it was exactly what I budgeted for! It was perfect in every way. =)

I've heard from a lot of people that you shouldn't be buying your dress too early, and I actually totally agree with them. But I found out that this certain dress had very limited availability and I didn't want to take a chance. So I bought it! =)

Finding it was such a relief! Like a big weight off my shoulder. I just hope that it will take Mark's breath away too when he sees me in it ...

Eeeeeeeeee!!!