Finding The One

MR. OCTOPUS, DO NOT READ THIS POST!!!

Shopping for my wedding dress has been one of my favorite experiences so far. The search started in July, and with Mom Octopus and MOH/sister Lauren as my trusty companions, we hit a few small local bridal shops in my little hometown. They were no Kleinfeld's, but they had a pretty good selection and great attendants, and we had a great time!


Believe it or not, Vera does not have a large presence in rural western New York.

Before our shopping began, I had a few ideas in mind. I wanted something with a fitted silhouette, straps, and no pickups on the skirt. I also suspected I probably wanted minimal "stuff" (i.e. beads or lace). I was also hoping to find something with ruching on the waist. The two dresses that had really caught my eye in my online browsing were these:




Maggie, you so pretty.

In our first two outings, I found a lot of pretty dresses, but I had that mystical prophecy floating around in the back of my head: when you find The One, you will know. I didn't know exactly what the feeling was that I was supposed to be waiting for, but I didn't think, "Oh, this is pretty. K, next!" was it. After our first two trips, I had probably tried on forty dresses, but no The One yet. I was actually starting to think, "this is baloney. Maybe I should just buy the prettiest dress I find."

For our third wedding dress shopping trip, we expanded our search a bit to bridal shops that were a bit of a drive from our hometown. The last stop of the day was One Enchanted Evening in Fairport, NY. I gathered up a bunch of dresses that struck me, including the Iliana, from my Internet search. I tried a bunch on, then tried the Iliana. It was beautiful--really beautiful. I loved its simple elegance. I started to think, "is this it?" There was one dress left hanging on the rack that I hadn't tried on yet. My mom had picked it out, and it had some beads AND some lace, both of which I had started to lean farther and farther away from. With a wave of my hand, I told the attendant I wasn't interested in that one--she could go ahead and put it back. My mom said, "Oh, please, no! I love that one! Please just try it on for me, just so I can see it!" Oh, okaaayyyyy.....

I'm sure you can see where this is going. I put Mom Octopus's choice on and lit up like a Christmas tree. Folks, that "The One" feeling was absolutely legit for me. After forty dresses, suddenly, I was picturing myself walking up the aisle in THAT dress. Visiting tables to talk with our guests in THAT dress. Dancing with my father in THAT dress. Just to be sure, I took it off and tried a few others. I tried THAT dress back on, and that was it. Done. Sold. It was The One!!!

Ladies, meet my dress:


My favorite part of this picture is the giant purple price tag on the veil sticking out of my hair. Cute.







Maggie Sottero's Layne. Straps, ruching, fitted, and some, but minimal, "stuff." And the price tag on this lovely thing? $730, and no tax because I paid on my Massachusetts credit card. Seventy dollars under my budget of $800! Music to my ears!

How did you know when you found the right dress? Was the dress you picked just like what you had originally imagined, or totally different?