brunch & dress shopping

One of the first things Shana said to me on our first after engagement phone call was, "can we got dress shopping tomorrow?"  I told her I was busy on Saturday with Jack during the day and a Thirty-One party at night but maybe on Sunday after the Favorite Things Brunch.  Well, while all of our friends were over on Friday night the ladies also wanted to know when I was dress shopping.  I told them about about Sunday, they all wanted in and told me to make an appointment.  I had no idea what I wanted in a dress other then that it be fun since we're planning on getting married on NYE so I figured it would be good to go to David's Bridal first and try on a bunch of different shapes in my size before heading to the other salons.  The appointment was made for 2pm.

But first there was brunch!  I got up around 8am and headed to the grocery store for a few items.  While I prepped the Broccoli & Cheese Mini Egg Omletes and Veggie Frittata Joe ran to get bagels.  He was off to work a little while later and soon my friends were arriving!  I was blown away by what they showed up with!  Obviously I had organized this brunch before Joe & I got engaged but somehow my friends managed to make personalized champagne flutes and adorable cupcakes with less then 2 days notice!

I was so touched!  They are just so happy and excited for us!

We took some time to stuff our faces and managed to drink 3 bottles of champagne!  Once we were sufficiently full it was time to talk about our favorite things.  The premise is that each person brings 5 of their favorite thing that costs no more then $6 each.  One at a time you present your favorite thing to the group then pull 5 names from a hat so that each attendee gets 5 items.  I put together little bags with all of the ingredients for Dump Cake, Kat brought Mrs Meyers & Method cleaning supplies, Tammy brought Nivea skin firming lotion, Nicole brought Bath & Body Works Mentha lip gloss, Stephanie brought Skinny Cow Chocolate Peanut Butter bars, my mom brought Pilot v5 pens and my sister contributed tiny bottles of Tequila!

Soon it was time to head to David's Bridal.  Joe and I haven't talked about how much he's going to know about my wedding day look yet so I'm not posting pictures of my dress until we figure it all out.  Yes, that's right, my dress, I already bought a dress...  I know it's totally crazy that I have a dress when we don't have a venue yet but my friends made a good argument.  We're getting married on NYE so it's not like I'll be switching from ballroom to garden or anything, plus they assured me my dress could work in a multitude of different venues.  So, without further ado, the dresses I'm not getting married in.

This is the Strapless Organza Ball Gown with Ruffle Detail.  It was definitely top 3 for the day but I didn't love the waistline on it.  I tended to lean towards dresses with a more dropped waist that extenuated my curves.

This dress was also top 3, it's the Lace Fit and Flare Gown with Floral Details.  When I first came out everyone was sort of on the fence but the more we looked at it the more we liked it.  In the end it just wasn't modern enough for me.

 No one really liked this one for me, it was a pretty dress and the fit was flattering but it wasn't right for the event I have in mind.  It would be beautiful in a church!  In case you're curious it's the One Shoulder Tulle Ball Gown with Lace Appliques.

My entire entourage loved this one but I wasn't sold.  It's very cute, there are little polka dots all over the tulle.  Again, I just didn't love the higher waistline...it's the Strapless Dot Tulle Ball Gown with Ruffle Skirt.

The Beaded Lace Gown with Feathery Tulle Skirt was so much fun!  The tulle was cut very jagged so it looked like feathers, it was totally in line with what I had been thinking except that the top had sequin flowers all over it which didn't make any sense with the "feathers."  Also, the consultant had zero fashion sense and kept sticking these ridiculous veils and headpieces on me that looked so silly.

The Taffeta Ball Gown with Floral Appliques on Skirt weighed a ton and just wasn't anything special.

For some reason no one liked the Organza Ball Gown with Ruffled Skirt and Beading except for me.  They all said the lace peaking out from between the tulle was weird.  

It's funny, I didn't really dislike any of the dresses I tried on.  I expected it to be like Say Yes to the Dress where I'm just repulsed by the look of them but it wasn't the case.  I went in with a really open mind and no plans to purchase anything but walked out with a gown on order.  I didn't cry and neither did my mother or sister, my mom put it best in everyone's favorite line of the day "we don't come from a sappy lineage."  I just sort of knew, it was the first one I put on and none of the others felt as good.  As my mother put the only way I was getting a Vera was from David's Bridal, now you just have to figure out which of the 27 gowns it is :-)