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Mrs. Crab Cake, Columbus, GA Age and Occupation: 25, Registered Nurse Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Director of Education and Living History for a museum Engagement Date: April 6, 2008 Wedding Date: June, 2009 Blogging Since: November 26, 2008 Venue: Holy Family Catholic Church, reception: National Infantry Museum About Me: I'm a perfectionist trying to balance two jobs, motherhood, my craft obsession, and wedding planning. I am obsessed with all things wedding, especially creative ideas for saving money and DIY projects. A Southern Belle at heart, I love anything southern, especially sweet tea, grits, afternoon thunder storms, crab cakes, and good old Southern hospitality. Mr. Crab Cake and I are planning a vintage inspired wedding with tons of Southern flare (can y'all say that with a thick Southern drawl?).
About Mrs. Crab Cake

The Dress that Almost Wasn’t

December 1st, 2008 @ 8:31 am by Mrs. Crab Cake

There’s so much to share with y’all, I really don’t know where to begin. We’ve been planning this thing for 7 months already, and we still have 7 to go.

I suppose I can start where I started, with the dress. I’ve always loved wedding dresses. Yes, I’m that girl who has been looking at wedding dresses since she was 12. In all fairness, I was engaged once before (to Mini Crab Cake’s dad) and tried on a few dresses then. I never found the one and would not have worn it to wed Mr. Crab Cake anyway. But I knew what I liked then, so I figured I’d like the same styles now.

I was so wrong.

I started looking at pictures online almost immediately. I didn’t look at anything with beads or lace and really didn’t want a train. Minimalistic and simplistic was what I was looking for. I also wanted ivory.

And I wanted to put off actually trying on dresses as long as possible.

About 3 weeks later, I gave in. I had about 45 minutes to waste in town (we live about 30 minutes out) before I met Mr. Crab Cake for lunch, and decided to go browse wedding dresses.

The first dress I tried on was a Casablanca.

Style #1831

Y’all, that dress fit me like a glove. It hugged every one of my curves and supported my D’s with grace and elegance. I might honestly have given up right then and there and bought the first dress I tried on if it hadn’t been for my consultant.

She took one look at me and ran off. When she returned, she had three or four dresses with her. I will go ahead and apologize now - I don’t know which ones they were, and I don’t have any pictures. I hadn’t told her what I thought I wanted. But she knew what I wanted. And it was this dress.

Alfred Angelo, Style 1136

It is everything I didn’t think I wanted. It’s beaded, corset back, semi-cathedral train. So completely not me. The only thing it did have going for it was that it is gold.

I loved it from the moment I put it on.

I couldn’t just buy the dress right there. I was alone. I had no one’s opinion but mine and the consultants.

I left, and drug Mum Crab Cake back about a week later. This time, we got pictures!


author’s personal collection

Mini Crab Cake insisted on trying on dresses with me. Although that dress matches mine nicely, it didn’t entertain me that much. She actually wanted this dress with a bubble hem made out of tulle with silk petals loose in the bubble. It was hideous.

Anyway, Mum didn’t cry, but that’s not how we Crab Cake women are. She approved and the dress was purchased.

It arrived in August and I went to pick it up. Thank God I decided to try it on before I left with it, because it had a huge stain on it. Yeah, you read that right. I stayed calm and my consultant freaked out. Alfred Angelo agreed to take back the stained dress and send me another. It took forever.

But it all worked out in the end, and the dress is safe in my house. I have it stored in a canvas dress bag and hidden in my daughter’s closet. Mr. Crab Cake is pretty adament about not seeing the dress or even pictures of the dress until the ceremony, so I don’t have to worry about him snooping.

Here it is hanging in the door to our office/craft room the day I brought it home.

Did anyone else pick out a dress that was not what they had originally thought they would like?

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15 Responses to “The Dress that Almost Wasn’t”

1.
Guest Icon
Guest
Sarah

Oh, heck yeah. I was anti-lace, and ended up with a dress with an allover lace overlay. It bugs me that the salespeople know my style better than I do, but I suppose they are professionals.

 
2.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Taffy (message)  2,598 posts, Sugar bee

Beautiful dress!!!! :) And look at mini crab cake, she’s so cute.

 
3.
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Guest
Emily

I was the exact same way. I wanted something with straps, no lace, a little poufy - I ended up with a gold a-line dress covered in TWO lace overlays, and a strapless sweetheart neckline. It is strange how they can look at you for 5 seconds and know what will look good.

 
4.
Miss Deviled Egg
Bee
Miss Deviled Egg (message)  892 posts, Busy bee

I love that dress on you! And Mini CC is adorable!

 
5.
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Guest
Jessie516

How adorable is Mini CC! :) I was the same way, I pictured something completely different from what I ended up purchasing. The consultant pulled a dress for me that I would NEVER have looked twice at…and it ended up being The One! Also, I looked at the Casablanca dress you liked and it was in the running for me for a while.

 
6.
Mrs. DG
Hostess
Mrs. DG (message)  4,227 posts, Honey bee

I just purchased something so completely different from what I thought I would get!

Your dress is beautiful. It has so many good elements to it. It looks terrific on you.

Don’t you think that Mini, being a tow-head and fair, could benefit from a colorful dress? She is such a cutie!

 
7.
HistoryBride
Member
HistoryBride (message)  411 posts, Helper bee

One of the best pieces of advice my mom gave me was “Try on everything that looks even a bit interesting, and some that don’t.” Things definitely look different on the hanger, and I definitely picked a dress that was my style, but I wouldn’t have thought to ask for.

 
8.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Crab Cake (message)  818 posts, Busy bee

@doctorgirl: I believe she’s going to match the bridesmaid’s instead of me, I’m making her dress, we just haven’t decided whether it’s going to be more green or more gold. She does look better in color.

Thansk for all y’all comments. I’m definitely excited about my dress! And I’m so glad other people think Mini is as cute as I do!

 
9.
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Guest
weshallwed

The dress is beautiful!! This is the dress that i completely wanted when this whole planning started! Now that i saw it on you, i want it again!! It looks gorgeous on you. Im about 7 months out and STILL havent placed foot in a bridal shop. =o

 
10.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Avocado (message)  1,407 posts, Bumble bee

I was almost almost almost a gold dress bride as well, and part of me still wishes I would have gone that route since I think the color is so flattering next to skin. It makes you look so curvy and gorgeous!

 
11.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Hot Cocoa (message)  1,715 posts, Bumble bee

Love it — you look beautiful. And Mini is just too too adorable, and how special it is that she got to go try on dresses with you.

 
12.
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Guest
Erin

I chose some dresses and my mom asked if she could choose one. She ended up choosing one that only elicited a snarl from me. Don’tcha know it was the one we bought?!

 
13.
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Guest
Starry-Eyed Barefoot Bride

I tried on almost any dress that someone recommended for me, so when the sale chick came in and asked me if I would try on this one dress because they had just gotten it in and no one had tried it on yet so she didnt know what it looked like on - sure - whatever - whats 1 more? If she had described it, I might have said HELL NO!, but she didnt and before I knew what was what I was zipped into the dress… which quickly became MY dress. =) ahh the fun of preconceived notions and them being totally wrong!

 
14.
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Guest
liane4tino

Congrats on finding a beautiful dress! You look amazing in it! I actually have a similar story. I went to Alfred Angelo to look at some bridesmaids dresses that I had seen online and had really liked. I had no intention to start dress shopping (although my mom was with me) because I was actually planning on having a dress made. I had a certain design that I wanted and drew up myself and hadn’t had any luck (online) shopping finding anything remotely close to what I had in mind. Oh how thoughts changed when I walked in the store. I saw this dress that was completely the opposite of what I had in mind, but really loved it, and demanded to try it on. We grabbed a couple of other dresses that I really didn’t care for, but I didn’t want to only try on one dress. Anyhow, it was the first dress I tried on, and the one I walked out of there with. It was love at first sight- no one can turn away from that! Congrats on finding a dress you love!

 
15.
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Guest
bluejay

Your dress is lovely! I was the same way about my dress. The one thing I didn’t want was a sweetheart neckline. I didn’t like pickups on a skirt, I always thought it looked like crumpled tissue. I fully expected to pick a strapless or halter style top with a fitted bodice and a satin or tulle skirt. I ended up with Maggie Sottero’s Capri Leigh dress, a sweetheart neckline with pickups on the bottom and a completely ridiculous poof. Sometimes the sales people really do know what will look best!

Congratulations on your dress! That was one of the best moments of planning for me so far. I can’t wait for my dress to be in! :)

 


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Mrs. Crab Cake Mrs. Crab Cake, Columbus, GA Age and Occupation: 25, Registered Nurse Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Director of Education and Living History for a museum Engagement Date: April 6, 2008 Wedding Date: June, 2009 Blogging Since: November 26, 2008 Venue: Holy Family Catholic Church, reception: National Infantry Museum About Me: I'm a perfectionist trying to balance two jobs, motherhood, my craft obsession, and wedding planning. I am obsessed with all things wedding, especially creative ideas for saving money and DIY projects. A Southern Belle at heart, I love anything southern, especially sweet tea, grits, afternoon thunder storms, crab cakes, and good old Southern hospitality. Mr. Crab Cake and I are planning a vintage inspired wedding with tons of Southern flare (can y'all say that with a thick Southern drawl?).
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