Weddingbee Blog

When I was a little girl I knew that a pillowcase held on by a headband made a perfect veil and my mom’s long white bathrobe could pass for a dress train if I needed it to. I also knew to hold my flowers low near my waist, even if they were just really a hairbrush. I remember standing like this in front of my parents’ full-length mirror. But I was not playing dress up; I was practicing.

So, it’s no surprise that I planned to be all business when it came to finding THE dress. I planned a day to go to a few shops in the area, knowing just the kind of dress I wanted.

(MR. CLOUD– THIS IS WHEN YOU STOP READING! Thanks babe! Smooch smooch!!)

My first stop at a well known Richmond salon, Bella Rosa. Everything was set, until I had a full blown break down right before I was supposed to leave. What if I never found THE one? What if I had to settle? What if Mr. C didn’t like it? Add all these crazy worries to the fact that Mama Cloud wasn’t going to be there. At first I wasn’t worried about it, but 20 minutes before I was to put on my first big white dress, I was devastated to be doing it without my mom. Luckily, my MOH was with me. Ironically, she wasn’t even my MOH at the time, as this trip was pre-bridesmaid drama, but she was already stepping up to save the day!

I went over my preferences with the sales associate: preferably strapless, no lace, no beading, and white, not ivory, maybe with pickups. Yep, I’m just that exciting. We pulled about ten dresses and then right before I walked into the room, I grabbed one that was hanging near another room all alone, rejected by a previous bride. I tried it on first and even though it had a bit of beading, I had high hopes.

Priscilla of Boston

I tried on a few more, and finally the only one with the pickups I loved, but the dress really overwhelmed me, as I’m only 5’3″. And I felt like huge skirts were really shrinking me!

Designer Unknown

I tried on all of the others. I have no pictures of them because none of them even sparked my interest. And I just couldn’t keep from going back to the first dress. But I could not buy the first dress I tried on, could I? And I still had another store to visit!

(Please excuse the terrible image quality. All were taken by my MOH on her cell phone.)