Yep. A dress. THE dress. You remember? The one I talked about searching for a really long time ago and then left you hanging? Yeah that one. I’m such a bad storyteller. 
Sorry, hive. But the good news is…
I DO HAVE A DRESS!
This is a big deal (obviously). There were times when I thought I’d be walking down the aisle in my white terry-cloth bath robe because I am so damn indecisive. Even after all my searching, I literally could not picture what I would be wearing on my wedding day until I swiped the credit card at the register and signed the papers for my order. Yeesh. But I have a DRESS! And I’m going to show it to you… soon. 
Oh yeah… get outta here Sparks. This post is not for your eyes.
Sparks Can via Impulsivebuy.com
Before we get to the good stuff, I have to reflect on my journey to find this elusive gown. It was totally strange and completely unlike anything I expected. All of the ups and downs of searching had my head spinning, and I was thisclose to giving up on finding a dress at all. I felt too much pressure to find something unique, something that my Mom and Sparks would love, and something that was still ME. So I took a long break from dress searching. I stopped looking at pictures, stopped looking in magazines, and stopped caring about what everyone was wearing on the red carpet that week.
It was the best decision ever.
Although Miley’s Jenny Packham (via Shopping Lifestyle)…
…and Lea’s Oscar de la Renta (via Marie Claire) definitely caught my eye.
I realized the reason I was having such a hard time finding a dress, was because I wanted something that felt like it was designed JUST for me. Well, guess what? All those wedding dress designers didn’t make their gowns JUST for me. They made them for me and a thousand other girls. It was silly to think that a wedding dress would come with a personality. That’s something I would have to add.
Once I realized this, I started looking for a different type of gown. I even toyed with the idea of doing something custom-made. But I decided I didn’t want THAT much control over things (one less thing to stress about, thank you very much). I also decided I was sick and tired of going into salons and trying on dresses without much of an idea of what I really wanted. Telling the sales associate that you want something “weird”, will not produce gorgeous gowns. Lesson learned. So before I stepped foot into another wedding dress, I scoured the internet for specific styles and trends that I wanted. I made a pretty big list of dresses, but at least they all had a few things in common this time.
Now, I don’t know if it’s because I finally knew what I wanted (or if I’m just plain crazy) but I started to really freak out about certain dresses when I saw them online. It was the kind of reaction you should have when you try a wedding dress ON. Like, on your body. In real life. Regardless, there were some tears. And when I spotted the dress that I now own, I just had a gut feeling it would be mine.
After spending WAY too much time staring at pictures of my gown online, I decided that locating a real-life version was probably a good idea. One of the only places they carried this particular dress was at the first boutique I had visited in DC. Ironic, no? So I went back to try it on over Christmas break with my Mom, and it was the most bizarre experience ever.
I put on the dress, stared at myself in the mirror, and felt…. nothing. I just sort of nodded and said, “Yep, this is it.” No emotion, no tears, no hallelujah chorus. I guess I was just all cried out. You know, from the internet picture.
In all seriousness, I think I was just feeling overly calm and content about finally finding a dress. It had been such a long, stressful journey, and I was SO glad that my search was over. Or, like I said, maybe I’m just totally crazy.
I don’t want to reveal the entire dress quite yet (I know, I know, I’m so mean). But I do want to give you a little peak…
Ohhhhh I can’t wait to show you guys the whole thing! I just love it.
What do you think? Can you guess what I picked? Did anyone else have a strange reaction when they found their dress? Please tell me I’m not nuts.
Latest Gallery Pics