Saying "YES TO THE DRESS"

Everyone knows the cliche saying of "Say Yes To The Dress" and every girl wants to be able to confidently say this when picking out the dress of her dreams to wear when she walks down the aisle to her man (or woman). I decided that I wanted to bring all of my 7 bridesmaids plus my mother to my dress shopping experience. We got engaged in January and I decided to go shopping in June when everyone had an availability. 

Luckily for me my group was very well behaved and did not offer me any criticism. I watched countless episodes of SYTTD and was prepared for how to handle almost any situation. The only thing I was lacking was Randy. I decided to go to Ashley Rene Bridal in Livingston, Louisiana first thing that morning. I had two other appointments scheduled in case I needed to continue my search. I chose this bridal salon based on reviews and people I follow and know shopped here. 

When we first walked in it felt like Black Friday as everyone was standing outside waiting for the doors to open. Upon walking in I went to the front desk and signed in and immediately was introduced to my consultant. I was so nervous about my consultant being someone who was unfriendly or did not care, but I was so lucky to get one of the sweetest people in the building to help me. 

She asked me the generic questions such as "What type of dress are you looking for?", "How would you describe your wedding?", "Do you have any inspiration pictures?" I of course had many of those on hand to show her. I came to the salon with a specific dress in mind that I wanted to buy. I actually called and arranged for that dress to be rented that day in the salon because they did not have it. My heart was SET on that lace long sleeve dress. I decided to try it on first just to get it out of the way. I loved it so much, but I did not have a wow moment. It did not do too much for my figure and the lace aged me. However I was still going to leave it open as an option as I continued to look.

I told my consultant another type of dress that I liked and she brought me a few different ones to try on. I told her I was unsure about one of the dresses, but ensured that the silhouette of the dress is exactly what I wanted. I decided to try it on, and boy am I glad that I did. There was no mirror in the room where I put the dress on so I did not get a look at it until I was on the pedestal. My face instantly lit up and I could not stop smiling. They added a few accessories to the dress (I won't give too many details away yet) and I was in love with the whole look. 

I continued to try on more dresses, but my heart was stuck on the long sleeved dress and the other one that I fell in love with, but did not want to commit to yet. I am trying to be as vague as I can, so that after the wedding I can come back here and show you exactly what I meant. I know my fiance will not read this post, but I want my dress to be a surprise to all of my followers as well as to Will. 

As the appointment went on, I told my consultant I was done trying on more dresses and needed to try on those two dresses that I loved one more time. She had me walk into the sunlight and step on a pedestal that was in the beautiful sunlight so that I could see the dress in a different light. This is what sold me. As soon as I saw the long sleeve dress in the mirror, I was fake smiling for pictures and just wanted to take it off. However, when I put on the dress I end up getting, I instantly said, "This is it!" I got chills and I could not stop smiling. I can't wait to add more pictures of me trying my dream dress on in both the sunlight and in the store lights. 

For now I will show you all the dress that I thought I wanted for so long, but actually did not like on my body. It just goes to show that you can spend a copious amount of time and energy planning what you want to wear, but until you try it on you will never know what you will actually be wearing on your day. I came in with a specific dress in mind and left with something completely different than I ever imagined.

 Do not settle for a dress until you get that feeling where you do not want to take it off and you do not want to try on any more dresses. It is just like finding the right partner. You smile ear to ear around them and do not want any other person. I always wondered if I was really going to feel a certain type of way when I tried on the dress. I now know that all of those people on SYTTD are correct and that you know when you know!