As you may remember, we got engaged on Black Friday. It was an exciting day indeed! I had already been planning and thinking of what I wanted for our wedding before the proposal, so I thought I had a pretty good idea of my own taste. WRONG. I also thought I'd love jumping right into wedding planning and getting stuff done ASAP. WRONG AGAIN.
I wanted to savor being engaged. I wanted to put off the planning/decision making process as long as I could. Why? I didn't know what I wanted! I didn't know what I was looking for! I just knew I wanted to marry WW. I had made that decision and didn't think I needed to make anymore anytime soon. I just wanted to take it slow.
Two weeks after we got engaged and one week before I moved out of the dorm forever, I went home to move my big items. My sweet friend, Emily came with me for the short overnight road trip. She was getting married the following weekend, so I had originally planned to have a mega girl day filled with massages, antique shopping, and a girly restaurant. However, my plan failed. Every spa I called was having a spa party the day that we were going home, and wouldn't you know Mildred's Tea Room was closed that day as well. Of course.
I tried to think of something else to do, and I couldn't think of anything. Crafting would have to do. Mom, Emily, and I crafted that night, and started talking about what I wanted for a wedding. Then the question of the dress came up. I had originally thought about re creating Mom's dress into one, but I hadn't made any definite decisions (shocker). Mom said she was off the next day if we wanted to go look at dresses. After all the episodes of "Say Yes to the Dress" that I've seen, you'd think I'd know what I want and be ready to look. The opposite was true. I was overwhelmed by the possibilities. I told Mom I'd pray about it.
The next day we went to lunch and a couple stores, and then Mom asked again if I wanted to go dress shopping. Yes. No. Maybe. Not really. Kind of. ...those were my thoughts. I finally said yes, and I picked a bridal store that I'd gotten a bridesmaid dress from a few years ago. I remembered they'd been nice, and I didn't have an overwhelming amount of options there. Perfect place to start.
Even though the store was quaint, they weren't lacking in options. I didn't know what I wanted, but I knew what I didn't want...story of my life. I didn't want halter, princess gown, tight mermaid, spaghetti straps, or too much bling. Good start, right? Ha. I still had tons of options. I went through the racks looking at dress, having a reason why I didn't like most of them. I picked out a few to start off with, but I didn't love any of them on the rack.
Emily came over to me and said, "Lindsey, you've got to see this rack! But don't look at the prices...just look at how beautiful the dresses are!" That's never a good sign. I went over there to see what she was so excited about, and at the first dress I knew what she meant. The whole rack was full of beautiful lace dresses...expensive, beautiful lace dresses.
I have seen almost every episode of "Say Yes to the Dress", and I know that the girls always try on dresses that are out of the budget to see what it's like, fall in love, and then try to figure out which kidney to sell in order to pay for the dress. While I knew that was a "no-no" in dress shopping, I turned into one of those girls...I put them in my pile to try on anyways. Yes, I am ashamed.
I went to the dressing room to try on the 4 dresses we picked out. First I tried on an A-line silk taffeta dress with a brooch on the side. Being petite and having a short waist, the dress was clearly meant for a tall person, and I didn't like where the brooch hit on my waist. It was a no. The second dress was satin and mermaid with a big bow thing on the back...it accentuated my rear...no good. The 3rd dress more of a princess gown...not my thing. NEXT DRESS PLEASE! The 4th (and last one) was lace and organza, and it was a relaxed mermaid fit. I really liked it...of course I did. It was off the "don't look at the price" rack!
When I was walking back to the fitting room from the terrible mirror room, my mom was looking through the clearance samples. She came across a lace dress that was a champagne color with white lace overlay, and it looked really dark. It was REALLY heavy in the bag, and we joked how if I wore that dress, I'd have to explain to people why my dress wasn't white! I told Mom I was done with the dresses we pulled, so I'd try that one on just to see what the color looked like off the rack. I took it in my fitting room and looked at the tag...the clearance price was over half off of the original price. Hello, that'd be a deal for someone!
I went in the hall between the fitting rooms, and the sales associate tied me up in the back. My mom said she was surprised that it didn't look as dark on, but it just added contrast to the white lace. Emily loved it, and I could tell Mom was starting to really like it as well. When I was all tied up, I went to the mirror room. I loved it! I had always wanted a lace dress, but I had ruled it out of my mind because I knew that it would be expensive. BUT this dress was over 50% off. It was perfect! The only thing that has to be altered is the hem, and since it was a sample I could take it home with me that day.
That was the first wedding thing that was obviously a provision of God. I'd wanted a lace dress, but didn't expect it because I knew it'd be out of the budget. The night before we went to look at dresses, I'd asked my mom about the budget and how much would be reasonable for a dress. She said about $500 would be reasonable...I didn't complain, but I did wonder what I would find for around $500. The awesome part is that not only was my dress over 50% off, but the clearance price was $499. Not only was my dream dress on sale, but it was $1 UNDER what we'd set for a budget. What a beautiful picture of God's provision. When we least expect it, he shows is sovereignty and provides in great ways.
This was my wedding dress from heaven. Ignore my serious look, glistening face, and half straight hair...the bridal portrait day is another story for another day. It was a fun day, but it was H.O.T.
Emily came over to me and said, "Lindsey, you've got to see this rack! But don't look at the prices...just look at how beautiful the dresses are!" That's never a good sign. I went over there to see what she was so excited about, and at the first dress I knew what she meant. The whole rack was full of beautiful lace dresses...expensive, beautiful lace dresses.
I have seen almost every episode of "Say Yes to the Dress", and I know that the girls always try on dresses that are out of the budget to see what it's like, fall in love, and then try to figure out which kidney to sell in order to pay for the dress. While I knew that was a "no-no" in dress shopping, I turned into one of those girls...I put them in my pile to try on anyways. Yes, I am ashamed.
I went to the dressing room to try on the 4 dresses we picked out. First I tried on an A-line silk taffeta dress with a brooch on the side. Being petite and having a short waist, the dress was clearly meant for a tall person, and I didn't like where the brooch hit on my waist. It was a no. The second dress was satin and mermaid with a big bow thing on the back...it accentuated my rear...no good. The 3rd dress more of a princess gown...not my thing. NEXT DRESS PLEASE! The 4th (and last one) was lace and organza, and it was a relaxed mermaid fit. I really liked it...of course I did. It was off the "don't look at the price" rack!
When I was walking back to the fitting room from the terrible mirror room, my mom was looking through the clearance samples. She came across a lace dress that was a champagne color with white lace overlay, and it looked really dark. It was REALLY heavy in the bag, and we joked how if I wore that dress, I'd have to explain to people why my dress wasn't white! I told Mom I was done with the dresses we pulled, so I'd try that one on just to see what the color looked like off the rack. I took it in my fitting room and looked at the tag...the clearance price was over half off of the original price. Hello, that'd be a deal for someone!
I went in the hall between the fitting rooms, and the sales associate tied me up in the back. My mom said she was surprised that it didn't look as dark on, but it just added contrast to the white lace. Emily loved it, and I could tell Mom was starting to really like it as well. When I was all tied up, I went to the mirror room. I loved it! I had always wanted a lace dress, but I had ruled it out of my mind because I knew that it would be expensive. BUT this dress was over 50% off. It was perfect! The only thing that has to be altered is the hem, and since it was a sample I could take it home with me that day.
That was the first wedding thing that was obviously a provision of God. I'd wanted a lace dress, but didn't expect it because I knew it'd be out of the budget. The night before we went to look at dresses, I'd asked my mom about the budget and how much would be reasonable for a dress. She said about $500 would be reasonable...I didn't complain, but I did wonder what I would find for around $500. The awesome part is that not only was my dress over 50% off, but the clearance price was $499. Not only was my dream dress on sale, but it was $1 UNDER what we'd set for a budget. What a beautiful picture of God's provision. When we least expect it, he shows is sovereignty and provides in great ways.
This was my wedding dress from heaven. Ignore my serious look, glistening face, and half straight hair...the bridal portrait day is another story for another day. It was a fun day, but it was H.O.T.
