The search for the perfect dress- Part 1

side note: sorry for the lack of pictures in this post it is a bit boring, but given the subject matter, pictures on this topic will just have to wait to make an appearance on the blog until after the wedding!

This weekend Nick, my sister, my bro-in-law, my niece and I traveled to Wilmington, Ohio to visit my aunt and uncle.  This annual trip is usually spent going to an interesting Ohio festival (I swear the state has more weird festivals than any other state), shopping, watching football, and relaxing and this year was no exception, the shopping was just a little bit more exciting.

Saturday we left the boys in front of the TV for a day of college football and my aunt, sister and I were off the the Reading Bridal District in Cincinnati.  I had no idea there was such a thing as a bridal district, but alas there is.  My aunt Jennifer bought her dress at Bridal and Formal and had a wonderful experience so that was our first stop.

After I filled out my information card I was greeted by JD, a very friendly young man who explained the layout of the store and the process and then turned me over to a consultant.  The process was to start looking through the dresses and pick out 7 I would like to try on. Then my assigned consultant would take me back to the dressing room and we would start trying them on.  The first thought that went through my head at this point was, "Are you kidding me!  We were in a room with THOUSANDS of dresses and you want ME to dig through these racks and pick out 7??"  In fact I was just a little annoyed.  I thought wedding dress shopping was supposed to consist of my describing what I was looking for and some nice consultant bringing me dresses. But because I am compliant my aunt, sister and I began digging through racks of dresses.  We fairly quickly came up with 7 that looked like they would be worth trying on.  At this point I met Tracie who hauled my 7 dresses into the dressing room.  First she quickly pinned my hair up into a very cute updo and we started helping me into the first dress.  I put it on and immediately hated it!  I have to be honest I was a little worried about dress shopping for this very reason.  Don't get me wrong I was excited to get dressed up like a princess all day but I was worried I would never find the dress.  I had been told by countless brides they bought the first dress they tried on and I hated the first dress I tried on...was I doomed to just finding the dress I could live with?

Luckily I could not have gotten a better consultant.  Tracie agreed completely that it wasn't the dress for me and flipped through the other 6 dresses we had picked out and pretty much said we were completely off base and off she went.  While she was gone we tried the other 6 on agreeing with Tracie that all of them were just wrong!  She came back with a few more dresses that were nothing like what I would have picked out but all the sudden we were on the right track.  I tried on several more dresses and we were getting closer. Tracie was an absolute sport with me and my lack of ability to verbalize what was wrong with each one, except for the disorganized dress that is! 

Side note: I tried on a dress that was well disorganized with lots going on.  My sister and I explained that we didn't like it because it was disorganized.  Apparently they had never heard that term used to describe a dress and everyone was quite amused by us!

Tracie kept bringing me back more dresses and finally I put one on that was just it!  Again it was absolutely nothing like what I had envisioned or would have picked out on my own but it was spectacular!  Tracie then took me over to get some matching jewelery and of course a veil.  It was when she stuck the veil in my hair that an indescribable feeling washed over me and it finally hit me... I'm a bride!

Now I loved this dress but I wasn't 100% sure and not only did I still have another appointment that afternoon, but I also had plans to go shopping with my mom and Nick's mom in St. Louis. So I took off the dress and we headed across the street to another store.  This experience was nothing like my experience at Bridal and Formal but I did end up finding another dress that I also really really liked.  Sarah sneakily took a picture on her phone and we headed back across the street to Bridal and Formal.  I wanted to try on the first dress again and see if they had the dress I liked from the other store so I could try them on in succession. Also in all honestly I missed Tracie!  She was so "tell it like it is" but in a way that made you feel like good about yourself- she really was the perfect consultant (can you tell I can't say enough nice things about her)! Tracie found a dress very similar to the one I tried on at the other store and I tried it on followed by the first dress. This helped a great deal but we shall see.

All in all it was a fabulous day and what they say about putting on wedding dresses really is true...I've never felt like such a princess! I have plans to go shopping again in October with my mom, Nick's mom, and my sister so stay tuned for "The search for the perfect dress- Part 2"