I finally did it… I finally picked a wedding dress (and somehow it seems wonderfully appropriate that my first post of 2012 has to do with the wedding)!!

This was the third shopping trip and you know what they say, third times a charm!! Kara kept saying to me (over the course of 2 months and my other 2 shopping trips) that once you find the dress everything seems to start to fall into place. You define how formal your event will be, you suddenly have a vision for your flowers and your centerpieces, you even start to think about the reaction of others as they open your invite and especially what they will say when they see you walk down the aisle. She was right!

This dress shopping trip was with both of my parents. If you remember from dress shopping trip #1 I did that with just my mom and dress shopping trip #2 was done with my mom and Tim’s mom. Since my dad was off work I decided that I would love for him to join me as well. It’s always nice to get a father’s opinion don’t you think? So my parents picked me up at home and we headed to Akron, OH to Coming Attractions Bridal salon. Jill Garmin led the way and we decided to make a quick pit stop at the local pub nearby for substance before the potentially very long day started. My mom and I enjoyed a grilled cheese to the extreme loaded with bacon and egg (a delicious breakfast grilled cheese- try it) and my dad had a burger. The key to our pub stop was not, however, the delicious meal that we devoured but rather the tasty drinks we inhaled. My mom and I enjoyed a screw driver (ok fine she enjoyed two) and my dad had a beer (ok fine he had 2 as well haha)…. hey it’s 5 o’clock somewhere right? Don’t judge us! The other 10 people in the bar certainly were not! We even managed to get our waitress to snag this pic before we headed out.

Why thank you nice waitress (Debbie was her name)! It was great to capture the moment!

So at Coming Attractions we met Bailey who worked there and was so sweet helping me  get in and out of those crazy heavy dresses! We laughed at a few, made some pretty nasty faces at others and finally settled on 4 to try. 3 of which were very similar to what I had put on before and 1 which was totally different.

It was funny to have my dad there because as a dad, well as my dad, he did such a good job thinking about my personality and my general demeanor every time I put on a dress. He really put into perspective what was important in a dress, one that really is a direct reflection of who I am.  My mom and I are girls and we think all of those beautiful white gowns are perfect so it meant a lot to me and was totally necessary to have dad there to help!

We left Coming Attractions and headed over the Elyses which is also in Akron. We took a quick glance around and didn’t see anything we liked so we headed out…. the woman who worked there seemed very sweet and wonderful to work with though so take a look there if you are getting married in Akron!

We then headed out to Catans in Strongsville (longer journey) and got stuck un traffic before making it to the bridal store. The women that work in that store just treat you like you are on 27 dresses and do such a nice job that is a great experience to shop there! After trying on 10 or so dresses there I finally picked THE ONE… which was the same one I had just tried on at Coming Attractions. I think I had fallen for it right away but being the prepared and totally knowledgeable shopper I am, I made certain I LOVED it before the purchase!

So after another round of drinks to be certain that I was ready to “Say Yes to the Dress” my dad drove us back to the bridal store, I got measured, and TADA… my dress is currently being worked on!

Sorry no pictures but the fiance is a supporter of the blog and I can’t have his eyes wandering around trying to find a picture of the dress!! But you know what thought literally just came to me.. isn’t it interesting that finding a dress takes multiple trips, sometimes frustration, and is one of the biggest decisions you make during your wedding… okay maybe it’s not funny yet but when I think about how easy it was to fall in love with Tim (you can read our romance story here) and how I didn’t even have to think twice about marrying him because he is such a wonderful man it is funny! My dress experience was harder than finding a husband… now it’s funny and ironic right?

Big thanks for my friends and my family who have already been so fantastic throughout this wedding process! Now that the dress is picked out we are ready to start with all of the fabulous planning!! and special thanks to my parents who drove around all day long helping me to find “the one!”