An indecisive decision.

The following story is epic. It has laughter and tears, sorrow and triumph, and finally true love. It is the story of the glorious day I found my dress.

It started out gloriously. I had just met with my wedding photographer, the talented David McClain, and was excited for an afternoon of dress shopping with my mom and sister. We ended up at Cincinnati Bridal and Formal and got started. I was set up with a consultant, who would typically annoy the crap outa me, but this broad was great. She was silly, quirky, and not pushy at all! I tried on dress after dress, sticking mainly with the more fitted mermaid shaped gowns and wasn’t having a ton of luck. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was looking fabulous, but nothing jumped out at me. Finally, I tried on a sample Pronovias gown and loved it. The shape was perfect and the fit was to die for, but I just wasn’t sure.

Oh, perhaps I should let you in on a little secret. I am indecisive. It takes me a ridiculous amount of time to order food from restaurants (ask Art)…. at that is just the tip of the iceberg. It makes me anxious thinking about the finality of a decision and what if its the wrong one!? Needless to say, I couldn’t decide on a dress, besides it was my first dress excursion and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to buy a dress from a bridal retailer. So we left…

And decided to go back the next day. I couldn’t stop thinking about the Pronovias dress and hadn’t visited the bridal boutique across the street from CBF where my sister and Kelly got their dresses. I brought along two dear friends, Kel and Ash. These were the girls who would definitely help me be more decisive…. or so I thought. Cincinnati Bride has a smaller selection than CBF but often has a more budget friendly array. I looked around for a long time and only came up with a few dresses that looked remotely similar to what I liked. Then I saw it. A form fitting a-line gem. Different than most in the store…. delicately embellished across the chest and the most intricate of trains. I was in love with the vintage look of this dress. When I put the dress on I felt gorgeous, looked great, and felt like a timeless bride. One thing that was very important to me was the timelessness of the gown. This dress was beautiful. When I stepped out in front of Kel and Ash, they were immediately taken back. It was different than anything I had imagined myself in, but flattering all the same. I could tell my mom loved this one as well. I felt the eyes of the ladies around me watching, heard some very encouraging whispers and felt like this dress was possibly the one I would be walking down the aisle to. I started to sweat.

No. No decision yet… lets go across the street… try on the Pronovias. My consultant from the day before was there, she had set the dress aside as promised (even though it was against the rules b/c of the price) and was giggly and happy to see me. I pulled another gown back to try on as well. This dress was awesome! But it was a little too much we decided. I need you to see it anyway…

As soon as I put on the Pronovias….. Kelly’s face lit up. I knew she loved this one, and I did too, but I wasn’t sure. Was this it? It couldn’t be. The other dress looked so vintage, this dress was so modern.

I had to try on the other one again.

I know what you are thinking. I think. I was acting ridiculous. Was I? My anxiety began to build and we decided to go to lunch… to think about it. Lunch was excruciating. I couldn’t focus. We went over the pros and cons. I called my sister. I called Art. I was leaning strongly towards the vintage inspired gown, but something about the Pronovias called to me.

Back to Cincinnati Bride, straight into the dressing room that they saved for me and I slipped into the bejeweled wonder which awaited me. I picked up the bottom and scurried back out to the platform to show my maids. “What do you think” “Is this it” After much debate…. and gazing…. squinting…. and posing I think we had found the dress.

“Wooooo hoooo,” shrieked Ashley Patrick!!!! I heard claps and giggles and smiles all around. It all happened so fast. Flash. flash. FLASH. Pictures of the final product. F L A S H.

I hustled back to the fitting room, Mom racing quickly after me. Was this it? I stood and stared, unsure again, the consultant came back, she stared. I saw the pictures of me in the dress and felt sick to my stomach. Kelly came back. Ashley came back. They all stared, their eyes begging me to say this was the dress. “I need a moment alone with the dress.” My exact words. They left. It was just me and dress. I looked at it. I held it. But the more I looked and glared the more I wasn’t sure. The beading, the impeccable embelishment that I fell in love with was starting to grow. larger. and LARGER. The sparkles began to overcome me and I truly felt as if the beading was going to leap from the gown and swallow me whole. I couldn’t do it. I rushed out to my mom, Kelly, and Ash and told them I just wasn’t convinced. I couldn’t see spending $900 on a gown that I wasn’t 100% sure of.

My mom looked at me… with the most understanding of eyes…
“I’m going to go distract the consultant, run across the street and try on the other dress!”

We ran. It was raining. I bounded through CBF front doors looking disheveled and unsure. And their she was… my wonderful consultant. “Oh, dear” she said, “you look crazy girl.” I had to try it on one more time. I wanted to be sure it wasn’t the one. It was getting late, we needed to leave… this would be the 3rd time I would try on the Pronovias. I jumped out of my clothes and into the gown… zipped it up, hopped up on the step stool and squeeeled!

I LOVED THIS DRESS. I smiled from ear to ear and for some reason, this time it felt different. I felt so beautiful and so perfect and so happy. Kelly and Ashley were giggling with shear excitement because they truly were not only glad I had made up my mind, but more importantly they were so happy to see me relieved. My mom swooshed in and teared up. She knew.

All that being said, I FOUND MY DRESS FOLKS. It was half off and then half off again! I am so happy and so excited to wear this dress. I wish I could show you…. but I cant. I can show you the other one however. This dress looks awful on me in the picture, but really did look flattering in real life.

Oh, and these make me extremely happy…

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