Dreaming of my dream wedding dress came long before my handsome prince ever did. By the time he finally arrived & finally slipped a ring on my finger {funny how our "finallys" are God's "right on times"}, I had a clear vision of what I wanted.
I'm one of those who knows what she likes {& doesn't like} & no amount of opinions will sway this girl otherwise. Having watched TLC's "Yes" to the Dress quite a few times, I was amazed at how many future brides would let their "entourages" push them from what they truly wanted. This wasn't even going to be a possibility in my story, because I decided to save any drama & go dress shopping solo! I headed out to David's Bridal & searched the racks. I tried a few different options just to make sure the vision I had in my head actually looked flattering & to rule out my dislikes by trying a couple of them, as well.
This is what I knew going in... I loved the strapless princess cut neckline, tulle, intricate & unique details, most likely a ballgown {though I had a tiny twinge of wanting a mermaid style, as well}, & a bonus wish for a bit of a train. I did not want satin, & I wasn't fond of any substantial amount of lace, a sheath style, ivory color, or anything simple.
What I tried at David's Bridal proved everything I had thought about what I wanted, but nothing in my price point spoke to me. Note: shopping by myself didn't mean no opinions, I discovered, as the sales lady really wanted to sell me on the mermaid style!
The thing was, I actually had a dream dress in mind that I really wanted to give a shot. Problem was, it was from a past season, & it was going to be hard to find. I actually 1st saw the gown on a fellow blogger in her wedding pics! I fell in love with the gown & searched Google with a description seeing if I could find the designer. I wasn't finding it. Do you know how many wedding dress creators + dresses are out there?! It was craziness. I decided to reach out to the blogger. Just when I thought I'd never get a response, one hit my inbox! She knew the designer, just not the dress style. More searching & I finally found it! {It's a Jasmine wedding dress - style F374, by the way.} Now, onto the equally tricky part: finding one. I tried numerous wedding dress resale sites with little luck - they either had none or they had one or two that were still over what I wanted to pay + not my size + had signs of wear. Then, I tried what I thought would be another dead end, eBay. I typed in the search box &, yes, who would believe it, they had one!? Still it wasn't my size, but it was new with the tags still on it! It wasn't what I wanted to pay, though. I waited. I prayed. I favorited it {it had quite a few faves already}. It was a "Buy It Now" item {not an auction listing}. I checked it often. I even asked the seller a couple questions about it. Then, a few days later I go on & find it on sale for half off! I do the happy wedding dress dance that I didn't know was in me & I buy it for a little less than $200!
It comes in the most unassuming brown box, & I wonder as I pick it up from the post office all excited-like, if my dream dress could possibly fit/be inside this. I knew this was a bit of a gamble. I mean, I've never actually tried this dress on {there's no return policy for this one, either}. But, I also know I've given myself enough time to find another if this doesn't work out + I can probably resell the dress pretty easily if I have to + my mom is an awesome seamstress & can probably do the alterations to make it fit. You know what? I took that brown box into my little apartment, drug the standing mirror from out of my bedroom, opened the package like it was a precious Christmas present, & tried on that dress all by myself {which wasn't too easy} in the middle of my living room. I found myself uttering to my mirror self, "It's just what I wanted," & it was. My mom spent countless time & energy altering it up for me perfectly & I walked down the aisle to my prince in it feeling like a true princess, & I am so glad I said "yes" to my unconventional eBay dress!
