Now That's What I Call Productive!

Okay, so I took today and tomorrow off from work, right? I just have a LOT going on right now and the free time that I have on the weekends is not quite enough time to keep up with everything that I am trying to manage. Brett thinks that I am too busy 100% of the time. Well, he and I are comfortable with different levels of "busy", so I disagree. But this Holiday Open House has definitely kept me on my toes. So my plan was for today to be all about the wedding (I should work on addresses tonight, but I'm going to put that off a little longer), and tomorrow will be all about the Open House. That was my plan and all week I have been hoping, hoping, hoping that I would be productive! Well guess what I did today? I BOUGHT A WEDDING DRESS!

I know what you're thinking. I said that my mom was going to make my dress. I'm feeling a little guilty about this. My mom was obliged to make the dress when I originally asked her to, but as we picked things out and she made the sample dress her enthusiasm grew. I just got paranoid. The first dress that she made for me to try on is a GORGEOUS dress! My mom is so talented. I truly believe that with enough time, there is nothing that my mom can't do. But unfortunately, when I put on the dress, it didn't look very good. It was gorgeous on the hanger and then I made it ugly! I think that if we made the dress in sturdier material, it would be more flattering, but what if it still didn't look good? Just the more I thought about it, the more I thought, "what if we spend 3 months and $300 making sample dresses that my stupid body made look bad and then suddenly it was 2 months until the wedding and I needed a dress?

So one of my bridesmaids, Jenn, who is also getting married, found her dress a few weeks ago at a boutique in Addison called Circle Park Bridal and she encouraged me to check it out. Let me just take a minute to say that my experience at this store was amazing. The women who own and run the store were so caring and so helpful and the dresses there were unbelievably priced. There was a nice mix of traditional and modern and I am so happy that we went there! So if anyone is ever in need, I highly recommend Circle Park Bridal in Addison. It will be worth your trip.

Back to my story. So Melanie and I made a list of places to check out today and Circle Park was at the top of our list. I'm so happy that we went there first! I liked the shop right away. As soon as you walk in, there is a really friendly vibe. However, I was not thrilled looking through the racks initially. Not because their dresses aren't amazing, but because I didn't think they would have anything that I could wear. Their sizes are limited. It is not like a David's Bridal where you see a dress and you can order it in any size that you want. This is a small boutique where what they have there, is what they have. You can alter anything. Like if you like a dress but it is 3 sizes too big, no problem. Their seamstress is apparently a Jedi, and she can make it work! Or if you find a dress you like and it is 2 sizes too small, no problem. Yoda will add a corset that looks like it was always there and voila, the dress is your size! But everyone says that you have to go up in sizes when you are looking at bridal gowns because they always run small. When I asked about sizes the woman told me that for the most part, they only go up to 16. Well I wish I were a 16! So I was sure that I wouldn't be able to fit into anything that they had. But we grabbed 3 dresses, one of which I realized WAS my size, so I thought that even if it runs small like everyone says they do, I might be able to get in it and partially zip it to get an idea if the style looks good on me. And can I just say, you can NOT judge a wedding dress by how it looks on the hanger! Especially if you are like me... a fairly simple gal. I like things clean and classic. Any embellishment on a dress that involves beading or intricate shmancies, I immediately think is not for me. Not because it's not pretty, I just don't feel like I can pull something like that off.

The first dress that I tried was one that I knew was too small. It didn't zip all the way, but we could tell that it was a good cut for me, so I said we should keep that cut in mind when we look other places. But I tried on dress #2 and oh goodness. This is the one that said on the tag that it was my size, which I thought in bride language, would make it at least a size too small. But when I put it on, it was actually a little big. We walked out to the 3 way mirror and I stood on the box and it was like time stopped for a minute. Not only was it a beautiful dress, I looked nice in it. The cut is very flattering and it flares out in all the right places. I thought it was lovely, but when I put on the veil, that sealed the deal. We will need to make some adjustments but after standing on the box for a good 10 minutes and the ladies assuring me that we will be able to add sleeves or a jacket and shorten the train, I decided to buy the dress. I'm SO happy that Melanie and I went together. She was so helpful and so encouraging. But best of all, after I had picked my dress, Melanie grabbed a few to try on, and guess what? SHE BOUGHT ONE TOO!

I am IN LOVE with Melanie's dress. On it's own, it is refreshingly unique and just stunningly beautiful, but on Melanie, it was breath taking. I have never seen a dress quiet like this. It is modern but at the same time there is something classic about it. It is WAY too big for Mel, but she has already scheduled an appointment with the miracle working seamstress to make sure that she will be able to take it in as much as she needs, and I am certain that she will feel like the most beautiful girl in the world on the day of her wedding.

It was so special to be able to go with Melanie and us find our dresses together. I love all of my sisters, and being able to live with Melanie this past year has reminded me how amazing she is. We both shed a few tears and we posed for some pictures, and it was just a really special day. I feel REALLY bad for hurting my mom's feelings. She is being nice and not trying to make me feel bad for buying a dress, but I know she is disappointed. If I weren't so heavy, this whole dress ordeal would be easier. But I think that I did the right thing. I think.

This blog is long enough already, but I have one more quick bit of news. I think that I found a bridesmaid dress! My boss told me about a couple of shops that she and her daughter went to when they were shopping for dresses for her daughter's wedding. They are very near our workplace and she said that they had good prices. Good prices??? This dress is $55!!! That's amazing! It is unique, it is pretty much the color I have been looking for, and it is a third of the price of the dresses at David's and Alfred's. Melanie and I both tried one on today to see how it looked on a body, and it is a flattering cut. It is maybe a tiny bit brighter than I would prefer, but it is a really pretty color that is going to look lovely in the park!

So I am feeling really good about getting some things done today. Those are two very large items to cross off of my list. I am so thankful that my boss let me take these two days off. Hopefully I will be just as productive tomorrow.

I'm off to make ornaments! Breaking Dawn is sitting on my bed, but I am going to have to insist on not reading anymore for a few days. If I pick it up tonight, I'm afraid I will stay up all night reading it and finish it tomorrow and waste my day! So there you go.