Goodbye Sanity, hello wedding.

  Let me start by saying that I am generally a no frills type of girl, and certainly expected to be a no frills bride.  I didn't know know how to straighten my hair until 2 years ago, I have yet to figure out eye liner or buy a blowdryer, and I consider taking off my shoes and jumping through puddles to be a perfectly acceptable way to get into the house after work.  For my wedding I want simple, and rustic.  But I also do not want ordinary.  I don't like hotel receptions or dancing to the YMCA.

  I had gone dress shopping about 2 years ago, but then we found out DD was on the way and all wedding planning was put on hold.  When I had gone shopping before I had gone to 4 different stores,  tried on dozens of dresses, and had never fallen in love with any of them.  Heading out this time I was expecting to have the same trouble, and to end up settling on a dress.  When I tried on ONE dress and thought 'This is it!' I was shocked.

     But, like most girls, I didn't want to try on just one dress. Where is the fun in that? So I got myself in a jam and tried on a completely different dress and, uh-oh, fell in love with it. I

     left the store feeling frustrated and very unsure of myself.  So, like an obsessed maniac, I spent most of my night last night pouring over pictures and reviews of both dresses, begging my husband for his opinion on the dresses, and trying to picture my wedding.  By the end of the night my head hurt, and I still had no idea.

     This morning I woke up with a bit more clarity.  I realized that when I had sent the pictures to friends, or asked Johns opinion, I would argue a bit more against anyone who chose the second dress.  And I would even feel hurt that they hadn't loved the first dress as much as I did. The more I looked at pictures of real brides in both dresses the easier my decision became.  I loved the second dress oh-so-much in real life, but I worried that in pictures it would look like I had a comforter stapled to my waist.  It was beautiful fluffed out and styled while I stood poised in front of a mirror, but when I moved the beautiful details I adored so much on the skirt might get lost.  Sure enough, in almost every real-bride photo I saw I thought 'comforter.'  It looked great for snuggling up with, but maybe not dancing and getting married in.

     I also thought that as stunning and original as it looked in the bridal shop, in photo's it looks a lot like 80% of the other wedding photo's I've seen.  My good friend who had gone shopping with me said "I think everyone would be shocked to see you in that dress!"  And I liked that idea, until I realized the reason they would be shocked is because it's just not me.  The other dress, my first love, still looked amazing in personal photos

  Both are beautiful and both make wonderful choices.  But I want my wedding to be a party that goes all night, and I can't imagine partying in that super heavy second dress.  And when I think about which one I might miss on my wedding day, it's the vintage inspired gatsby dress.  It's everything I wanted for a reason. I wanted timeless and ornate.  Modern and stunning are wonderful qualities, but they're not what I look for anywhere else in my life, so I would feel slightly out of my own skin wearing a dress that embodied those things.

     Also, whenever I've looked at bridal jewelry or accessories, I've looked at vintage inspired pieces.  I have always been drawn to that style. I don't even know how I would begin to put pieces together with the second dress. It's just far enough outside my usual self that I would have to rely on others to help with all the 'decorating.'  But I want to feel like me and love every little piece of what I'm in, not just the dress.

That being said, I think I've made my choice, and I'm thrilled. I cannot wait to go order my dress this week!