#WeddingWednesday: The Dress

The journey to to find my dress was a short one however, the journey to fall absolutely head over heels with it was a LONG one!  I first went dress shopping with my mom and at the time my soon to be mother-in-law.  Since the dress was a such a big part of my big day, I wanted them both there for moral support.  And boy did I sure need it that day...

Ever since Danny and I had decided on our bridal party, I knew that I would need to go to David's Bridal to get the bridesmaid gowns since my girls lived all over the place.  I needed one central store that they could all get their hands on (this is how David's Bridal gets you, ladies).  Knowing this, I scheduled my dress appointment with David's because they give a discount to the bride if she gets her bridesmaid dresses there (this is how they get you too).  AND we ended up getting the tuxes from Men's Warehouse which resulted in getting the groom's tux for free (and that's the icing on the cake), so at the end of the day, we were okay with getting a ton of free stuff if it meant sucking the bridal party into it too.  Believe me ladies, they know what they're doing.

My appointment was scheduled for our first "wedding weekend" in Columbus.  Since we lived 150 miles away from where we got married, Danny and I would often plan these trips to Columbus that involved jamming everything we could in two days of wedding monstrosity.

Also, this was right after we got engaged, so I was not in wedding shape yet so I was feeling super self conscious.  I have always worried about the size of my hips.  Even at 1 day old, the nurses in the hospital nicknamed me, thunder thighs and for good reason (I was scared even from a young age).  I don't think my mom and mother-in-law were ready for the self conscious Suzy that was about to be.  I tried on dress after dress and they were all horrible! When you go dress shopping for the first time, rid your mind of all those images you pinned on Pinterest of the perfect dress because that's just not real life.

After trying on what seemed like a few million dresses, I finally found one that did not accentuate my hip area, but actually covered it up.  Without anyone noticing I started to tear up because I was so happy that a dress actually fit me and looked good.  From that moment on, I fell for the dress, but I wasn't in LOVE love. Turns out too that the very next dress I tried on, my mother and mother-in-law absolutely LOVED on me and I said absolutely not, so that made me overthink my decision too.



My first time with the dress on!
(Slightly obsessed with the train.)

That day we bought the dress because I did really like it and it was the best dress for my body.  Fast forward and I've tried the dress on a few more times and even once while I was alone in my apartment.  (It's so tempting when you're home alone and the big dress bag is just staring at you!)  I kept falling more and more in love with my dress the more I tried it on.  This was especially true at my final dress fitting.  6 weeks before the wedding, two of my bridesmaids and my dear friend came along with me to try on the whole shebang (dress, shoes, veil, and tiara) and I was mesmerized with the whole ensemble.  That moment was when I was head over heels, drooling over my dress.  That night I could not wait to show Danny what I looked like on our big day (believe me, I tried to convince him to let me show him a picture, but he would not give in).


At my final dress fitting

On the wedding day, the dress was perfect, but it was especially perfect because of the way it made me feel.  The dress was everything I dreamed of and I would not have wanted anything else.  It fit me perfectly and I was absolutely in love with it.

Below are some of my favorite pictures our photographer captured of the dress on our special day: