Malie's Wedding Update: I Said YES To The Dress!

***DISCLAIMER: NO, I AM NOT POSTING MY WEDDING DRESS***

With that out of the way, OMG I FOUND MY WEDDING DRESS!!!!!

Y'all... Wedding dress shopping is exhausting. It's also so much fun!!!

I was a little worried going into looking for my wedding dress. I knew what I had in mind for the big day, but had no idea if I would find it here in Anchorage. I've worn SO MANY gowns in my life, what with pageants, talent competitions, and theatre performances, that I didn't know if I'd find anything that made me feel like a bride.

Well, I was wrong! Here was my experience:

The first wedding dress I tried on was actually one that my mom and I ordered online. I had a couple of silhouettes in mind for the big day, and decided to start with a classy, straight cut vibe. The dress wasn't a big investment (under $300) so we knew that if I didn't love it, it was okay. Putting on a real wedding dress was CRAZY, but it just wasn't the one for me.

Then we made an appointment. The first shop that I went to had a huge selection of dress styles, but not a large selection of sizes. I'm a curvy girl and I need a little bit of wiggle room in the booty area. That being said, I normally have to purchase dresses in a larger size and have them tailored to fit my torso. This was a big problem at the first store because everything in a more fitted style that I wanted to try on didn't even travel over my hips. I felt a little discouraged, but then I found a ballgown that I just LOVED!

My mom started crying over this dress, I started crying over this dress, and we were just in awe. The ONLY problem I had with it is that it wasn't anything like what I had imagined for my wedding. We are getting married outside in the summer time, and this dress deserved a cathedral. I mean, WOW. I didn't feel comfortable with purchasing something that was sooo different from my original vision and decided to keep shopping around. My overall experience though was great as the consultant was so sweet and accommodating!

The second boutique we went to had a HUGE range of styles and colors in my budget and had an even bigger selection of sizes. I had so much fun with the bridal consultant. She kept me laughing and smiling the whole time and had great suggestions for dresses! It was great too because I could go and pull my own dresses off of the racks to try on.

So, I'm trying on a ton of dresses, right? And BAM. This one just screams at me to put it on. I'll be honest, I was really nervous to actually get into it. It was a style that I'd seen and saved so many times online, but because of it's very specific shilouette, I didn't think it'd look good on my body type. I kept thinking to myself, "If I put this on, am I going to love it? Or hate my body for not looking good in it?"

Well, I threw caution to the wind and put it on.

Oh. My. God.

I started crying. I was not expecting this reaction at all. Without giving too much away, it still wasn't exactly what I had pictured for my wedding day, but I didn't care. The cut, the fit, the details, everything was perfect.

With this dress taking over my every thought, my mom and I decided it would be best to make another appointment with my dad there so he could see it too. I had gone into the process planning to purchase my own wedding dress so that we could save as much $$$ as we could for the wedding itself. Little did I know that my dad had told my mom, "I have to approve of the dress. If I do, I'll buy it." No pressure, right?

So we go back to the boutique the following weekend to try the dress on again. I come out in it and am in tears AGAIN! Well, dad's reaction isn't what I was hoping for. He liked it, don't get me wrong, but thought there could be a better option out there. This dress shows my tattoos and my dad does NOT like the fact that I have tattoos... but I love my dad so much so of course I was willing to try on more dresses!

I put on dress after dress, fitted ones, ballgowns, everything. This is where the story gets tricky. I put on this gorgeous ballgown that was a satin strapless sweetheart bodice with a jeweled belt and a huge tulle skirt. It was like I had just stepped into a fairytale. I unfortunately don't have any photos of it to share with you, but you get the idea.

BOTH of my parents started crying. I mean, bawling. It's what they had always imagined me, their little princess, wearing on my wedding day. So of course I started crying because they were crying, but I think I was more confused than anything else. I had the other dress that I loved so much, but the reaction to this one was filled with so much emotion, I knew this one was their favorite. I steeled my nerves and said that I wanted to try the other dress on again, just to see if I felt the same way about it. So, back into the dressing room I went!

Oh man. Same reaction. CRYING. So much crying. I loved this dress so so much and had to break the news to my parents that I wanted to wear this one more than anything. My decision was made and I told them that if I got the ballgown, I would always wonder "what if" about this dress. And if I got this gorgeous dress that I wanted so much, I'd never think about the other one again. It was a pretty obvious decision. As I stood on the pedestal, my mom discovered a way that we could cover my tattoos without taking away from the beauty of the dress. After this, my dad was 100% for it!!! We put on a veil and accessories and it's true what they say: the details make everything so real.

You guessed it, MORE CRYING.

We all agreed that THIS was my dress and we bought it that day. The best thing about it is that it needs NO alterations. Seriously, none. This dress was made for me and I cannot wait to marry the love of my life in it!

Check out some photos of the gowns I tried on and stay tuned for more of Malie's Wedding Update in the future!

Since I'm full of SO MUCH excitement, I will give you two teaser photos... But that's all you get!!!