I cheated...

On my dress that is! But first a little back-story. I have been spending loads and loads of time at David's Bridal lately. I had my two BM (Super Sis-to-be and Bestie) that still need a dress, so I trekked there with them a few weeks back. A few weeks before that I went in search of another pair of shoes for the wedding (Yes, I fell victim to the colored shoe trend). This week I have been twice to help the Momma's try to find a dress. Momma Tal had luck on Monday and my Momma found a dress at a different bridal salon in town today, but we checked at David's to be sure.

David's 2010 line is out and it is gorgeous, if you haven't seen it, pop over to the website and take a gander, your peepers will thank you. While we were perusing the goods, I first saw her on a mannequin. Her tight bodice, layered tulle, and flower detailing seduced me. I eyed her up the entire time my mom was trying on dresses. I even wandered over and ran my hands over the bodice and tulle, wondering if I had made a mistake with my oh-so-simple-satin dress. Just have a look at my seducer:

As soon as my mom had tried everything on, it was time to go, but as we were walking I told my mom that I was in love with another dress in the store. She insisted that I try it on. Seriously, I tried to be the good person and leave well enough alone but my mother practically pushed this dress on me. I tried it on. As I slipped into it, I felt light, almost ballerina like. My mom zipped it up and it fit like a glove. I twirled in front of mirrors, my heart did a little flip-flop, was this my dress? Within a minute, I knew, it wasn't my dress. It was pretty, it fit me well, it looked beautiful on, but it wasn't the same as my dress. My dress was perfect for me. My mom knew that, but she also knows me, she knew if I didn't try it on I would think and wonder, so she made me try it on so that I could see for myself that it wasn't for me.
My cheating experience was a good one, it reinforced what I knew, that the dress I picked is perfect for my wedding and me. Although I have known brides that have cheated on their dresses and ended up in a pickle, wanting to buy the new dress, I would still recommend it. It was a very good experience for me.

Have any of you had a doubt about your dress? Have you taken it to the extreme of trying on other dresses?

Outfitting the 'Maids

Do you remember my struggle with the bridesmaids dresses? If not you can read about my indecision and struggles here and here. All caught up? Good. Moving on...

So we ended up going with David's Bridal for the girl's dresses and I think it's a good compromise. They all choose their own dresses in a style that suited them, but the purchases weren't officially done until this past Saturday when I trekked my butt down to Columbus to go shopping with soon-to-be-sis and my bestie. So without further ado, here are the dresses my four beautiful, fabulous bridesmaids are wearing and keep in mind, all these dresses will be in the apple red, as seen in sister E and soon-to-be-sis's dresses.

Maid of Honor and Bestie:

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It's a chiffon material, kind of beach-y feel. She belongs somewhere in Florida bumming on a beach somewhere so it suits her well. The straps have a little bling on 'um and I think she will rock it out with 4 inch heels.

Next up, little sister and 'maid A:

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This one is a satin material, wrap dress. It's a little off-the-beaten path and a little less traditional like her. The ruffled collar, faux-wrap style is her, plus it gives her breathing room. Important for our star performer at the wedding.

Next up, Littlest sister E's dress:

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This one is satin, this strapless little number is going to also be little sister's prom dress, which happens to fall the day after the wedding. That curvy girl is going to knock some guy's socks off in this dress.

Last, but certainly not least, soon-to-be-sis L:

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This dress in a jersey knit and different from the other dresses because it's long. Well, soon-to-be-sis wanted something with a lot of give and some extra fabric because they are expecting! Woot! I am so happy for them. She'll be about 7 months at the wedding and I'm sure looking hot.

So that's it, the long journey of the bridesmaids dresses are done. As for accessories and everything, I said get some silver shoes, I'm taking care of the rest. Which I did, it's done but I refuse to blog about my awesome gifts yet because 1. I'm not done, and 2. I don't want them to know what they are getting!

Tune in next time for more tales from a DIY bride.

My First Tough Decision

Let me tell you, I have felt that I was getting off pretty easy with this whole wedding planning bit. Photographer, hall, ceremony site, caterer, the big things were SO easy, I should have seen it as a sign. A big ominous sign, you know all flashy and neon-y, Vegas style! I say this because I've started to look into various smaller tasks since the official engagement and it hasn't been all the pleasant.



I had ideas for my bridesmaids, great ideas. Originally, I was going to go with David's Bridal but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted something different, something the girls could wear again and something affordable. After pouring over the internet, I found the Victoria's Secret convertible dress, very unique, beautiful, and best of all affordable. I said that was that, and didn't think about it again until a few months down the road. I knew that I wanted to order a dress and see how it looked, but it was just a formality, I was so sure that this dress was perfect for my girls. Three weeks ago we ordered one for my youngest sister, she is curvy and we figured her figure would probably be hardest to fit. The dress came in and it was an EPIC FAIL! I mean, it was cool, the long straps could be used to tie the dress into many forms, but the back was very open, way too open for a wedding, and the top dipped way too low for my taste. It was back to the drawing boards for me.



I scoured the internet for the next week and a half trying to find something that I liked, could be re-worn, and was under $150. It was like pulling teeth, it was awful. Nothing was what I wanted, nothing seemed good enough. I began to recant and told my mom that it was just going to have to be David's Bridal because I couldn't find anything. It didn't stop me from searching, but the more I searched the more David's Bridal seemed appealing. I wasn't happy at all with this decision, in fact I said numerous times to Mr. Tal that the dresses were going to be the death of me as far as wedding planning goes. Finally, I turned back to Etsy.com. I had searched Etsy before and found some okay options, even found a fabulous dress for my mom to have made, but nothing for my girls. However, Etsy is so massive I figured I should give it another go and utilized Weddingbee at the same time. I recalled a post Miss Mouse did about her E-pics and her perfect dress. I loved that dress so much so I looked up that post and went to Miss Brache's shop on Etsy, where I found this number:

My mouth hit the keyboard and I started screaming a little. This was the one, my bridesmaid's dress. It's in the higher end of my money spectrum, but it's reversible, cute, and I love the vintage feel to it. Miss Brache will custom make this baby in my colors, red and white, for each of my girls. I'm actually considering going one side red, one side black and leaving the straps white, that way the girls have a little black dress to wear again (thoughts anyone?) I'm even considering having one made for me. So ends my first tough call as a bride. There was much celebrating in the Tal household the day I found this dress.

How about everyone else, what was your first tough call as a bride? How did it play out?

Tune in next time for more tales from a DIY bride!