Buying the Dress

It is intimidating. I do not know why I am nervous about it. This has been the most stressful part of wedding planning for me thus far.

I think I found the dress I want to wear, want to take pictures in, and want to dance in.

It is almost like buying a car or a house. One does no go out and haphazardly buy a brand new house; it takes time to mull over the decision. This is how I am feeling about the dress.

The one thing I am not nervous or intimidated about it marrying Matthew on May 30, 2009. Hopefully I will have a dress by then!

- Jen

Wedding Dress Extravaganza

Since my return to Phoenix, it has been wedding-eventful. I picked up the save the dates and they look great. Now it is just time to put addresses on.

Brittany and I had an eventful bridal shop experience. Brittany got off early on Friday and we went dress shopping. We first went to Azteca Bridal Shop, which is in downtown Phoenix. It is an interesting shop. I signed the requisite forms, as I am now probably signed up for about a hundred bridal shops... We sifted through dresses and I tried on a few. Each dress got better as I tried them on. The last dress was beautiful and I loved it. But the problem is I have no idea what the dress name is because Azteca has removed the designer and dress name from the dresses! I can not find it online. Azteca was good for the experience, but I will not buy my dress there because it seems very busy and it is in downtown Phoenix, which is a jaunt from my house.

Next we went to I Do, I Do, which is also located in Phoenix. Brittany and I both tried on dresses and found some winners. Brittany found two great dresses; one she has already tried on and a new dress. But there is a problem; we do not know the name of the dress! I Do, I Do has also removed the designer and dress name! This is frustrating.

I understand the policy, the store wants you to buy the dress there, but it seems like consumer entrapment or something (yes, I did make that up). But it really does not pass the “smell test.” If a bridal shop wants to win over customers, they should do it with their service or clean shop, not be entrapping a bride.

Finding a wedding dress is stressful enough. And it causes problems for us because neither of our mothers lives in the area. Why would we buy a dress that we can not find online to show our mothers?

I did find a dress I really love there too, but there is a bridal shop in Gilbert that has it, so I probably will not be buying at I Do, I Do as well. Not to mention that they will not tell you the total amount for the dress until you make the final purchase. This is shady. There is no telling what charges they will include.

But it was a fantastic day. We are making wedding process. And Friday night we went to a University of Arizona Alumni banquet here in Phoenix for free, due to a friend. We met Coach Stoops, Wilbur, among other Arizona Alumni, such as the swimming coach who had just returned from Beijing for the Olympics. It was a great night with friends and great company. I can not wait for the football game this Saturday. Until then, I will be signing Bear Down Arizona!

Just hanging out with Wilbur.

Brittany and I giving Coach Stoops some advice.

-Jen

Finding "the One"

I picked up my bridesmaid dress for Barbie’s wedding yesterday and then I shipped it this morning. I am good at stressing myself out and I have definitely done that with this dress. I can not carry it on the plane when we fly back unless I pack it in a carry-on and I did not want to put it in a checked bag. Thus, I shipped it with super insurance. Barbie gets married the Saturday after the bar, three days after the nasty test. (Barbie is my best childhood friend and I have known her since we were babies; we were also neighbors. I do not know what my life would have been like without her!)

I had my first nightmare of the summer the other night. It was not about the bar, which I am perplexed why I have not had a dream about that disaster yet. My dream was about the bridesmaid dress. I dreamt that the day of Barbie’s wedding the dress was missing – it never arrived. I did not have the heart to tell Barbie until right before we had to walk down the aisle. Oh what a catastrophe!

The bridal shop that did the alterations for the bridesmaid dress, Suzanne’s Bridal in Gilbert, is great. Both Brittany and I like the store and will probably get our wedding dresses there. But they freaked me out. When I took Barbie’s bridesmaid dress in for alterations, I told the lady when my wedding is and she told me I should order my dress soon. Yikes! There is no way I am going to find a wedding dress during bar season. But the pressure is on.

What if I never “find the one?” I have tried on various dresses, which I definitely like some a lot more than others. And there are a couple of dresses I really like. One I think could possibly be the winner. It is a lot of pressure to find a wedding dress. I do not want to buy one just because time is running out. Do you immediately know when it is the one or does it take time to let it sink in? Do all girls find “the one?” Or am I just expecting too much?

I think Brittany’s theory is correct. Some girls, when they try on “the one,” those present with her (mothers) cry. I think this is interesting; after all, it is just a dress. Her theory is that for some mothers, the most important thing in life is for their daughter to get married and have the perfect wedding dress. I know my mother will not cry when I find “the one” and for that, I am thankful to save me from the embarrassment and that she had bigger dreams for me. I know she will be excited and happy for me, but there is more to life than getting a wedding dress, although it is very exciting.

Also, to those spectator women in bridal shops, stop making elaborate comments about a stranger and the dress she is trying on. I do not care about your sundry opinions about the dress I currently have one and which one you like the most, especially if it is a negative opinion! If you make comments, only share friendly opinions.

Do not get me wrong – I am very excited to find a wedding dress, and I think I have already found "the one," the most important one, Matt. That is all that matters in the end, right?

And there may be tears if I pass the Bar.

-Jen