Friday, February 29, 2008

Wedding dress shopping, volume 3

I had SUCH a hard time deciding what to call this post, because my instinct was to call it something along the lines of "I GOT IT," but my OCD tendencies won in the end, so I went with the standard title to make it fit in the series.

But the real point here is: I GOT THE DRESS. It's been ordered. The deposit has been paid. It will arrive this summer.

And it is PERFECT. I realize that perfection can't really be quantified, but seriously, it's even more perfect than I remembered, because this time I had tried on lots of other dresses and I knew, really KNEW, that it would look as good on me as it does on my sister. Better, because the dress completely suits my personality. It's me. It's gorgeous, but I have full and utter confidence that I will be wearing the dress and not the other way around.

The thing about this dress is that I would never, ever have thought that it was the dress I wanted. The only reason I even picked it off the rack was because I liked the neckline and wanted to see what it looked like on. I barely even noticed the rest of the dress. And again last night when we went back and got the dress off the rack, I had a moment of fear because I hardly recognized the dress. And I didn't like it that much on the hanger.

But on a body. Specifically a body shaped like mine and my sister's. It's perfect.

So screw the fact that I didn't want strapless. Or ivory. Or a big train. Or beading. Or anything sparkly. Or anything elaborate. Because it is truly, utterly perfect. And I practically floated all the way home. And my iPod seemed to understand the moment, because it played nothing but happy, floaty love songs the whole Metro ride home.

Because it's part of a limited collection, there are no photos of it on the designer's website, but of course, we took pictures. The sample was too small for me, so my sister modeled it, but I held it up against me and you could see, just from that, how great it would look. Now, Torsten knows not to read posts about wedding dresses, and I know he would never intentionally do so, but just in case he's ever skimming the blog and comes across the pictures inadvertently, I'm not going to put them on here. But I did put them on Flickr. So you can see them there.

Having the dress makes my concept of the wedding so much more REAL. Throughout this process I have made a conscious effort to remind myself that no matter how much time and effort and expense go into the planning of this wedding, and no matter how much I'm looking forward to it, the really important thing is the marriage and the love that we will share for the rest of our lives.

And I still feel that way. But wow, having picked the dress makes me really be able to envision the actual wedding day, and the moment when we see each other for the first time. And picturing that moment makes me smile, really really big.

62 comments:

  1. I am confident that we will chat all day long about this dress, so no need for me to comment here. However, the dress is gorgeous, you will look amazing in it and I can't wait to see you in it for real!

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  2. It is GORGEOUS. I GASPED! You will be SO PRETTY.

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  3. yayayay! the dress! and it is gorgeous jess :)

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  4. That dress is beautiful! Isn't it nice to have that taken care of? :)

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  5. Congratulations! That's a big feat - getting the dress!

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  6. Oh my - it IS perfect! I love everything about it.

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  7. Yay! How exciting! Check THAT one off your list!

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  8. awww I'm so happy you got your dress! It's beautiful!

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  9. That is a gorgeous dress! You'll look great in it!

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  10. Pretty! That waist-cinching thing has looked gorgeous on every woman who I've seen wear such a style. I'm sure it will be beautiful on you too.

    Glad you got that taken care of!

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  11. Wow, that is an amazing dress. I love everything about it.

    I love what you said about the dress not wearing you - I wish everyone would recognize that some dresses WILL wear you.

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  12. Oh Jess, that's absolutely amazing! I'm so happy for you!!

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  13. so so so so pretty and perfect!
    i bet its a HUGE weight off your shoulders!

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  14. YAY!! It's gorgeous and your going to be so gorgeous on your wedding day! Congrats!!!

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  15. congratulations! it's beautiful and you will look great it in on your big day!

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  16. The day I got my dress was one of the top ten best days of my life. It was incredible.

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  17. It is so pretty! I love the beading on the bodice and the shimmeriness (proabably not a real word) of the bottom of the dress.

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  18. you're dress is so pretty!! you're going to look gorgeous!

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  19. Ohmygoodness, that is absolutely gorgeous! I love all the detail, I love the different layers... stunning.

    Yay for fabulousness!

    xox

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  20. Yay! I'm so excited for you! The dress is so gorgeous! I love it!

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  21. CONGRATULATIONS!!! i'm so excited for you!!! It's so beautiful, you are going to be a stunning bride :) !

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  22. Found you on the 20SB RSS feed. I can totally feel you on the wedding dress thing, as I just got mine, but it was unlike everything I said I wanted in a dress. Isn't it great to have one? I'm excited for you, and I just read your blog this morning! :) That's what getting married can do to you, I guess. Anyway, best of luck with all of the planning and what not.

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  23. Gah! Flickr is being mean but I'm sure it's gorgeous! Yay for wedding dress!

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  24. YAY! So pretty. I find with a lot of my friends it always winds up being the dress that you didn't even think of in the first place.

    So excited for you!!

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  25. oh YAY! that is FANTASTIC! and the dress, my gosh... i can tell even from the photos of you holding it up that it will TOTALLY suit you, and it does look amazing on your sister. i LOVE that ruched little gather on the side, and i LOVE the lace up back, and pretty much everything and hah look at me ramble :-) CONGRATULATIONS... it will be so, so awesome!!

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  26. I hate to just echo everyone else but what more is there to say? The dress is gorgeous and it's easy to see that you will look amazing in it!

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  27. You have excellent taste in wedding gowns. That has to be one of the most beautiful dresses I've ever seen. Ever.

    Congratulations!

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  28. it's beautiful!!! yay!!!! so exciting!

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  29. Jess! The dress is so, so beautiful,and you sound so happy! Congratulations!

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  30. Congrats- can't look at Flickr at work, but I know how exciting it is to make that purchase.

    P.S. Did you get my package yet? I'm worried.

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  31. *gasp* That really is a beautiful dress! I love it so much better than the other ones you tried on the other day. Good thing for your first instinct, right?

    Oh, I can't wait to see your wedding photos - you're going to look amazing!!!

    And between that and your save-the-dates, doesn't it feel like the two biggest obstacles are overcome?

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  32. OH MY GOD!
    It's beautiful and perfect. Such detail!!!!

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  33. congrats on finding the perfect dress! i'm thrilled for you =)

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  34. Yay! That is so exciting that you bought it - and it is beautiful!

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  35. I'm so happy for your! It's gorgeous. And secretly, it was my favorite. YAY, Jess!

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  36. Beautiful Jess! It's perfect.
    I think I've said it before on your comments, but I experienced the exact same thing. I didn't want a sparkly, lacey dress - but my dress ended up as sparkly and lacey as you can get.

    SO PRETTY JESS!

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  37. Yay! Congratulations! It always feels so great to find something perfect!

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  38. How wonderful! I'm so happy for you.

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  39. I even signed up for WW online (this is Day 3 for me)! I've been enjoying the Newbie Board and I like how open you can be on there (esp regarding weight). :)

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  40. LOVE IT!! LOVE IT!!! LOVE IT!!!

    You are glowing just holding it up to you. It is quite perfect.

    YAY!!!!

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  41. Oh I just LOVE it! It is so unique and wonderful! I really like the top and the assymettrical line going down the side. It is really nice. I did the same thing and bought a dress totally different than what I thought I wanted.

    Ps. Ivory is totally the way to go, unless a person is darker skinned! You are going to loook GREAT! :o)

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  42. I love it! So pretty. Congrats on finding it :-)

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  43. I LOVE it. The neckline is really great and flattering. You look just like a bride! Can't wait until you get to try on YOUR real dress!

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  44. Congrats on buying your perfect dress! It's gorgeous! I love how it's a very unique design with the asymmetrical cut. Tres Chic!

    Happy weekend and enjoy basking in the joy of finding the one!

    Thanks for the well wishes!

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  45. Beautiful! You'll look amazing :-D

    I know what you mean about picturing "the" moment- trying on *my* dress and adding a veil definitely did that for me!

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  46. Yay! LOVE the dress. And that moment when you and Torsten see each other for the first time when you're wearing the dress? You'll remember that FOREVER. I still get all warm and fuzzy feeling remembering that moment when Sid and I saw each other all decked out for the first time. I'm so excited for you...it only gets better!

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  47. Oh it's so pretty!

    I never would have picked my dress just looking at it on the hanger, either. But it was perfect. As was the whole day.

    I wish the best for you and it's so fun to have a peek at your plans like this. Enjoy it all.

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  48. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL, Jess. Considering I don't like a lot of strapless dresses, I'm blown away by this one. Great choice, congratulations!

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  49. you're taste is fabulous. i love the dress!!!

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  50. It isn't even my wedding and it makes me smile!! YAY!!!! you'll look gorgeous.

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  51. Good on you. Glad you found the perfect dress.

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  52. Stunning, stunning, stunning! You are going to make a beautiful bride :)

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  53. Love! LOVE!! L-O-V-E!!!

    Absolutely beautiful and you will look stunning!

    Yay! (insert uncharacteristically girls squeals of delight here)

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  54. Wow...I LOVE that dress. It is unique and stunning. Your day is going to be beautiful!

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