BIG news!!!

Today my MoH, my Mum and I headed to a local bridal store to try on a few dresses. It wasn't a big, planned event - I had merely sent my MOH a couple of dresses I had found after spotting this one...

...on Romance in a Glance the other day. I checked out the designer's (Alfred Angelo) website and discovered this pretty dress:

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I'm sorry, but when a dress is named after your favourite Disney Princess, you generally want to try it on. Even if you are pretty sure you are not going to buy it. (FIY: The above dress is Cinderella. But yes, they have almost all the Princesses! Check it out here!) I went searching to see if the range in stocked in Oz and sure enough, one (yes, just one!) local store claimed to have the range in stock. And with the MoH and I being free today, we decided to go and check them out.

I also had these gowns in mind to try on, having no idea whether the store had any other Alfred Angelo's in stock because their website had limited pictures (well I didn't want to go in with just one dress I wanted to try!):

If you remember from my first shopping experience, this dress is very similar to one I really liked then -

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Now neither of these dresses were in stock. I asked the lovely assistant who helped us, Mia, whether she had anything similar to the above dresses in store - she had none similar to the first, but pulled this one as similar to the second:

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Now I personally didn't see how the above dress was particularly similar to the earlier dress but I will admit that the flowers and the gloves make it seem even LESS so! It did have a similar corset style top half and the bottom had gathers I guess...but either way, I didn't really mind because I hadn't tried anything on like that so I was definitely willing to!

This was the first dress I tried on in the store and when I walked out - Mum gasped. First time she had really done that so it was quite nice :) The dress was quite lovely and I have to admit, I loved the corset style top half - it just accentuated everything nicely, none of the other dresses I'd tried on previously had been quite so flattering. The bottom half wasn't my favourite style but overall it was a very pretty and flattering dress...I think Mum really loved the top.

I tried on three more dresses - the Cinderella dress (gorgeous ballgown, nice and sparkly, very Princessy...but not really me! However, it really is gorgeous! Very similar concept to the princess-style dress I tried on at our first shopping day - stunning but doesn't really fit our wedding.), a second dress that caught my eye when I first walked into the store and something very similar to this dress (however the top was different...more like the crossed sweetheart neckline of the dress they didn't have in stock):

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This dress did nothing for me. If anything, it made my butt look big! Definitely not a winner!

Now that little "second dress" that I spied? I don't have pictures to share of her just yet...want to know why???

'Cause she's MY pretty dress!
Yep, that's right folks! I have found my wedding dress. And she is just gorgeous. Her name is Lara. (Yes, I just did a quick Google "Lara Wedding Dress" search and she does NOT show up. Sorry. But other pretty dresses do!) She's actually NOT an Alfred Angelo dress, I think the only one I tried on from another designer today. I actually do have pictures of her buuuuut...I don't want to ruin the surprise. As much as I am dying to share her with everyone (even the fiance! It's killing me that I can't show him!) I really love the idea of keeping her a secret hehe.

So how did she come about? Well, when we first walked into A Bride's Blessing (which I must say, I drove past a million times on my way to work and was never particularly inspired to go into - thanks for giving me a reason to Cinderella, they are great in there!) Cinderella was already hanging on the changeroom door waiting for me - very cool! (No, we hadn't rung ahead, a previous bride had tried her on and she hadn't been put away yet) The ladies gave us some space to have a look around before coming to help us. As good as that is, I find it particularly overwhelming because I have no idea what I am looking for. Well in this case, one dress stood out as soon as I walked over to the racks. I picked her off straight away and hung her up with Cinderella. She's actually the only dress I physically picked to try on that day.

Now, it must be noted that my Mum wasn't going to be coming with us today. It was a last minute decision for us to join us because she had some spare time - MoH and I really weren't expecting to find anything today! We were just expecting to have a fun day out! It's really lucky that Mum decided to come because she would have been BUMMED to miss out on me finding The Dress. Although, I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have made the decision if Mum wasn't there because it was her reaction as well as my happiness that really decided it. Mum teared up when she saw how much I was grinning about the dress, which made me tear up...a big hug and tears were shed. Yep, I had my moment that I was thinking I wouldn't have - I didn't even need to go away and make sure like I thought I would...I just knew I didn't have to shop anymore. (Oh and when I went back to the change room to take her off my Mum yelled out that there was a cricket where I had been standing and it must be good luck - My fav. Disney character of all time?? Jiminy Cricket :) That and crickets are just supposed to be good luck in general right?)

So the hunt is over! We haven't place a deposit yet, I plan to go back with my lovely ladies (if they want to peek - I know my sister does!) and get measured to choose the best size to fit (today's was a little loose but it may just be because it's been tried on so many times), get the size ordered and place a deposit. We're changing a few things on her - she'll obviously need to be taken up and we are going to have fabric covered buttons added all the way down the zipper (I'm so excited about that!), but the lovely Mia said that she's actually a dress that isn't pulled very often so I love that I'm less likely to see her on someone else. She's the perfect mix of fresh vintage (as opposed to old lady vintage!), with some gorgeous lace, a bit of sparkle and some unusual features. I can't wait to share her with you guys, and actually, I can't wait to share her with our photographer!!!

*sigh* I feel so happy. I can't stop looking at pictures of her. Now to find the perfect matching veil and the perfect romantic hairdo! Slightly sad to not try on any more pretty dresses though...MoH is also sad about no more shopping days! Did any of you guys feel a bit sad that you had no need to go wedding dress shopping again (no matter how much you love your dress??)