I bought the dress....then returned it for THE dress!

Before I was officially engaged, I went into David’s Bridal with one of my friend’s who was looking for her dress. When we walked in I saw what I thought (at the time) was the most amazing dress I have ever seen! I HAD to have it! I talked to the sales woman who informed me it was a sample and they have not officially added it to their line so what they have in stock is all they have. It cannot be ordered. My heart sunk, I wasn't engaged yet but we were talking about it a lot! Do I buy the dress before I have the ring? Is it bad luck? I kept going back and forth on it.

I brought my mom with me to go look at the dress that I fell in love with. When we got to the store she wanted me to try on the dress we went there to see, but also some that were a different style to make sure I was still set on the one dress. Looking back, I had such tunnel vision that day! I didn't even want to consider any other dress. This is the FIRST dress I bought( and later returned)

“It’s nice” .... wasn’t the reaction I was hoping for from my mom. I thought she was going to love the dress as much as I did. She told me that "it’s not what I pictured you in" While I was standing there in the fully mirrored room another bride-to-be walked out and my mom said... THAT is what I picture you in. Me, being stubborn didn't want to even try it on.  She told me that she would not pay for my wedding dress before I was engaged. (My mom has always said she wants to buy my wedding dress, I knew this was her way of saying I don't like this one bit) I decided to go ahead and order dress number one.

Fast forward one month.... I am now officially engaged! (yay!) I am thinking about our wedding plans, colors, all the details, etc. We decided on Hot Pink, Black, Silver and White. Uh oh! My dress is Ivory. My mind starts to go crazy, did I make a mistake, should I have waited, ahhhhhhh!

I decide to stop at David's Bridal on my way home from work; I know I know, you're not supposed to have dress regret. I did. I decided to try on the dress my mom loved, because even though I didn't want to admit it the day we were at the store.... a little part of me loved it too!  I asked if I could try on the dress I already purchased and the one I couldn't stop thinking about.  First, I tried on the dress I already bought.... it had lost its "wow factor" and I realized.... this thing is really heavy!  I got into dress number two..... walk out to the mirror and realize THIS is my dress, I felt like a bride.

I called my mom, told her my dilemma, asked her to go with me again to look at dresses. I also had my bridesmaids come with me. I again, put on dress number one…. Eh so so. I changed into dress number two and when I walked out my mom had a huge smile on her face, one of my bridesmaids got teary eyed… I knew this was THE dress for me.

Oh wait, of course there is a BUT… this whole dress situation has to be difficult for me! (Sorry Andrea at David’s Bridal! Thank you for being so patient with me!)  The dress I tried on was Ivory… I wanted to order white. And also THE dress is made out of delicate material and I was afraid that with a bustle, one wrong move or an accident step on the dress and my beautiful gown will have one not-so-beautiful hole.  Not to mention the lady showed me what the bustle on my gown would look like; it was a train wreck.

The picture speaks for itself! I opted for no train, in white with a cathedral veil. I will have the look of a train walking down the aisle, and the convenience of no bustle. Best of both worlds! Dress is hanging safely at my parents house and is so beautiful I cannot wait to wear it! Did any of you have dress regret? Change your dress? I did, and it was the best change I could have made!

(all personal photos)

We are booked! It's official, September 24, 2011!

Being from Las Vegas, I did not want the typical "Las Vegas Wedding" I wanted there to be no sign of Elvis within a 5 mile radius if possible. I did not want to go through a drive through or any of the stereotypical "Vegas Wedding" cliche's. With that being said, I also was not willing to pay the $40,000+ price tag that came with most of the Non-Vegas wedding venues.

My goal was to try to keep our wedding as close to $10,00 as possible. Mission accomplished.... enter the Plaza at Whitney Ranch. I found this venue online and it seemed perfect for what I wanted! It didn't have the fancy grass and waterfalls that the country clubs all had, but I am allergic to grass anyway! From the outside, our venue doesn't look like much; walk in the entrance and you walk in to a stunning three story spiral staircase. The rooms are in very neutral colors, a DIY Brides dream! The owner was amazing, and he gave me the green light on all of my decorating ideas/questions. Millions of ideas began running through my mind, where to start! The best part of this venue..... all inclusive! One price, includes the venue, caterer, open bar, photographer, cake, rental items, DJ, officiant and flowers. It gets better, if we decide we want to bring in our own vendor instead of using theirs, we can!

(personal photos)

Beautiful venue, clean slate for my DIY ideas, all-inclusive and ability to use my own vendors if I find one I would rather use. All under $10,000..... yes please! We signed the contract and locked in our date.