..:First Adventure to Find the Perfect Wedding Dress For Me:..

Funny how the first thing I do for wedding planning is to go wedding dress shopping. It just so happened, my bridesmaid/MOH, Lia, is in town for the Christmas Holiday. So of course, it was fitting that we went dressing shopping. I went to two places, David's Bridal and The Wedding Chapel. Each place was a completely different experience in itself. 


Briefly, David's bridal was nice and brightly lite, but my consultant was inexperienced and she was juggling between me and another bride. That bride was placed right next to me, which I think is a no-no! That bride found herself comparing her dresses to mine. She was with her mother and grandmother, who was probably paying for her dress, because they are pretty demanding about what she tried on. She seemed pretty unhappy. I went through about 9 dresses for those 2.5 hours we were there while she was sulking in two dresses. I tried on the dresses I liked online.. which I still like, but without the constultant to tell me more about the dresses (or her professional opinion on how I looked), I felt a huge disconnect with her and with the dresses. A plus is they allow you to take pictures, which was nice. This way I can remember how I looked in the dresses!


The second place, the Wedding Chapel, was smaller. I was a overwhelmed from the large sizes I had to try on, but the consultant was great! She had already pulled a few dresses for me to try on based on what I said I liked. She was there to help me with the dresses in and out of the fitting room. Oh, Yes! The fitting room also had a mirror for me to look at myself before stepping out (David's Bridal did NOT). She was there to clip me and talked to me about the dress.  I absolutely loved the selection of dresses there alot more. A downfall is pictures are not allowed, so I only have faint memories of the dresses. I wish the fiance would have went with me to this place too; to give his opinion. 


BTW, I learned at the second shop that the David's Bridal consultant told me all the wrong information about the silhouettes; the empire waist was not what the dress turned out to be!


All in all, I am debating between two+ dresses at both places. I guess it's because it was my first time and I ended up liking alot of them. I can not say I love one yet. This "WOW" and "crying" factor that the show "Say Yes to the Dress" emphasizes did not exist for me. In fact, it's overrated and I guess every bride expects it to happen to them, due to the cultural effects of the show. No wonder some brides take months and have tried over 100+ dresses. Oh, I can believe it. I didn't want to stop trying them on. I wanted to stay forever and try them all on!


The big debate right now that I have is how much am I willing to spend on my dress. We are comfortable spending about $1500, which none of the dresses I tried were even close to that amount. I don't care for designer dresses. I care about the dress and how I look in it more. It's probably because I like all the dresses in about the same range, so it's either spend $500 ish or spend $900 ish. I guess it won't matter so much to me, if the prices were closer in range... but it's almost double! I knew that I wasn't going to buy it on the first day I went shopping, but I didn't think I would be so conflicted! Now, I can see why some brides buy more than one dress... Hmmmmm... :P


Yes,  I am going to sit-on it for a while and go again. Maybe next month! :)


Here are a couple of dresses I liked: 

I like the princess feeling of this dress.

I want LACE on my dress!

This one is modern and chic.

I love the details on this one.

It's true that I ended up liking what I didn't think I would like. I was surprised that I like ruffles, which is at the other shop. I also like the big dress, which I didn't think I would like. Right now it's between the trumpet and the natural wait silhouettes.  I really wish I had pictures from the other place also.. those two were gorgeous! I think I need to try it on with accessories and flowers. 


Big thanks to my Moma, Lia, Matha, Ka and Cindy for bearing with me from 10:30 am - 5pm!!! 


PLEASE LISTEN to this:
http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=138760908&m=139026716

.Count Your Blessings:.

I am done student teaching! It was alot of work, yet I learned so much and had an amazing time at the school. I am truly blessed on so many levels. Thank you, God!

Honey has been in PA for two weeks now. I miss him. At first, I have to admit, it was kinda nice to catch up with friends and family alone... but now I'm feeling extra lonely.  He says "Why don't you go stay at your mom?" Because this is my home now. I like sleeping in my own bed... plus I have lots of writing to get caught up on. This week I will be going to my mom's almost everyday, but I am going to try not to stay too long. Otherwise I won't get anything done.

I am back to my pre-Thanksgiving weight. It feels so good! I will still continue to diet and workout everyday though. It's a life style change. I'll probably diet and workout for the rest of my life. There is nothing wrong with that. The word "diet" has a negative connotation to it, when really it shouldn't be! People, there is nothing wrong with being on a diet! It just means you are aware of your health and want to change it!

My sisters and I get together occasionally to make dinner and catch up on life. We usually try to make something that we have not made before. This way we are all learning! I want to keep it a tradition. My mom feels that my sisters haven't learned much about cooking since they grew up having me cook all the time for them. I try to show my little sister whenever I am over at my mom's. I am definitely going to teach my daughter how to cook!

I can't believe it. My second youngest brother just turned 21 two days ago and my baby sister will be turning 14 this Thursday! Yikes! It's been such a long and concerned road. But it's not over yet. I will probably worry about them for the rest of my life. It's part of my role as the oldest sister!

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This is our Japanese Themed Dinner. 

We made Shrimp Udon Noodle Soup, Chicken & Vegetable Potstickers, Garlic Grilled Salmon, Turkey Fried Rice and Taro Buns. It was absolutely delicious! We were supposed to make Spicy Salmon Sushi Rolls, but I forgot to buy the Rice Vinegar. We didn't miss it at all because everything else was so good already!

Sister's Japanese Themed Dinner

Taro Buns

Fresh Grilled Salmon