Weekend Recap

This weekend feels like a blur.

A really insanely fun, ecstatic kind of blur!

Friday my best friend came into town around noon. We grabbed lunch at one of our favorite spots and then headed down to the wedding reception site so that she could see it. Luckily she really liked it (and also convinced me that the yellow chairs aren't bad--yay saving $$!)

We were supposed to go to the Nats game that night but MG had something come up at work, and we weren't sure when he would be done, so we headed out to grab a pizza dinner and then hang out at a local rooftop bar since the weather was SO nice. MG was able to meet up with us (too late to go to the game and see Katie, though...BOO!). We ended up making friends with some people who were by the bar with us, and were also teachers. MG hit it off with the one girls' husband and all of a sudden, the two guys were planning a date night for us haha

The next morning was wedding dress shopping!!! My best friend and I drove to my hometown and met up with my mom, and my two other friends, Trish and Crystal (who are also going to be bridesmaids). Let's just say that nothing felt real until I put on the first dress and saw myself in the mirror. I'm pretty sure I was shaking:

After almost 2 hours of dress shopping, we'd found some really funny dresses....

like this one, that looked like the dress had split and I had rhinestone underwear underneath:

I would like to know who actually bought this dress...I can't imagine sitting on rhinestones/beads all night!

And then we found some really lovely dresses....

These two dresses were my top picks from David's Bridal

I just had some small "issues" with both of these dresses around the top, and I wasn't sure that even the alterations people would be able to make it work the way I wanted.

Needless to say, the first stop was a hit. We grabbed some lunch together and then made our way to the second bridal shop. This place had a mix of new dresses and consignment dresses. We were all a little unsure of the place since they let us loose to find dresses ourselves at first. But the dresses I ended up trying on here, were really pretty. And.....

I think I found my dress!

I was in the dressing room trying on another dress and one of the sales people said my mom had seen this dress and wanted me to try it on. It had beads and lace and was really pretty. When I came out, I really liked what I saw. I was talking with my consultant about options on it and she had mentioned that it could come without beads. As I was asking what my girls thought, the woman dimmed the lights, and my dress SPARKLED! Decision made: beads stay on! And I'm pretty sure I fell absolutely in love with it at that moment. One of my bridesmaids said she felt a little choked up. My best friend said my face lit up. I felt a little happy lump in my throat as well. And everyone voted YES to that dress. (I really like that my mom was the one to spot it, and have me try it on, too :)

Unfortunately pictures weren't allowed to be taken at this salon, but my girls snuck some anyway....but none of them do the dress justice in the photos. 

My mom wants me to look at one more bridal shop, just to be sure, but I'm smitten with the dress. I didn't want to take it off, and kept looking at myself in all of the mirrors that I passed on my way back to the dressing room. It's perfect. In some ways, it's what I was looking for, and in others, it's not what I expected that I would want, but I love every part of it!

So, the rest of the night I was in a haze of happiness. I'd really be ok with going back to that bridal salon every day and trying it on :)

Sunday my bestie left, and MG went to go golfing with his friends. Bummer :( I had lots of time to clean the place and get ready for book club, which was a hit. My bridezilla nemesis and I basically avoided talking to one another the entire time. She left without saying anything to me, or thanking me for hosting, while everyone else did. But, at least no one's eyeballs were ripped out haha. I had quite a spread, but the hit of the day was my cinnamon sugar pita chips, strawberries, and chocolate drizzle:

We ended up going to the BBQ that bridezilla nemesis and her fiance were hosting after book club. It was really nice to hang out with everyone and catch up. No drama, just the way I like it :)

All in all, it was an awesome weekend! I'm SO excited that I found my dress and that my friends were there to help me find it. 
The only thing that was not so great was that I didn't get to meet up with Katie! (I'm SO sorry, Katie! Next time, like I told you, I promise we will make it happen!!)

Hope your weekend was fun-filled!