The dress!

Wedding dresses take MONTHS to come in! If you are a fellow bride planning a wedding, then please read that sentence again! MONTHS!
I ordered my dress right after Matt asked me to marry him and it is due to arrive 2 weeks before my wedding! That means alterations and fittings will all need to occur within a 1 week time period! Scary huh?
I have to say that dress shopping has been my favorite part of the planning so far. Maybe it’s because I am a clothing fanatic or maybe it is the excitement I felt when I saw myself for the first time in a long white gown, but I just loved dress shopping!
My mom came with me the night we went looking for dresses and I tried on about 7-8 gowns. The first gown that I tried on I thought was the one for me, but around gown 5-6 I really found “my dress”. They say that every bride knows her dress the minute she puts it on, and in my case I would have to say that this is true. Funnily enough as I was standing there in my ballroom, strapless, VERY long train, diamond white with gold embroidery gown I overheard a bride in the next dressing room over say, “Well, I guess this is fine. Most brides don’t fall in love with their gowns anyways right?” My mom, myself, and my salesperson all looked at each other with a look that just said “not true!!” I couldn’t believe it! I hope that bride next door ended up finding a gown that completely knocked her socks off, because I know my gown did!
Buying a dress also includes finding a veil and I found the “perfect” one! Long with little crystals on it and a small crystal headpiece that goes with it… I am in love with my wedding attire! For jewelry at the wedding I have not decided 100% on what I will wear, but right now I am thinking of wearing a white gold heart with diamonds that Matt gave me on Valentine’s Day and then these beautiful white gold and diamond earrings that were left to me by my grandmother. I still have time to decide on these smaller details, but at least I have the dress picked out!!
Speaking of dresses…I also picked out my bridal shower dress! It is a beautiful ivory dress with hints of gold in it. For jewelry on that day I will be wearing a beautiful necklace by My Little Pretty. It is sterling silver with Swarovski crystals and white and tan mother of pearl beads.
I am getting so excited talking about all the clothing and jewelry for the wedding I think I am going to try on my bridal shower dress right now!!
I will be writing back very soon!

~Melissa

P.S. As a bride... I have many questions! So I recently asked Amy Nichols, founder of Amy's Guide to All Things Bride (www.amysguide.com) and owner of Amy Nichols Special Events (www.amynichols.com):

What is one thing brides usually forget on the day of the wedding?

Here is her answer:
Melissa,

That's a great question. A few things that I'd recommend to any bride would be to most of all, smile, relax, and try to be aware of the moment and take it all in. It is a day you've been planning for months, so why not enjoy it!

Also important - remember to EAT both before the wedding and during the wedding. Ask your caterer to make sure there is a dedicated server bringing hors d'oeuvres to the bridal party during photos.

Another thing you might want to bring is a stool without a backrest which you can sit on before the ceremony -- have a couple of your maids help lift your dress over your head, then sit down on the stool, and then they can delicately let your dress back down. This way, you'll be able to sit without wrinkling that gorgeous dress!

Lastly, make sure you have a day-of emergency kit with anything you might need - some painkillers, bandaids, breath mints, etc.

Amy