just right and all things white

it's too plain, it's too much bling, it's too different, it's too white, it's too puffy, it has too many pleats, it doesn't have enough pleats, it's too much.
trying to find the right wedding dress is hard. after my first wedding dress experience in albuquerque over christmas, i felt i had a good direction. then followed my second experience in denver. i found a dress that made me feel like a princess. this was a feeling i was not searching for, and i was very surprised when that was the feeling that dress gave me. please note: the princess feeling dress isn't the dress, but i still got that feeling with the dress i did select.
this past weekend was literally three full days of wedding wedding and more wedding.
the MOT-B and i spend the most amount of time in search for the wedding dress. we went to five different bridal salon's all over denver. i selected four of these shops based on looking at various wedding dress websites and reviews.
the first one was saturday morning. the shop was beautiful and probably the biggest we went to. my consultant was very nice and personable and at first i had a lot of fun. then we left, and realized that i didn't try on any of the dresses on my list. you see while looking at the websites and shopping for dresses i made a list of designers and specific styles that i liked. and the previous experience i had, the consultant searched for the dresses on my list. this consultant didn't do that. lame. so i honestly felt that the time we spent at the first shop on saturday was a waste of time.
second shop was in downtown denver. we arrive, and nobody ever approached us. i had made an appointment. so we walked around browsed the dresses, and found that nothing really stood out and most of the gowns were either right at my budget or way above and beyond. there really wasn't anything that i felt i had to try on, so after scoping out the whole store, we left. lame.
third shop was at a shop that i had been to previously. so i knew what to expect. and already had dresses that i knew i would be trying on. the consultant at this shop was super nice. and the rapport was already there since we had worked together when i was there two weeks prior.
fourth shop was first thing monday morning. i had high hopes for this shop. we arrived right when it opened. i was immediately disappointed as i was selected to be with a woman who was easily in her 70's. i knew right away this wasn't going to be the experience i wanted it to be. i tried on four or five dresses, and left within an hour.
since my expectations weren't met with that first shop on monday i decided we had time to go to one other shop before taking my mom to the airport. on a whim we went to a shop that out of all of them, is the closest to my house. this shop originally wasn't on my list to try because they don't take appointments. and i knew my mom and i would be on borrowed time so i didn't want to bother. but since it was in the middle of the morning on a monday, i figured why not? while on the drive to this shop, i had a little bit of a break down.
i felt defeated. i was questioning everything. i was wondering if i even knew what it was i was looking for in a wedding gown, because nothing seemed right. i was looking for the perfect experience of finding my wedding dress. in a word: i was emotional. on top of all of that, i was rushed. we only had an hour before we had to be off to the airport. upon entering the fifth bridal shop in three days i immediately started looking at gowns. a consultant approached me and i told her that i was flustered, and that i was in a hurry, and that i had a list. she took my list, and pulled what she had, while i shopped. we had our own private room with room for my mom and a pedestal for me to stand on, and this immediately helped with time, because we just didn't have time to waste. i tried on a few dresses and then somewhere somehow in all of this madness all the stars aligned and

i
found
the
dress!

i had my "say yes to the dress moment" and it was magical, and it was the perfect moment to share with my mom. we burst into tears and hugged and cried, and cried some more. then we got out of there once the dress was ordered and rushed to the airport.
here are some of the NO dresses.

maggie sottero ~ dixie

maggie sottero ~ desirae

mori lee ~ 1658

maggie sottero ~ naomi

maggie sottero ~ mirin

alfred angelo ~ 848

i guess it's true that you find what you are looking for, when you aren't even looking. i had no intentions of going to this shop, and even the dress i did select wasn't one that was on my "list". so i definitely believe that it was just meant to be. just how chris and i were: meant to be. (let's all have a collective awww moment!)
what does my dress look like you ask? well in my opinion it's the perfect combination of all of the above. it's beautiful, and romantic, and detailed, and a little bit different, and flattering, and has all the right pleats in all the right places, and most importantly it's mine!
i've decided to not share my specific dress with the world until after the wedding. right now the only ones who know about my dress are the MOT-B and my bridesmaids. everyone else will just have to wait until october.