Adventures in Bridal Shows

Well, I have survived two bridal shows. The big one was last weekend at Market Hall. Heather and I rode out there together (which, considering I had all of an hour of sleep, it's amazing I was able to function at all). Upon entering the show, I was given a button that said "bride to-be" on it. I had brought a bunch of mail labels with my name and address, so I wouldn't have to keep writing it over and over. My mom, aunt and cousin all went in another car, as they figured that they would be ready to leave before Heather and I were. We had a blast! We got lots of free stuff, mostly chocolates with the occasional catalogue thrown in. We sampled drinks (non-alcoholic), cake and the chocolate fountains. (Which, by the way, we will be having one at our reception. How cool is that?) We tried on dresses. There were two places that had dresses you could try on. The first was American Bridal & Formal . I found a dress that I loved at that place. I also tried on a two-piece dress that was a lot of fun, but not really me. The other bridal shop was BridesMart. I liked the dresses there okay, but they didn't have much near my size. (Well, that's true pretty much everywhere, but usually they'll have a few that are close.)

We also hit a David's Bridal store after the show. I got brave and tried on some sleeveless and strapless gowns! I have always thought that I look goofy in anything without sleeves, but I actually looked decent! Heather and I worked out a system. We would get the dress off the hanger, then she would stick her hands in the top, I'd reach under and grab her hands, and she'd pull the dress over my head. Then she'd zip/button/tie or whatever the dress would require. We would then go out to the mirrors, where the salesperson would clip the dress with these clamp-things. After trying on several, I was asked to rank my top three choices. I really liked a couple of the dresses there! If anyone is interested, e-mail me and I can show you the dresses from their website. I can also show you other dresses I liked as well on other sites.

Today was the Fort Worth Bridal show. Heather and I, together with David's cousin Beth went today. The same two bridal stores as last week were there. We sampled more cake, more chocolate fountains and got more free stuff. I signed up for a couple things, but most of these people, we had seen last week. We did get to watch the fashion show, which was neat. Some of the dresses were amazing, some were okay. I tried on a couple more gowns, one of which I really liked! (Unfortunately, it was not in the catalogue or on the website, so I can't show pictures of that one.) It was absolutely gorgeous and looked good on me! I tried on another two piece, this one had a corset-type top, which was fun. It wasn't me, but it was really pretty. After the show, we went and ate lunch at Fuzzy's Taco! Yay!!!!! After eating, we whipped out our catalogues and the official handy dandy wedding binder and talked over what we had seen. One of the girls who works there came by and asked if we were getting married, the girls both pointed at me, and we invited her to sit down and look with us. So she did. It was great!

After leaving Fort Worth, Heather and I decided to hit BridesMart. I tried on several dresses, one of which I really, really liked! The saleslady was trying to suggest different styles, so we tried on a couple of those as well. One of them had this huge tulle skirt, with beading on the tulle. It was so poofy, I felt like all I needed were my ballet shoes and I'd look like a ballerina. It was WAY too much dress for me. I looked at myself and quoted My Big Fat Greek Wedding when I said,"I'm a snow beast!" It was definitely a case of the dress wearing me, instead of the other way around.

Trying on gowns is so much fun! Especially when I have an expert helper like Heather. Besides, it's always good to have an extra pair of eyes. There's this fantabulous place out in McKinney that is supposed to be wonderful. Heather and I are going to make an appointment and go out there at some point.

Well, that's about it. More updates to come later!