Whew.....

I bought a dress. Yes, I did.
It very much gives me that feeling of "this is my dress."

Sure, there are gorgeous dresses out there, many I would never even consider trying on, and plenty I would love to wear but are two to twenty times my budget. After watching every episode of TLC's Say Yes to the Dress and browsing online thumbnails of wedding dresses I had narrowed down a few things I appreciated in a gown.

I recently found out about Brides Against Breast Cancer, a Making Memories organization that takes donated gowns from designers, bridal stores and brides and re-sells them. The profits go back to support the Breast Cancer Foundation, and dresses sold are at a very nice discount.

My mom and I and the girls got to the event held in an antique/christmas bazaar store right as it opened and began looking. After 20 or 30 minutes I had decided I wasn't going to find anything I was in to. But then I started looking at different sizes and came across a dress in ivory, ruffle and lace, with a sweetheart neckline and a slim cut and gasped a little bit. It fit perfectly, just a little too long, but easily hemmable. All it needs is a cute french bustle and a few rips in the lace repaired. It was a sample gown too, and just under my $500 dollar budget. I pondered a while but knew I couldn't let it get away. Besides, where and when am I really going to find a better dress in my budget? I just wasn't.

I tried on a $2200 dollar gown too, for fun. Mom loved it.

There was a sweet feeling of comraderie as the brides were all in a room together in our underwear trying on dresses and giving each other feedback

I can't find the dress online, and I don't really want to post a picture of me trying it on, so you'll have to wait.

Time to shop for a headpiece/veil/somethingorother!